Art is moving along

Art is something I have known all my life. As an artist you take risks every day, you try something and see how it works. You try a different color, a different technique, a new material. This new way may not work, or it may work or it may just have to hibernate until you find a way to work it into what you are working on at the time.

So as an artist you face change on a regular basis but it does not mean it is easy. I am always wanting to search for the piece of the puzzle, the correct color, the right way to make that stitch to lay correctly. Or just trying to find a way to interpret what I envision in my head to the art I am working on. I have to just keep trying, keep moving and sometimes that means trying something, accepting or letting it “vegetate” for a day 0r two and then decide if it works.

I am working on a commission piece right now. While working from a photo taken by the client, I am trying my best to stick to the details. The lake and shore need to be as accurate as possible, the aspen tree needs to come across too. All these details are what this work is about but how to approach that without it overwhelming me?

Well I just keep moving, trying new ways and new techniques but mostly I keep moving because it is what an artist does, take chances and see what comes from those risks taken.

Here is the work in progress for this commission. The sky, background trees and lake started with commercial fabric then overlaid with colored pencil. The aspen trees have some colored pencil along with my new favorite tool, alcohol makers to make the dark black of the bark. The white house in the middle ground is fabric for the boat house, colored pencil, dock is colored pencil and some black thread on the cross hatch of the dock.

As you can see from this picture I need to add the dark green leaves for the aspen trees, and do a lot of stitching in the foreground for the grasses and the flowers. Plan to use the movement of the grass fabric with overlay of stitching. But as I said in this post, I need to keep moving.