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Wednesday 30 November 2016

Viaduct



    There isn't one specific painting that inspired me.However,  Sheeler's industrial landscape paintings and his use of transparency caught my attention,  and as I am originally from a northern industrial mill town I thought I would try to  show a landscape that is familiar to me. The brick viaduct that crosses the Mersey valley in the centre of Stockport is an imposing structure and when it was built in 1840 it was the largest viaduct in the world, and is still the largest brick structure in the UK.






   I tried various designs with the viaduct and the mills, but couldn't  make one that worked with the transparent layers. In the end I abandoned the mills and just concentrated on the viaduct and the bridge. The final textile looks far more bucolic than the original scene! I originally experimented with the inktense pencils and bars that I bought in the summer when I was in England, but that attempt ended up in the bin (it was totally unsalvageable!) and I finally used fused appliqué and simple quilting.

13 comments:

  1. Thanks for the nostalgic images. I haven't been back to Stockport for nearly 50 years, and the only thing I really remember is the viaduct!

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  2. You have really captured the brick archways and their depth so successfully Jinnie. I wonder though if the lighter coloured bridge would have been more convincing if it were solid rather than transparent.

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  3. Hmm, I like the transparency - it allows us to see the height of the viaduct which is quite imposing. And the simple scene is good - nice composition.

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  4. Nice job converting this scene to a square format. Looks good!

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  5. Your ability to distill your images to focus on the shape of the viaduct and the transparency of the bridge in the foreground really accentuates lines and shadows. Thank you for sharing the historical facts with us...I must see this one day.

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  6. I agree with what the others have said. Love what you have done. If I may add my tuppence worth .... I feel there needs to be something going on behind the viaduct. Some shading, some simple lines. I feel I am looking into nothing. Those inktense pencils & blocks are quite intense and take some getting used to. I have ditched a few bits as well.

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  7. You have captured this image so well. A really good composition and beautifully put together. It reflects the strength of the viaduct so well and one can see the amount of thought you have put into the design to reflect, not only the artis's style but how he would have interpretated it. Well done.

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  8. I like the transparency effect, but agree with Phil that maybe a bit more detail in the background would have added to it. I also like the way the image has transformed an urban picture into a rural one! Nice piece!

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  9. The repetitive arches of this viaduct scene makes such an interesting design. I was intrigued by the brickwork . Was this a fabric or did you colour the bricks yourself? I have seen a couple of works recently using organza and am impressed by the effect it gives . I must give it a try sometime.

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    1. I used a commercial fabric that I had in my stash (no idea why I bought it!). Originally I didn't want to use it as the scale is too big: the viaduct is so enormous that there is a three-storey mill under part of it. However I couldn't find another suitable fabric.

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  10. The repetitive arches of this viaduct scene makes such an interesting design. I was intrigued by the brickwork . Was this a fabric or did you colour the bricks yourself? I have seen a couple of works recently using organza and am impressed by the effect it gives . I must give it a try sometime.

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  11. Definitely more pastoral than Stockport (I live twenty minutes away and your railway is the same line as mine!)
    I tried to flatten the colour in my piece, a la Scheeler, and it didn't work - now I'm wondering whether adding more detail might salvage my piece. Good job.

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  12. I think you were right to concentrate on one section of this magnificent viaduct, Jinny. Up close you have been able to put in more of its character than would otherwise have been possible. I like the two distinct styles of arch - makes for an interesting contrast.
    Hilary

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