Wednesday, April 9, 2014

crocus experiment

  I took advantage of the sunshine and warm weather today to go outside and paint. I am loving my picture of the crocus in our front garden. So, today with way too many deadlines to deal with, I decided to paint on fabric. I woke up thinking about how to do the crocus and the fan brush was involved.



 I have painted on paper with this brush but not on fabric. The above pic is with two purples on the fan brush dragged from the center out. When it looked a bit flat, I looked at the pic again and realized the lines are different than I thought. The purple ink pen was used to feather in hard lines. The pic at right is with white paint dry-brushed on with a round brush. Shimmering white on top of that.

Originally I planned to randomly sew odd tiny pieces in brown, black and greens for the background. When I was sorting some gifted scraps yesterday,  I cut them into 2.5 inch squares and had enough for a 16 patch. Piecing in the scrap of batik made this look a bit like my photo.
The whole thing is salvaged bits of fabric, a tiny bit of paint, and my experience in painting, mixed together in an experiment.
I am pollen challenged today, cloudy thinking, and facing a lot of deadlines. I can't focus but know I need to get creative and quickly. My next challenge quilt is due in three weeks.

So for today, a bit of a tiny challenge. Here are the petals cut out and placed on the background. No stitching yet but that will add a lot of depth.

 It's not the way I thought it would look but got me moving. What do you think?? LeeAnna

10 comments:

Maria said...

Oh it's fabulous! I had to look twice ... At first I thought it was the flower itself when it was actually the fabric ... Totally awesome!

BillieBee (billiemick) said...

You are so creative!

Joanne said...

Hi LeeAnna!
The background quilt really makes the crocus pop uit! Just like in the garden early in Spring! Lots of brown leaves and dark green plants that have been left on the ground back in winter! Looks great!
Take care,
Joanne

Vera said...

Interesting project. Looking good!

Connie Kresin Campbell said...

How creative and beautiful!! Love the crocus! Thanks for sharing.
Freemotion by the River Linky Party Tuesday

Live a Colorful Life said...

Your crocus is really pretty!

Fort Worth Fabric Studio said...

You are really creative! I think the crocus really shows up against the darker colors! Lovely job!

Thank you for linking up to Fabric Frenzy Friday!
-Lindsey
Fabric Frenzy Friday

Mary in Boulder said...

I like the contrast of the purple against the green and brown squares, the same coloration, as someone has already commented, as in nature. At least in my garden!

Teresa Duryea Wong said...

Love the flower and the colors of the pieced background. You might try a background that is more abstract to accentuate the flower more.

Val's Quilting Studio said...

I'm always inspired to play when I stop by to see what you are up too! I think you did a great job of mimicking nature.