Maybe ugly is too strong a word.
I’ll go with “isn’t-working-for-me.” Yet.
There’s a lot I like about this work-in-progress. I think the sketch and composition are strong. I was inspired by a photo I had seen from a bird watching group. A single song bird among an intricate thicket of twigs and branches created a strong silhouette. I envisioned those twigs creating an abstract, linear background in which to discover the bird. I flipped the bird mirror-image to add another one. I like the addition of the leaves as solid abstract shapes. Here’s the sketch at full size on my easel (about 36”H x 45”W)
I also like the palette a lot. The background teal-violet of the washed-in trees was painted wet-into-wet on sheer fabric. I like the patterns and colors.
And to accompany the background fabric, I have printed new fabrics to put into the composition. The monotype roots pattern in shades of blue is especially pleasing to me.
Here’s what I have assembled so far (collaged and stitched) on my easel.
I am going to complete the stenciled images of the two birds and the balance of the twigs as I have sketched.
Then I think I will have to sit back and ponder this awhile. My hunch is that the branch and twig shapes I liked in the sketch don’t recreate sufficiently the complexity of what I loved in the photo. I can add more, finer twigs and increase the abstraction. I may also be able to relief print some organic twig shapes from the same bundle of roots I used to monotype print the two-tone roots at the bottom. (Those were done as stencils in multiple passes on a gelatin plate.)
And, somewhere, I’ll need at least a splash of something that’s not blue so this is not so monochromatic.
This is going to work. I am telling myself that, believing in what I see already working.
I’m just not sure how to do it yet!
BLOG POSTS: If you would enjoy receiving blog posts by e-mail,
please subscribe here: BLOGS-BY-EMAIL
NEWSLETTER: If you enjoy more detailed behind-the-scenes stories,
as well as FIRST LOOKS at new works and members-only discounts,
I hope you’ll become a Studio Insider.
You’ll hear from me by e-mail every two to three weeks.
Subscribe here: STUDIO-INSIDER-NEWSLETTER