After far too long pondering, Cotswold Spring is now complete! With so many decisions to make it was difficult to know where to start and it certainly didn't come out as expected! Spring is full of inspiration so this was a really inspirational subject to work on.
I began by making a simple sketch of the main elements of the my photograph of snowdrops. I then needed to create a textured coloured background to work on so a fair amount of experimentation took place create the texture that I was looking for.
A variety of natural fabrics were used: cotton, linen, silk, cotton lace, canvas, scrim and calico. These were stitched on to a cotton background and then painted with diluted screen printing ink. Shades of blue and yellow were added to vary the colours. I was hoping that this colour would be permanent when ironed but unfortunately I found out later that it wasn't!
I still wasn't happy with the background and felt that it needed to be softened a little. Time to use the embellisher. I had a variety of fibres to hand, in addition to wool, and found that hemp, flax and silk waste fibres were perfect for creating woody shrubbery. I also found some soft black silk waste which helped to create shadows.
As I didn't like the marks that that the embellisher made on the surface, I decided to wet felt the fibres. This was when I discovered that the printing ink wasn't waterproof. Also, of course, I had managed to cover most of my textured fabrics!
All was rectified though! See Part 2 for the finished piece! www.suebatemantextiles.com/blog/cotswold-spring-2
HIGH RESOLUTION LIMITED EDITION GICLEE PRINTS OF THIS ORIGINAL ARTWORK ARE NOW FOR SALE FROM MY ETSY SHOP:
They are also available from the Big Cartel at: https://suebateman.bigcartel.com/product/cotswold-spring-limited-edition-print
Please sign up to my Blog to leave a comment, or join my website Mailing List for the latest news, products and offers, plus a 20% discount off of your first order! SUBSCRIBE HERE!
#cotswoldspring #suebatemanartist #suebatemantextiles #CotswoldArt #natureart #cotswoldart #textile_art #applique #3D_applique #heat_distorted_polyester #fabric_collage #machine_embroidery #fibre_art #cotswold_spring
www.suebatemantextiles.com
www.etsy.com/uk/shop/suebatemantextiles
Comments