Module 1: Chapter 11: Bold Design Development

The brief is to make bold marks on an interesting background.  I've just done a background inspired by a leaf, in my sketchbook, so I'll use this image as a basis for a few backgrounds.

 

 

The sketchbook background is in watercolour.  I did the backgrounds for this exercise in acrylics to keep it more stable.  I did a rough, bold background, a more blended background and a lighter, well-blended background.

 

 

 The bold lines are painted with a wide brush in dark brown/black/white acrylic mixed on the brush.

 

 

I like this image.  The background is more interesting, and the white petals, printed with cut compressed sponge provides a lovely strong contrast and I think represents very well the impression of white flowers against the dark, woodland floor.

 

 

This one works well - hope you think the branch is 'bold' enough, Sian.  The background wasn't intended to represent anything, but it gives me the impression of a hedge and fields rather than woodland.  The branch was painted with a wide, flat brush used on its edge as the twigs got thinner.

 

 

Using the same colours together on a wide, round brush, a couple of strokes represent a leaf.

 

 

This one hasn't worked at all!  I did this image of a tree to use up the paint - can't really see anything to like in this.

 

The next project was monoprinting on a glass surface.  I kept with the same colours in acrylic, and cut out tree shapes in paper.  The background paint was smoothed onto the glass using a credit card wrapped with a 'cobweb' ribbon to produce an uneven surface.  I like the background, but the trees should have been torn, not cut.

 

I took a secondary print, but unfortunately, I used printer paper which stuck to the acrylic and tore the surface of the paper spoiling the image.  The pastel colours are just beautiful and the texture of the paint where it's been pulled away from the glass is intricate and delicate. What a shame I used an inappropriate paper.

 

 

So, having learnt my lesson, I cut out more tree shapes and had another go, this time using acrylic paper.  Some interesting negative spaces.

 

 

The secondary print has some beautiful shapes in the ghostly trees (an orb has even appeared in the bottom right corner!). Close up below the main photo.

 

 

 

There was still paint on the glass, so I tried a tertiary print.  One part or this is remarkable, close up below the image.  It looks as though light is coming from the left, and the texture on the trunk and the background is appropriate - I couldn't repeat it, but I love it!  Was pure luck.

 

 

I gave it another go, this time using leaves as a mask.  The first image didn't work at all.

 

 

The secondary image is very successful.  The veins of the leaves dug into the paint and has left an impression of the leaves which I find very attractive.  I would like to try to get this effect in fabric.  It could be done with fabric paint or stitch ...

 

... and the tertiary image is even better.  This could make a beautiful fabric for a top if the effect could be reproduced successfully.  I'd like to try it.

 

 

Next, I took some of the above images and had a play with them on the computer.  I made myself stop at 10 images - I could do this for days!

 The following image is my favourite I think, but at the moment it looks a bit like a spider or beetle -not a good look, so I would remove the longest 'legs' if I used this as a border.  I love the bright green highlights, and the pattern in the tan brown.  The elongated, faint, horizontal triangles behind the strong black lines add interest.  There's a lot in this image, which actually looks as though it could be translated well into a knitting pattern.

The following has lost the 'insect' look, and would perhaps be more suitable for a garment.

 The next 2 images look quite architectural, which really isn't what I'm after with a 'Woodland' theme

 

The next two need to be seen close up, as the detail I particularly like, is the patterns made by the paint as the paper cover was removed.

 Although the white lines are made from the veins of leaves, this has a Nordic look, as though the white lines are snowflakes.  I like the drawing these images were made from I would prefer to keep the leaf shapes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Module 1: Chapter 9: Exploring Abstracted Fragments

 

The first page shows the photo with a small area selected.

The simplified line drawing is shown below the photo.  This drawing was duplicated and flipped to create new designs.  I also tried adding drawings of leaves and a tree to the drawing.

 

 

Next, I uploaded the basic line drawing into Serif Draw Plus and had a play with the special effects.  Some of these would translate beautifully into embroideries.

 

I chose some of these images to put into Kaleidoscope Kreator - the circular image on the right and the four lower images were produced in this programme.

 

 

I chose one of the images to translate using coloured papers.  (Picture of a selection of my painted papers below)

 

 

My final 3 designs shown below, used different elements from above and incorporated some hessian and decaying leaves.  A few wisps of green, marino wool create a soft, misty effect in the third image.

 

 

and a few more pages in a sketchbook

 

 

the fine lines of tree tops at the skyline made me think of a batik technique using flour paste that I'd never tried.  The fabric had to be left overnight for the paste to dry, and it was an extremely messy method, but the result is effective.

 

 

The next one was fun, and I got a bit carried away trying 4 different methods of suggesting this decaying leaf

 

 

A layer of painted wadding, scraps of fabric and painted lutrador stitched together.

 

 

 

 

 

Just love fungus!  Fabulous soft curvy lines.

 

 

 These little buds are a lovely, chestnut brown.  The twigs and buds all flow upwards looking so pretty against the sky.  A delicate little design.

 

 

I found a beautiful leaf which I laminated.  I don't know how long the colours will remain true inside the plastic, but for now, it looks lovely.  I pierced holes through the plastic with a soldering iron and stitched it to hand-dyed fabric.  I used decorative quilting and stitching to see if the laminated leaf could be incorporated successfully into a stitched work.  I think it could work.

 

 

A couple of watercolour pieces using the colours from the leaf.  I particularly like the black silhouette on the randomly coloured background.  I would like to develop this in stitch.