A while ago, in a moment of madness, I offered to make my friend a wall canvas for her new home. I say mad, because we have completely different tastes, likes, well everything! Eek.
I thought ahead and got her to make me a mood board of things she liked, colours that would work in her house etc. and this is what she came up with. In hindsight I think that copying one of the above would have been the safer option, but I didn't. Ho hum.
Here is what I have so far. I got a bit impatient waiting for the fabric paint to dry, so have started pinning a few bits into place. I intend to applique them all on in a bright pink thread. I also need to actually sew the two pieces of fabric together (I didn't want to get paint on the stitching).
I might also stitch a few more details to the branches on the blue side (in blue so they provide a bit of texture), and I'm debating whether or not to add a bit of padding to the bird.
The thing is, I'm not sure if I like it or not...
I'm also not sure if it needs something top left, or if the white space works. I know I've been staring at it all day, so am probably drained of all creativity, but it's missing something right?
Ugh. Why couldn't I just buy flowers like everyone else?
Hey Jen -
ReplyDeleteI think you're off to a great start! You're definitely giving your friend what she asked for - the your representation of the flourishes and the color scheme are spot on.
You're right - it does look unfinished. There are a lot of elements that have the same "hierarchy". (Meaning, when I look at them, they all have the same level of importance. The grey/black swirls, while they are bigger and darker, are balanced by the pink [flowers?] because those are bold hits of color). Your vision of adding more details (the pink contrast stitching, the blue tonal elements) will help create some more depth and interest.
If you add more blue details on the right panel, would they be more flourishes, smaller, branching off of the main "tree"? That would be a really nice touch.
One thing - the bird gets lost right now. Were you planning on stitching it with pink, too? That might help him pop out more.
Once you have added more of those details, I think you'll have a better idea of how to handle the white space. I don't think you're far enough along yet to really make that decision. If anything, you could always add some light blue swirls that bleed off of the upper left corner. They'd be subtle, but it would still be something to ground it.
Does that all make sense? I think it looks really good already, and you have some great ideas that will help it look finished.
What a lucky friend!
-emily