Purple Sunset

18" x 21"

While late, this was a fast project nonetheless, started Wednesday June 11th, finished Wednesday June 18th.

I had just gotten back on the 10th from two weeks away, and found a packet of purple fat quarters, so I added them to my bag o' fabric which I brought to the guild room for "Open Paint" day Wednesday.  A friend had a photo of a seaside sunset which caught my eye, and I set out to try to recreate that scene.

I rearranged elements a bit, and put the sailboat closer to center rather enlarged -- which then meant that I needed to put in a larger building than the little one I had inserted.  Then the tree at left didn't feel right, and it got overlaid with a larger tree with just a bit of outlining.  The yellow part of the sunset was then overlaid with just a bit of Angelina fiber, and it was done!  I took it the evening after I finished it to the meeting of the Framingham Artists Guild, where it won the "Art of the Month" award!

I look forward to your comments.

French Lilacs

8.5" x 10"
Cotton, seed beads, twine and fusible

I am currently at loose ends with my studio in storage so I needed a project that I could do by hand and this one fit the bill.  Created with a split compliment of purple, green and blue, I just couldn't resist recreating these beautiful lilacs in cloth.  Each flower petal was individually cut in the shape of a 1/2" hexagram and secured with a seed bead - all 275 of them!  I plan on finishing this piece by placing it into a portrait finish once my studio is back up and running again.

Matisse's Rex Begonia

I was fortunate to see a lot of the cut-out works of Matisse in Washington DC with my Mom in about 1977. They had been on my mind again, so in early May I tracked this book down at the public library (ISBN 9783791334738).

Drawing with Scissors book cover

I was thinking that begonias, which I love, could be a good candidate for cutout treatment. I grow other varieties of begonias (there are hundreds), because I always kill Rex Begonias. So I made a quilt!

Rex begonia, from Rhode Island Begonia

I chose the 'Royal' association for purple, and then I used the Pantone app, which is fun, to come up with a split complementary color scheme. It's one I've never consciously worked with, and I'm glad I tried it!
The initial layout was representational - pot at bottom, leaves coming out, and it looked awful. So I pulled the book out and came up with this layout, and the title.
Thanks for looking and for your critiques. - Lisa

The Colour Purple

I had an entirely different idea when I sat down with this last Sunday, but that went south really fast, so Monday morning I started painting the fabric and Tyvek.  Tuesday I had it on the frame, and late Tuesday started the beading.  It  has been quite awhile ( years) since I did a Tyvek piece and I had forgotten how elegant they can be.  The fused glass cabochon was commissioned from a local glass worker, June Derksen, for an entirely different design, but works very well here.  The beads include fresh water pearls and amethyst, as well as a variety of glass beads, and even a couple of sequins.

Purple because of its symbolism as being rich and rare.  I chose an analogous colour scheme, and painted in Seta-Color Parma Purple, Fuschia, and Cobalt Blue.  I generally use a cool palette, and analogous schemes are my preference.  But when the painting was done, I really felt I had to add the gold, which turned this into a split complement.  The piece will be mounted and framed

Challenge 93: The Colour Purple

Host: Pat Findlay

Title: The Colour Purple

Theme: Exploring colour theory

Technique: Use of the Colour Wheel

Due date: May 31, 2014

Did you know that purple was the colour chosen to represent the Suffragette Movement?  Or that Feminism adopted purple, as a theme colour, in honour of that association? 

The challenge will be to create a piece that uses the colour purple in a symbolic way. 

Technique:  use the colour wheel to create a specific colour arrangement,( i.e.complementary. analogous, split complement etc.) one  that must  include the colour purple.  Tell us a bit of how you decided which colours to use, and how the symbolism associated with the colour purple influenced your choice.

Resources:

Symbolism and psychology surrounding the colour purple. Everything  you ever wanted to know about the colour purple, and more:  http://tinyurl.com/FFFC93-1 or  http://www.sensationalcolor.com/color-meaning/color-meaning-symbolism-psychology/all-about-the-color-purple-4329#.UrObEPRDsw4         

The Color Purple: Understand Its Hidden Meaning for Art & Design: http://tinyurl.com/FFFC93-2 or www.finearttips.com/2010/09the-color-purple-understand-its-hidden-meaning-for-art-design

A quick reference of the use of purple in fashion and art since the Renaissance: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/purple#the_middle_ages_and-the-renaissance 

Symbolism associated with the colour purple:  www.colormatters.com/purple 

How to use a colour wheel: http://tinyurl.com/FFFC93-3 or tympanus.net/codrops/2012/02/28/principles-of-color-and-the-color-wheel

The Many Meanings of Violet / Purple: http://www.color-wheel-artist.com/meanings-of-violet.html

Examples of purple in art work:

Monet: http://tinyurl.com/FFFC93-4 or http://fineartamerica.com/featured/a-pathway-in-monets-garden-giverny-claude-monet.html

The Purple Cat -- quilted art work: http://stegart.blogspot.com/2010/07/purple-cat.html

Quilts and Color: http://tinyurl.com/FFFC93-5 or http://www.mfa.org/exhibitions/quilts-and-color?gclid=COWzj_nuv74CFdF9OgodsSYAOA

And one more thing: have fun with this! :)