Tuscany series continued

I think one of the best outcomes of our themes is if I can learn from my challenge piece and go on to produce more in the series. I have made another four 12 x 12's and a larger 24 x 20, not counting the three 5 x 7's I made for the WildCard fundraiser, and not counting the two finished pieces that ended up in the garbage. One of the works was rejected because I misspelled Siena!


These pieces are mounted on stretched canvases, painted with black gesso. I have left a little margin of canvas showing around the edges. The pieces themselves are stitched to black felt and the edges are finished with a short zigzag stitch.

The image transfers were done using photocopies, acetone and tissue paper, which was applied to the painted cloth with matte medium. More painting, stamping and stenciling followed, then a coat of matte medium over all, then stitching, then more paint was applied, sometimes rubbed off with a rag or rubbed into the stitching line to emphasize it.


These will go into the fall show of our local art group, the Hudson Artists, to be held October 14 - 16. (Michele is also showing some of her recent pieces.) The larger piece is going to be my entry to Synthesis 2, a juried SAQA show for the Eastern Canada division.


I have been struggling to achieve a kind of obscurity, mystery, ambiguity, even unease, while still offering the viewer enough contrast to discern the images. A fine line. While they cannot be appreciated from a distance, I hope they will draw the viewer in for a closer look.