Embroidered Collage

  This watercolor sketch that I had made in the Netherlands kept coming up in my brain, along with the ideas I had originally had on how I could take it further.  So I tried a couple larger sketches the other day  Since I was looking for a square piece I actually ended up grabbing a piece of scrapbook sized cardstock, 12"x12", which is also going to be the finished size of the piece.

I then began gathering materials.  I went through my shoeboxes of fancy fabric scraps and pulled out the blues and aquas and beiges.  I was looking for both good color combinations between the three landscape elements and for the right textures.  The sky needed to be smoother than the ocean, which could be solid or wavy, while the beige needed to be on the rougher-looking side.  I wanted the red to be a little shiny and bright. 

I actually found two good sets and was having trouble choosing between them, so I continued to the next step with both.  I imagined having some photographic realism as a contrast to the fabric and to the bottom layer of painted canvas, so I delved into the magazines, looking for the colors and textures that went with the fabric sets.  I think that just cutting up the magazine when I need a piece will be better for my current working style than trying to cut them up ahead of time, as I had been doing.

  I decided to start with the more muted set of colors.  The sky and beach pieces seem to be silk duipoini and the ocean is some kind of moire.  As I painted the canvas, trying to match the colors, I was surprised to see the painting turned out much brighter than I would have anticipated, though I'm not sure that's clear with the lighting on the photograph.  I was really thinking that it would be greyer.  It still might be by the time I'm done.  The beach presented a difficulty I should have expected - the fabric has metallic tones in it, which I had trouble capturing.  I'm thinking that this initial background needs a great deal more work in patterning and color before I move on.

I cut out the kite from the sketch and used it as a pattern to cut a piece of Peltex, which I then trimmed a bit to a good shape.  I wrapped the form in red satin, carefully stitching around the edges with a perle cotton.  This will be the focal point, and not just because of it's color.  I want to embroider elaborate lines horizontally across it, using different threads and adding beads as well.  I laid out the squares of fabric and the Peltex kite piece on the canvas so I could see where I was headed.