"Disco Poodle" Matisse style

"Disco Poodle" by LAPaylor  12" X 12"

my inspiration for this artwork was Matisse's papercuts. My prompt to make this was from  Alida
for the artist's blog hop challenge. 

 Matisse is quoted as saying:
"creativity takes courage"

 "Painting in the style that came to be known as Fauvism, Matisse continued to emphasize the emotional power of sinuous lines, strong brushwork and acid-bright colors in works such as The Joy of Life, a large composition of female nudes in a landscape. Like much of Matisse’s mature work, this scene captured a mood rather than merely trying to depict the world realistically"  http://www.biography.com

The image I used as my current inspiration at the top left of this picture, by Henri Matisse






 I also used the small poodle image I made for the Houston Quilt show SPCA donation (on orange above)
 I made one for myself and donated one.  It was bought off the wall within minutes of handing it to the organizers!!

For the current piece, I drew the poodle again but a bit thinner as the inspiration photo has a thin figure.

I interpreted the painting's diagonal lines by inserting a batik into the sparkly blue background. As usual it was a big decision with repeated auditions of fabric after fabric until I noticed this coral which reminded me of the papercut stars Matisse added to his piece.

To transfer my drawing to black fabric for the poodle, I traced over the image using saral chalk paper next to the black fabric. It transfers a line of chalk that can be brushed away after cutting.
I had to decide whether to keep the image completely inside the lines and after moving him around a bit, decided to engage the border.

All of my STAT quilts interpret famous painters, with an emphasis on texture. The texture here is embellishments. Faceted short bugles on the body, buttons, longer bugle beads and trinkets all add texture. 

We have artistic license to make art our way even if we're inspired by others. Not only license, but an obligation to make it your own.

Which brings up a question of art, inspiration and derivation. It's an ongoing debate among artists, a gray area often handled in a court of law.
This piece is obviously original yet derived, or inspired by, another artist and I give all due credit to the master Matisse whom I respect.
 I have made 16 STAT art inspired quilts, Please visit others  under the label STAT HERE

On to the making of this small work.
I quilted in lines with Sulky halogram mylar reflective thread. Hash marks and straight lines. There is peltex stabalizer instead of batting in all of my STAT quilts. I used rayon thread in coral and yellow to free motion around the batik print.
As for the binding... this creates the frame for my art. It is a very important element and I auditioned several choices finally deciding to insert a three dimensional black and white piping before sewing on the binding.

To reduce bulk I did a single layer of binding, pulling it to the back and folding under raw edges to whipstitch it down. Not double folded as usual, which makes the finish much easier but is quite bulky on a narrow binding.

Embellishments including the thread with little fiber squares, are attached by hand.

What do you think Matisse meant by creativity takes courage?

Unless you make original art, you might not be aware of all the decisions one makes while creating.
Of the need for inspiration, good art supplies, time, perseverance, and courage to put yourself into your work. Artwork is a little peek into a person's psyche.
We make art because we are driven to interpret our thoughts and feelings in a tangible way.
It is so personal and it takes courage to share it with others, leaving one vulnerable to comments and critiques. It takes courage to make your art, and courage to share.
Have courage to be original!

LeeAnna (missing her poodle Cole... play hard in Heaven darling)


complete schedule for artist's blog hop

Other Artists on Friday:

Andrée @ quiltinglearningcombo (http://quiltinglearningcombo.blogspot.com)