Thursday, March 01, 2007

Lady in Red


Here is my Lady In Red. I had fun with this challenge and it shows me that I need additional work in the "value" area, which I have known for some time. I like how her dress came out, but am disappointed over the lack of definition between the walls and the floor. Initially there was not enough value difference between the woman and the background, so to solve that problem, I added a layer of sheer to the background (walls, ceiling and floor). Unfortunately, that made the floor sort of fade into the walls and not have enough definition of it's own. This has been a great exercise for me and one I will revisit again because using the monochromatics forces me to concentrate on value.......an area of weakness for me. Comments are always welcome. Thanks for any feedback.

6 comments:

Carole said...

Deb... She is lovely. I see what you mean re the floor and the walls. If you have layered the whole of the piece behind the lady, can you remove the part that covers the floor? That will make a difference. I have done that to bring out certain areas if I have used tuille or organza.
[And thank you for the comment on my piece.]Carole

laura west kong said...

Certainly I think you could cut out the tulle from the floor area.

I like the graphic folds you used in the dress. That really makes it swing!
laura k

Deb Z said...

Thank you both for your comments and yes, I have considered removing the piece of tulle from the "floor" but am concerned that then the floor would be too close in value to her dress, which is the real focal point of the piece. Oh, dilemma, dilemma!

Cherie in Del Mar said...

What if instead of removing the tulle from the floor, you add another layer, maybe even another color, to either lighten or darken the floor? Or perhaps paint over it, say faint lines to represent floor boards? In all, a fun and well executed piece...

Cherie

Tina Marie Rey said...

The problem with distinquishing the floor from the walls (which i didnt even know they were until i read your discription) is that to make walls and a floor in a corner of a room, your stitching needs to be an upside down Y - Like this;
|
|
/ \

( i hope it comes out right) I did a room for my edgar allen poe quilt and line is stronger than color - se we see the lines, as more of an X on the quilt, not the upside down Y - Look at a corner in your room - you will see.. the dress did some out beautifully and it looks great otherwise, i hope this helped!

Cynthia Ann Morgan said...

Hi Deb. I don't see the problem with the floor...where does the floor start and end? I saw her in a long and narrow room because of the perspective the lines created. I wouldn't change anything on this piece. It's lovely!

Keep trying different things with value on your pieces...you'll be successful because you see it! Try something unexpected or out of the range you "think" will look right...you'll recognize the right combination of values because it feels right.

I look forward to seeing more of your work
Cynthia