Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Make Visual Decisions. . . Visually

Spent the last couple of days picking out just the right fabrics for the Jinny Beyer challenge.  There were so many ways I could have gone with this project it wasn't an easy task.  I finally decided I would go with a gray pinkish kind of look.  With that, the first three just fell into place.  Then the dreaded foreground.  None of my stash fabrics really worked so the auditioning started. . . . .

First, I tried to paint/draw my foreground with my new Inktense pencils.  I hadn't tried them before but they were real easy to use.  All I did was used a brush to wet my fabric with water and then started blending the colors I wanted.  I did it right there on my cutting mat and just cleaned up the mess with a rag after!  I liked the results of the pencils - but wasn't too keen on how it looked with the project.  I felt it was way too purple and way too cool looking!  So off that came.  










Next I tried a dyed fabric from my stash - a Judy Robertson piece.  Way too BOLD AND INTENSE!
But I did like the warmness of the colors.

 Soo onto the next attempt!  I took back out my Inktense pencils and tried painting a new foreground in a warmer color way.  It was too light and too pastel for my tastes!  Still it looked like I was getting there!!

Finally. . . I took that down and repainted it - twice (grin!) until I got it just the way I wanted it.  One thing I learned is from using the pencils is that they will look way darker and bolder wet  than dry.  So I had to really layer the colors on to get the look I was after.
I'm all happy with this one!  It has just the look I was aiming for and the depth of values are right.  Now I just have to take it off the design board and re-pin everything nice-nice and start sewing.  Ugh! Not looking forward to sewing down all those little stones!

6 comments:

Karen S said...

Oooh -- it's looking great! I love my Inktense pencils, but they are pretty intense. You're making me want to get them out and play!

Carol A. Babineau said...

Nice job - looks fabulous! Thanks for the process steps too.

quilthexle said...

Wow - you went through a lot of experiments, but they were worth it. I love the light shadow on that way !

Glen QuiltSwissy said...

Never heard of thos Inktense Pencils. Must need a trip to the Art Co-op store!

Your archway looks fabulous. I am impressed!
glen

Marilyn Wall said...

Nina-Marie I love the fact that when you didn't like a piece you kept going until you found a piece that worked. I tell my students this and sometimes they say "But I've already cut it out, I don't want to waste the fabric". To me you can waste a whole piece by not changing out what doesn't suit you. Looks great!

Anonymous said...

Great piece! I often use Inktense pencils and know what you mean about wet and dry color. I have found that I get a little more intense color if I use them on dry fabric and then wet them.

Even better than using water to wet the pencil colors, use the clear (no color) aloe gel you can buy at the drugstore. You will get better color and a lot less running/bleeding.

I've also heard you can use fabric medium instead of water too, but the aloe gel gives you the best control and color, especially in any detailed areas.

These pencil colors are permanent on fabric when dry so you don't have to add fabric medium. Some people let the colors dry, then also heat set them with dry iron just as an added precaution. Great pencils!

Note: If you use another type of pencil such as Prismacolor (sp?), then you should use a fabric medium on top of them to help make them permanent. Clear aloe gel works well on these other pencils too, but only if you don't plan to wash the piece. I've never tried these other pencils so I can't verify how well they would wash with fabric medium added. Always test first.