Okay I am finally back to work….at least a little. I pulled a piece back out that I worked on in January but wasn’t happy with. Remember this?
Someone suggested that I add a sheer fabric over the top. That got me thinking. If I only did the bottom half, it would look like buildings reflected in water. Cool. Today I fould the only piece of sheer fabric I have and tried it out:
Nope. Too shiny, not me. So I decided to add more quilting but use only dark thread on the bottom half and light on the top. Here are the results:
Not enough contrast. Now what? I remembered the Shiva paint sticks I got a while back and tried a few out on a practice quilting scrap. Not bad. Decided I am not liking this piece anyway so I might as well go for it.
Okay, definitely more contrast here. But does it look like I ran over it with my car? This is mostly black so I decided to add some dark blue. I want it to look intentional, not just dirty!
Here is a close up:
I like the way the quilting lines show up like waves. Still not sold on this though, not even close. Not sure what to do next. I think it looks more unfinished than ever. Thinking I should have left it alone entirely. I will leave it pinned up and think about it a while. This is the first time I have ever tried paint on a quilt and obviously have a lot to learn. Maybe this is just not my thing.
The horizon line bothers me and I don’t know how to fix it. I welcome any comments, you won’t offend me even if you tell me it is part of the crap quota! Any ideas would be most welcome as well. Please fire away!
KatyQuilts 
Hi there..my suggestion would be to use a silver shiva stick, and do a similar rub, but go up and down or sort of kitty corner to the previous rubbing. It will give it more dimension, and will less the “run over by a car” thing that is bothering you! 🙂 I definitely think this is a good start!
Wow! You are all amazing! Thanks so much for taking the time to look at this and offer suggestions!
Sue ,Carol, Heather, Diane~ you are all right about the horizon line.
I wish I had some extender before I started this! Part of the learning curve I guess.
I actualy went back and added more paint, trying to add some lights as you suggested. I didn’t have a lot of time for this so it is likely pretty dry by this morning. I am thinking this will end up purely a learning piece so I might as wel really have at it!
I will post more pics later today. Thanks again to everyone!
Okay. The suggestions you’ve received are all good. My only comment would be to make sure you have a surprise for the viewer somewhere on the quilt. That could be a change in color, add a complementary color to what you already have, etc.. You can invite the viewer into your piece by not finishing it totally. Allow them to complete your piece by drawing on their own experiences. They’ll love it. I’m sure of that.
This might be too risky, but my inclination would be to use a thin dye or paint to darken the entire lower area, let dry, then use a lighter color of the paint sticks on it. Would try it on a sample first!
Hi!
Just read your description on Quilt Art and laughed out loud.
I would suggest using more colors and blending them a little right on top of what you’ve already done. I’d also choose some lighter colors and do some painting on the top. If you have some of the irridescent colors the sky would be a good place for them.
When I’ve done this I haven’t let the colors dry completely between applications. I think that would make them harder to blend.
Moving the horizon line up a little might help. I think you’d have a hard time moving it down.
Good luck!
I think everyone has pretty much covered it–raise the horizon line, blend, and add high- and lowlights. My motto is, “if you don’t like it, keep adding stuff until you do” (or until it’s so awful you have to throw it out, but 99.9% of the time, adding works!).
I like it very much. I agree that the difference between the top and bottom should be greater….using more shiva sticks and some with shimmer.
Move the horizon up and use masking tape to make sure that the line is really clearly defined. Put the shiva stick onto the masking tape and brush it onto the quilt. will give you a really straight line.
Keep going. I am so literal, I wish I could come up with nice abstracts like that.
Katy, I really like your work. And I like this piece. I agree that the horizon shouldn’t be in the exact middle — much better to lower or raise it a little. And I also like the suggestion to vary the color of the paint — it is too even.
Dear Katy,
I like your starting piece, and I think you’re heading in the right direction. Try adding darker darks, with maybe some blending as Mathea suggested. When the darks are dark enough, bring in some highlights, perhaps some gold like Diane said.
I think more will be better in this piece. Good luck!
Kathy, love the texture the paintstix add and agree with Diane’s suggestion above. Add more, making the sunset overlay the skyline instead of lie behind it. Neat. Debbie Bein
I like how it is going… I will suggest that you vary the color of paint you added to the bottom… adding some lighter and some darker.
Have fun!
The horizontal line is smack dab in the middle. Maybe that is what bothers you about it…
Do you have more colors? Hit it with some gold. If not Shiva, brayer on some plain acrylic paint that is tranparent. Raise up the horizontal line by adding even more black and blue. Use the golden mean as a guide for the division of top and bottom. Then finish off the top with a lighter color of paint.
I do have a suggestion , why don’t you paint with a small brush some areas, inside the quilting? Maybe going from dark to light?
Of the 3 photos I like the paintstick one the best. It really does accent the quilting.
Robin
Actually, I like the piece. It does have an unfinished feel to it. I think maybe using a colorless blender on the shiva paintsticks to blend some of them into the quilted ridges may help give it more of a sense of reflective waviness.