Friday 14 August 2015

Trees Workshop - Silhouettes

Today I did a little work on the silhouette of 6 common N. AM.conifers.

While I don't suppose it matters to many, I like to be sure I'm representing the correct flora when I do a regional piece. As most of my work reflects B.C. I like to get it right.
A lot of trees appear similar while young, from a distance. So in the long run it really doesn't matter.

But it's nice to have a variation in forms.
These samples are meant to be horizon images. Their foliage is a little thin to simplify the differences in shape and branch structures.

One side is finished with a second pass in a different shade of green. The other side shows the branch foundation with some darker stitches which are meant to be ALMOST concealed with a second green.
These trees were drawn onto the material and stitched over.

These also deal with some minor distortion. Most of it can be ironed or quilted out. They're done with minimal stabilizer and blocked with stretching and steam. You need to learn why the material distorts and how to minimize that as well.

So many things at once.





Looking at the six together, it's clear they all have different growth patterns.

From the left top: Lodge Pole Pine
                             Black spruce
                             White pine
Bottom left : Juniper sp.
                     White Spruce
                      Norway Spruce




The left side of these three are unfinished. You can see the pen markings and the first pass with a darker green. This is meant to be the under layer.

 No tree is one colour.

All these samples are very open. They should have several more passes and crossing branches to make them REAL.

And of course there are many more varieties.
Most people don't really look at trees, either in summer or winter.

The shape, the texture, the bark colour all help to define the tree.
When you know what it really looks like, then you can throw the rules out the window and be confident that your variation will be great.










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