Tuesday, May 29, 2007

Coyote Hills Marsh

Whole cloth quilt, painted, 13 x 8.5

Inspired by the work of Deidre Adams, I decided to make a whole cloth quilt, quilt first, and then paint with acrylic paints.

Updated 5/30/2007 to answer questions:

I used the photo as a guide to put texture where I thought the grasses might go. All of the quilting and painting was done unmarked.

I used ordinary acrylic paints. I thought from looking at Deidre's quilts that slightly diluted paint would settle where the stitching was, but it didn't work like I expected. If the paint was diluted or if the quilt was damp, the paint tended to distribute itself evenly regardless of stitching. I got the textured look with darker seams by letting the quilt dry completely and then painting over it with lighter brighter colors, a fairly dry bush, and undiluted paint.

An article was done about Deidre Adams and her quilts in the Winter 2006 issue of Quilting Arts. She works very abstractly, and her quilts are full of wonderful texture. Some of her quilting includes crosshatching and overlapping spirals which I have not used before, so I have tried these in this quilt.

5 comments:

  1. It never occured to me to do things in reverse like this before. You used the photo for an outline for quilting? What did you use to paint it, dyes or paints? You did a remarkable job interpreting the picture in textile. I love it

    Cherie

    ReplyDelete
  2. I'm impressed with the effect you get by quilting first. It seems (or actually does) take the paint better at the stitching, leaving a lighter wash on the unstitched areas. Very effective.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Such a sense of serenity... good work! I think I'll get out the acrylics!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Cool idea on quilting first will have to give it a try.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hi Linda,
    This is a wonderful piece! I really like the effect of the quilting of overlapping lines and circles...very rich texture and depth. The painting is really good, especially the foggy/misty feel and the reflection of the grasses.
    Inspiring!
    Cynthia

    ReplyDelete

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.