Windmills and Tulips

We had a very interesting and enjoyable biking trip through a small part of the Netherlands a few weeks ago and were lucky enough to see lots of tulip fields in bloom.  Although not from this angle!

We also visited quite a few wonderful museums and saw the late Rembrandt exhibit at the Rijksmuseum and the Vermeer museum in Delft amongst others.  With white in mind I spent a lot of time looking at light, how it controlled the way the eye focused on the painting and how it travelled through the piece.  Rembrandt is fairly blunt with his approach - lots of lacy white collars on his subjects but then the eye travelled up to the face with it's light and then to the eyes with the little dot to make them sparkle.  Vermeer not only had the light shining into the room and onto a face he actually used dots of white on the pearls and in the eyes.  I had grandiose ideas of doing something with pearls or eyes and white dots, but my skill level isn't quite up to it yet.

So here is my white.  And yes, it's probably the first thing you focused on.

Keepsake Envelope

My daughter announced her engagement in April and will be married in early September of this year. Our white challenge naturally called for a white whole cloth from a machine quilter so with the wedding talk I felt compelled to make something for her. A keepsake envelope will be a special place for the treasures of their special day.

Apologises

Well, I realised earlier today that I hadn't finished my piece, and tomorrow is the big reveal day.  Mick and I have been building large raised vegetable beds in the garden, and today it was good weather so we just got on with it - all day.  I had expected to be able to finish tomorrow morning, but forgot we have to go out for a car club event tomorrow, which Mick is organising.  Hopefully I'll be able to post late tomorrow, or possibly Monday morning.  Meanwhile apologises to all, and I'm looking forward to seeing everyone else's pieces.

White Theme

As usual my piece has been left to the last minute, but with all the excitement going on in my life I am tickled pink to say -it's finished!  Not what I had originally in mind but I'm pleased with it.

Our third grandchild is due tomorrow - I can be specific as Ruth is being induced.  Great excitement.
On top of that some of you may be aware of my latest mad cap idea which will be at the Festival of Quilts in the UK in August:  www.gameofquilts.wix.com/gameofquilts 

I am also hoping to submit a piece in the Art Category at the Festival...  The majority of the piece is done I just need to work out the assembly.

Looking forward to Monday - thanks for choosing the next person for a colour inspiration, Jinnie. Good luck, Phillida - what will you come up with?

Hilary

THE NEXT COLOUR CHALLENGE

I've just been informed that it's my turn to choose the next person to select a colour for our next challenge... Phyllida it's your turn

Colour challenges on display

I have taken advantage of an unexpected opening in the exhibition schedule of our local community centre to hang 21 of my Cityscapes.

Eight of these pieces were made in response to our 12 by the dozen colour challenges, and are shown below. Measuring 8.5" x 11", they are mounted on 10" x 12" gallery canvas, painted black.

Another four colour challenges will be included in the upcoming Hudson Artist Spring show, June 5 - 7, also at the Hudson Community Centre.

My solo show will run for the month of May, at 394 Main Road in Hudson, Quebec. Thanks to Michele Meredith for help with the mounting of the show!

Colour Compositions in Silk

 This series that I call Fields of Gold has come about by wanting to work with materials already in my studio and using my embellisher to make colour texture blends to continue to learn about composition. They are becoming more abstract  over time and are somewhat like saturated google earth snippits.

As the needles are blending the first layer down another one emerges from underneath which is a fascinating and beautiful thing to watch happening . This occurs when the underlying colour in the thread emerges and it will continue to blend on the surface creating a tapestry like effect.

At a recent painting demo the artist told us to  use 5 key words to describe a concept for a piece before starting and to retain them through to the completion of a project. I found it can be a good way to clarify intention.

I will be in the process of moving my studio soon and so was prompted to finally work with a beautiful selection of silks that my good friend ( and yours) Heather had passed my way, some time ago upon her switch to using only hand dyes in her work. Thank you Heather!

Our white challenge

I have been having a fascinating time looking at white. Is it really white or does it just look white because of its neighbouring colours?  Is it the contrast?  How much do you need for it to say: the focus of this piece is white!

What would constitute a white piece for me?  A piece of white cloth with black lines sketching out something?  How about something inspired by Piet Mondrian - lots of white.  In the past I have made a piece for the Steps challenge which was white 'snow' (actually a faux chenille technique).

Thank you, Jinnie.  I'm not saying this is easy but it has been a pleasure looking for inspiration.  And, BTW, I haven't decided on anything yet - typical.

Hilary

Santa Cruz de Tenerife

It's been more than a month since Jinnie threw down the gauntlet with her "Lily White" challenge, and I thought I would share with you my first response to the subject. Not to worry: "Santa Cruz de Tenerife" didn't make the cut, and another one is waiting on the sidelines for the official reveal.

Santa Cruz de Tenerife

For years I have had a photo of Tenerife, torn from a travel magazine, posted on my design wall. I have always loved Mediterranean hillside towns, the way they have developed so organically, adapting to a twist of the road or an outcropping of rock. They look a bit like termite nests, though more picturesque, of course.

"Lily White" is very much a challenge for me, as I find it difficult to work with white. So often in nature, white reflects the colours around it. Nevertheless, I decided this was the Big Moment for the Mediterranean Hillside Town.

I chose a printed cotton, a mottled green-and-brown Stonehenge, to suggest the vegetation and rock that serves as a background to the dwellings, and then blocked in the large white shapes with a facing of white cotton, to minimize show-through of the dark background. Then I cut small squares and rectangles of white, beige, grey, tan and orange to serve as the buildings themselves. The windows are so small they are indicated with ink, and the stitching in grey thread goes all around the small shapes to secure them.

I am happy with this piece, which serves to remind me of a visit to the Canary Islands a few years ago, but have settled on another scene I want to translate into fabric for our 12 by the Dozen challenge. Meanwhile, this will make a nice addition to the dozen cityscapes I have made in this 8.5" x 11" format.

Colour Thesaurus

It's a good job we didn't have this when we began our current round of challenges - http://www.boredpanda.com/color-thesaurus-char-ingrid-sundberg/

Sand

Continuing in the theme of my daughter's wedding, I submit my piece for the colour 'sand.'

A conceptual piece.

The next colour is ....

                                                                     Lily white