Size: 14.5" x 10.5"
Susan Brittingham
My husband is a windsurfer, so it was a natural choice to use the image of a windsurfer in order to capture the idea of motion and translate it into visual form.
I found a photo, cropped and enlarged it, then made a line drawing of the image which I printed onto stabilizer. I used mainly batiks and hand-dyes and a few odd scraps to applique the scene. The sail has an overlay of organza to simulate the transparency of a sail.
I used thread painting as my "embellishment". The bridge in the background is rendered in thread, the wake and the waves are also partially thread painted and there is thread work to suggest the marsh grasses in the distance. I used variegated thread to quilt the water and tried to include whitecaps each time the thread changed to a light color. The quilting in the sky is an attempt to suggest the wind.
I welcome any comments or critiques.
Posts
3 comments:
Susan,
Your threadwork is wonderful. From the quilting in the sky and the use of variegated thread and making whitecaps each time the thread became paler...that it genius.
I wish i could see a much larger photo, i wasn't aware that the wash and the wake is threadwork...i thought it was fabric.
Overlaying organa on the sail, a great idea.
I can feel the windsurfer digging his heels in, using his body strength.
My only suggestion is that perhaps there is too much contrast between the white wash and the green water.
You have put so much detail into this piece and i would love to have a larger view.
Anna.
Hi Susan, great capture of movement and wonderful construction and quilting! What would it look like with a bit more white water...maybe a fainter S shape above the tail of the wake and a few whitecaps here and there?
Great job and I look forward to seeing more of your work!
Cynthia
Thank you Anna and Cynthia for taking the time to comment. Anna, you are right, the wake is mostly fabric with thread painting to soften the edges. I wrote "thread" when I meant to write "thread painting". I have tried to edit my blog entry and state that more precisely.
I certainly can see the point that both of you make about the amount of contrast between the green water and the white. I was working from a print out of a digital photo in which the contrast was strong, but more white caps in the water would probably help. My windsurfing consultant seemed to think the wake itself is OK.
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