Pages

Monday 30 November 2015

Pop Art

Bridget Riley - Ra 2

Thank you Heather.  You gave me the opportunity to do something I have had in the back of my mind for ages - a piece paying homage to Bridget Riley.  I have long admired her work. There are some wonderful examples of her work if you google her name and then click on 'images'.  I have based my piece on the work she did after her trip to Egypt and seeing the wonderful colours in ancient Egyptian art.

Here's my piece.
Bridget Riley - Homage
I hummed and aahed about whether to try and piece or to fuse the strips. In the end I pieced them and it work relatively easily because I heavily starched the strips first.  This made them firm and they handled well.  I used the left edge of my 1/4" foot lined up against the previous seam.

Proportionately speaking the strips should be much narrower but I am happy with the first attempt.  I haven't quilted it because I don't think in this case quilting would add anything to the piece or improve it.

All in all I have thoroughly enjoyed this series based on colours.  One more to go.

Hilary


14 comments:

  1. Wow, that does 'pop'. So hard to get the strips to be uniform, and these look great. I can imagine the main problem was ironing them flat without distorting them. I've never been a great fan of Bridget Riley's work, but this is a brilliant homage.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Your choice of darks and lights and complementaries is very effective, Hilary. I'm getting a kind of visual vibration looking at it. Do Bridget Riley's paintings produce this kind of effect too?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. YES! Some deliberately so. Especially her black and white ones. H

      Delete
  3. Well executed! Nice pop of colour. And thanks for introducing Bridget - I guess I've seen some of her work, just didn't know anything about her.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Well done, Hilary. Having done some very narrow strip piecing I really appreciate how straight yours are.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Definitely a success: lovely colours and beautifully pieced. I like Bridget Riley's paintings, but I can't look at them for very long: the 'visual vibration' strains my eyes - instant migraine!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Wow thanks for the great introduction to Bridget Riley and Op Art. That mystical blue really gets the motion going in your piece!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Technically excellent as ever and your choice of colour produces the visual disturbance I associate with this series. I wonder whether lines of contrasting satin stitch would allow you to vary the width more?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Linda, I thought you were my friend. I am boss-eyed already from being so careful with the stitching and now you want me to go and add some minute satin stitching accurately as well?!
      Hilary

      Delete
    2. But I know how good your satin stitch is ... and you know that you like a challenge!!!!

      Delete
  8. Your colours certainly do 'pop' and your lines are so straight - really great and you have used all the colours to mix and meld perfectly. I think if I had been doing this and to get it as perfectly uniform as you have done would have had me grinding my teeth! Great Hilary and congrats on a lovely piece. I too don't know this artist's work so in the next series I think we are going to have a great and challenging time ahead.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Great job Hilary! I will certainly investigate Bridget's work now.

    ReplyDelete
  10. I did not know the artist either but I probably know why as I am like you Jinnie .... instant migraine. I agree Hilary that you did not need quilting lines. These could have distorted your straight lines fractionally and would have spoilt a perfect piece.

    ReplyDelete
  11. have thought now and then of piecing lots of narrow strips and then wondered how soon it wld be before the piece goes wonky. you sure didnt have that problem hilary. well done - it all works so well

    ReplyDelete