Old Man Winter - Final

This may not have been the original idea of a medium for my re-visiting this piece, but I really like how it turned out.

Merry Christmas to ME (and all of you). 

Adding Colour

As there are so many degrees of contrast in the original photo, I didn't think staying with pure white would give me the results I wanted.

So I added colour.

Now the issue is finding the right background.

Being .....'Mary Pal'

I first saw Mary Pal's technique of cheesecloth manipulation at a gallery in Burlington maybe 4 yrs? ago.   www.marypaldesigns.com

It strongly resonated with me as I use a lot of cheesecloth in my work. My usage never really commanded center stage the way her work does. So her technique went on my Bucket List...and finally........

This was a woodcut of 'Winter' I had rendered in cloth for a Northcott challenge a few years ago. I had been waiting a long time to revisit.

Robert's Stag - Final Assembly

This still needs to be sandwiched and quilted but that won't affect it's current appearance.

A few more ferns and another young conifer finished the foreground. The white areas were just....too white, so they got a sponge bath with coffee and then some thread sketching to add more definition.

As yet, I'm undecided how I'm going to finish the edges. For now......it can be set aside for other things.

 As a comparison, here is the original colour blocking.

Robert's Stag - Forest Ferns

A fresh crown of antlers on Robert's Stag means this scene is late summer, early autumn. 

Today I made ferns, past their prime and losing their green and showing all shades of brown and yellow.

Stitching two full hoops took most of the day, but they did fill the corner, and finish the camouflage of the feet that aren't there. This is one time when using variegated threads works well.

Robert's Stag- Centre Foreground

 This area is important as the foliage here will conceal the feet of the stag.....feet that aren't there.

There were two different techniques used today. 

The conifer was done with netting a a hoop, whereas the shrubs were done using a sandwich of wash away stabilizer. After all the bits are placed and then anchored with sometimes, just a few stitches, the 'envelope'  of stabilizer is rinsed away. 

Foliage in the back and mid around is under netting and offers nothing tactile. The bushes assembled with the wash away end up being curly and twisted, offering both a visual and tactile experience.

 The conifer is on netting but the shrubs are held together by the stitching only.

Stabilizer assembly is quick and does not require a hoop if the stitching is done slowly.

After washing, a quick press sets the positions.

After several auditions for location, all 4 pieces are layered and then anchored.

 

This piece only needs some work in either bottom corner and then it will take batting, and quilting.

Robert's Stag - Left foreground filled

 

Robert's Stag - Another Conifer and some Shrubbery

 A smaller conifer this time, but the same progression of colour. This one is tucked near the tail.

And then some Shrubbery. This time I used confetti to get full coverage near the base.

Robert's Stag - Nothing left but Foreground

In a natural habitat such as a forest, there are trees of all ages. There may be fully grown evergreens behind our stag but there are also younger ones.

I spent around 2 hours stitching this evergreen in a hoop on netting and then stitching it onto the background. With this finished all the extra brown/green cheesecloth is anchored.

The tree bark itself is brown, (bark and branches). Three more passes in different greens, placed and filled out the needles. One more light pass in still another green anchored it to the 'forest' and anchored anything loose behind.

Finally, at this point there are no pins..everything is stitched down.

Robert's Stag - Sewn down

 I moved the stag, once more ......and then sewed him in place. 

He is only fully anchored from his lower neck, around the antlers (glued) and down the other side of his neck. I left the body loose so I could tuck foliage etc behind as well over top.

Using some of my fresh painted cheesecloth I went to work on the foreground. 

 

Robert's Stag - Stag Placement

If you look back at the other photos it becomes evident that I've given the Stag a different placement each time. In the original photo he was off to one side. Since he was assembled, I've been shifting him around to find the most pleasing spot.

With each day and with more foliage the weight of the background does have an influence on the picture. It's not so mich that I don't need to finish the area under his body as much as his location affects the colour and weight of the remaining foliage.

Today I worked with the cheesecloth, some bits from my leftovers and some from last week. The effect is subtle when all you see is a photo, but in person every branch has a presence.

Some of what was pinned on today is still damp from painting. Tomorrow I can stitch it and add detail.

 

Robert' Stag - Mixing materials

Once things get to a point they seem to take on an energy of their own. While the work on this guy is painstakingly slow, the addition of each new element makes the woods become real and the Stag come alive.

The base of this piece is cotton, both the background and the stag. I put off adding Antlers for this whole time as I really didn't know what to use. I finally settled on some low loft polar fleece. The irregularity in the colouring made it work.

The woods were augmented with wool yarn, string, thread and painted cheesecloth. 

Painting Fabric - Using Up All the Old Paint

 I approached today's painting differently, primarily, as I had no more 'virgin' white material.

Those old and tired pillowcases came to mind and I pulled out the four best and slit them open.

I had decided last night that I would use up all the current paint. The mixed colours were several years old and weren't meant to be stored so long. Some were clumpy and some granular. 

Rooting through boxes I found ALL the unopened packages of cheesecloth in the house.

And ......

Instead of 'painting' I poured!

Some I sponged, and some I smooshed with my hands (definitely need a manicure). After laying these very wet cloths on the damp morning grass, I heavily salted them.

When the four pillow cases were done, I poured more paint on my table and blotted it up with the cheese cloth.

It's always such a surprise when they turn out better than you could imagine.......spectacular.

So the paint is done, all used up.......but I still have plans for this nice weather........

Perfect Weather.....So I painted Fabric

 I was feeling disappointed at the end of the summer as I hadn't been able to get to painting fabric.

Today (and in fact all this week) should be perfect.

This entry is rather picture heavy.

There's not much to say. Some of the fabrics are suitable on both sides. That's always a bonus or a curse? 

And I needed more 'birch' fabric and coloured cheese cloth so after setting up on the back porch I splashed and poured paint! Some of it was scrunched, some salted and some hung. All gives different effects.

(Used up ALL my white cotton..........hmmmmmmmmmm what will I use tomorrow)