+2012+Kit+Lang+(inside).jpg)
Well, she's sort of finished. :) She is finished, in that she has a backing, a hanging sleeve, and a label, but as I looked at these pics that I've posted, I can see that there's some tweaking that needs to happen.
I'll explain as I go along, but let's enjoy it for what it is right now, m'kay? :)
This new and improved sky, you 've already seen, I am in fact, really pleased with that sky. I think it looks like night, I like the highlighting on the edges of the cliff of the moonlight, and I really like the colours in the sky.
And off to the left you see the waterfall - got a little 3D effect with the fluffy stuff and I like that a lot - but I think I need a little work on it to give it some more dimension. And I like the quilting on the rocks - if you click on that pic to see it bigger, you'll see it.
I like the water too - my twice quilted water - I first did wavy swoopy lines, and then decided it needed some more definition so I did some straight line quilting. but I think the moon's reflection is a little too white - I think a wash is in order there - but I don't know whether to make it sort of gray, sort of blue, or sort or lavender. I need to have a think on it, but it needs a little something.
Similarly, I like the rocks, but I think there's a little bit of a flat effect happening. Not that it's "flat" in a 3 dimensional way - I do like very much that these rocks bring the eye forward and help to show that the cliff rocks are in the *background* not the foreground - but I think they're just sitting there doing nothing you know?
Not that rocks *do* a lot, but they're not doing much for this piece. Maybe the addition of some fuzzy moss - but not TOO fuzzy - perhaps a little moonlight glittering on the wet? That kind of thing.
And Ms. Mermaid. Although I love her tail and body shape, I don't like her skin. Despite the fact that I used 3 shades of coppery brown and added a little gold-mixed-with-burnt-sienna to give her a bit of a glow - it's still quite flat looking.
The legends of the mermaid at Little Karoo talk about her 'rosy cheeks" and I've certainly got that down, and I love, love, LOVE her hair (made from braided embroidery floss and sewn down), but her lips are too pink and her eyes seem to be looking in a different directions, and I think her head's too small!!! lol
So I need to re-do her face, too.
So I need to re-do her face, too.
.jpg)
But despite all those "complaints", I'm pretty happy with her. Just a few little tweaks and she'll be good to go.
I'm going to take a break from her for a little while though - she's not due until July 23 - and I need to step away for a bit.
Something new next week!
Posts
I love the shimmering quality of the mermaid.
ReplyDeleteWell done. Lovely!
I'd love to see her looking at the moonlight on the water, so we see her more from the back... I think the rocks look fine not flat at all. Her shimmery tail is awesome.
ReplyDeleteAwesome....you are being too critical.....but that's what helps us grow....that little push toward perfection!
ReplyDeleteI too like the quilting on the cliffs/rocks -- like veins you'd see in nature. About the moon in the water...perhaps a bit of blue-grey? Paint stick for subtle shimmer? or blending? Just a guess -- every computer monitor shows colours a bit differently...Love Ms. Mermaid's complexion, but at what is she looking? Her expression...a bit reflective, concerned...is she lost in thought?
ReplyDeleteYou should be pleased, she is lovely!
ReplyDeleteLove it! That mermaid is amazing!! I'm totally clueless when it comes to this kind of art... painting and dimension, etc... Maybe a little "moon shadow" on the lower rocks would help them stand out? I agree that it's always good to give a little breathing room to a project like that too!
ReplyDeleteLove that Mermaid bling!! wowee : )
ReplyDeleteMonika
A little step back won't hurt but she is definitely coming along very well!
ReplyDeleteI love your creativity. She is just gorgeous and I personally wouldn't change her. I also kind of like the white moonshine on the water. That's what it looks like. Now I am anxious to see what you do.
ReplyDeleteThe mermaid is gorgeous:) I think it is probably a good idea to step away from it and then come back with fresh eyes.
ReplyDeleteThis is looking gorgeous! I agree that the reflection of the moon needs to be a little darker, probably a muted pale blue. And from standing back and looking at the proportions of your gorgeous beaded mermaid, I think you're right, her head needs to be bigger. The face drove me absolutely dotty when I was doing my Isis quilt, it's not just you. As for her skin, I think it's a perfectly nice colour, but some more contrast with the water would help. Could you make the water a bit lighter next to her, and do whatever would balance that out in the picture overall? Perhaps do the perspective thing of making the water darker and more saturated at the front of the picture, and lighter/greyer as it gets further away?
ReplyDeleteElettaria - unfortunately, the water needs to be darker closer to the mermaid because it's farther away from the moon. It would be lighter at the back. I did try to make it darker at the front, but that area got covered by the rocks when I added them in, I just realized. lol
ReplyDeleteAnyway - lots to think about! thanks for your thoughts
There must be some way of cheating. Perhaps overlay bits of fabric in different shades, step back, take photos, and it might help you figure out what needs to be done and what works? It reminds me of a bit in a Ruth McDowell book where she talks about doing a quilt of a flamingo in a jungle. Flamingo = lightish bright pink. Jungle = darkish green. Flamingo's beak = also dark, and thus not visible against the jungle background. So that particular bit of background had to be a bit lighter, which worked. As she pointed out, there's no good adding a note to the quilt saying, "The invisible bit next to the flamingo is its beak, by the way." It's quilt art, it's not meant to be a 100% realistic photo, but things are meant to show up nicely when you want attention drawn to them.
ReplyDeleteObviously you could make the skin lighter, but that would be one hell of a shame, considering the way the art world is already unevenly distributed in terms of race (er, if that makes sense, bit tired today). Of course, since most mermaids in art are white, that means they will have different colour effects in order to get the mermaid to show up well, and a dark sea will look quite different with a pale-skinned mermaid.
Ooh, any chance you could make her glow a bit, a sort of shimmer around her, or would that just look daft? Even at a very subtle level, just enough to make her show up better?
lol!!! I appreciate your enthusiastic interest, Elletaria, but I've got it well in hand now.
ReplyDeleteThanks though, for all your suggestions. :)
I'm "SPEECHLESS" in a strange sort of way. You know what I mean Kit.
ReplyDeleteThanks Carol! Check out the new and improved version coming this Monday! :) (Not to mention my new finished piece in a few minutes!)
Delete