Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Finally - New Work For 2009

I have finally completed a couple of small pieces to start the year. These are for 2 of my friends and will be given to them tomorrow. We decided to exchange 5x7 pieces of art and thought it might be best to wait until after the holidays after things had settled down a bit. This first piece is called '17 Mile Drive'. This is based on a picture I took on a trip to California last year. I love the trees along the coast of Monterrey Bay that look like they are just handing onto the rocks above the water. I used commercial fabrics for everything but the sky/water which is hand painted. I used colored pencils to add highlights and shading to the tree trunk and rocks. This is for my friend Suzanne.

The second piece is call 'Tuscan View' and is based on a picture that I took in Italy a couple of years ago. My friend Vickie will be receiving this. She went to Italy this year and I thought this might remind her of her trip. The center landscape is all commercial fabrics. The arch is painted warm and natural. It was a bear to sew through since behind it is some of the landscape, another layer of batting, stabilizer and the backing. I snapped 2 needles on the quilting.

These were fun little pieces to create but I need to get busy on some serious work.

7 comments:

pcoxdesign said...

These pieces are lovely. I have had a hard time getting back into the swing of things also. But doing small sizes like this are a great way to get the creative juices flowing. Cheers!
Loved your goals for the year too!

morningDove said...

I love Monterey, these are great pieces of art. both your friends should be delighted.

Pam said...

These are lovely. I too remember the trees at Monterey. You have two lucky friends. What type of paints did you use on the Warm and Natural?

NEEDLEWINGS said...

I lived in Italy for a summer when hubby was in the air force. It very much looks like it! The girls should certainly pleased with their pieces:)

Judy Alexander said...

I painted the warm and natural with acrylic craft paint. It gives the surface a stiff feel but does give good coverage. Maybe I will try fabric paint next time for a softer feel and easier to sew through.

Michele/TextileTraveler said...

These are beautiful, Judy. I especially love the "arch" piece. Sometimes it's a nice break to do small pieces like these before getting back to the "real work."

Vivien Zepf said...

Lucky friends! I love the trees in Monterey, too. I think you did a great job capturing how they look.