Monday, February 26, 2007

Blue Swans of winter


I did this from the Goldenboy Blue Swans Orchestra.

I only used blue....
very small complementary.
Not sure I got the shading of the reflection in the water quilte the right hue. Worked on paper, but now that it is finished it looks a little too strong. Also the stream behing the moving bird is quite definite. I may use some paint to lighten it up.
Critiques and suggestions alays welcome. It is how I learn.
Carole

4 comments:

Deb Z said...

I really love this piece and your use of blues. The reflection of the swan works well except for the one part that extends farther out than the rest. The angle of the lower one (the reflection) could be more towards parallel to the "real" one and I think that would be more realistic. I love your quilting of the water and it is so great how you captured the swan's wake with closer quilting. What a nice job on this one.

laura west kong said...

Very peaceful and serene!

Don't change too much on the reflection. You don't want it to blend in to the actual body of the swan. You could soften the shade of the neck's reflection to be closer to the body's reflection if that would make you happier with the reflection, but if you do, then I hope you find another way to incorporate more of the dark blue. It's very striking and helps the lighter hues sing.

Cherie in Del Mar said...

What a beautiful and serene quilt! It is really lovely. I agree that I would like to see the reflection of the neck softened a bit. What if you added an overlay of chiffon or tulle in a shade or two lighter? And your idea of painting the wake...what if you use, very sparingly, a bit of white irridescent paint to suggest white water ripples?
Super interpretation of the challenge...

Cherie

Cynthia Ann Morgan said...

Hi Carole,
This is a lovely piece...your swan is so graceful and the blues are very soothing. I agree the shadow of the neck of the swan is a bit dark and too eye catching. The other commentors had good ideas to try on lightening it. I have one comment/question: Did you quilt the water quilting lines through the shadow of the swan or around it? I can't tell from the photo. That's something to consider. In real life the shadow would show under the ripples. (but this isn't real life!)

Very nice job, Carole. I look forward to seeing more of your work.
Cynthia