just finished the sunset collage...

Here it is in my office, awaiting its new home in Seattle.

The denim you see is from Andy's old jeans. he!

Good night!

it's the end of a rainy day...

I made some progress on the sunset collage today... slow going but I think it will be satisfying when done.

The cloudy sky outside is lighting up my silky sun!

I don't know what I'd do without you, my beautiful German machine.

Sunset Fabric Collage Update

I've been working on the sunset collage, and here's what it looks like at this point.


Some pieces are missing because I don't have all the right colors. I'm going to have to make a trip to the fabric store tomorrow... uh oh, Joann's has become a very dangerous place for me!

Here are some more pictures of how I got to this point.

picking colors, using my handy dandy fabric swatches

pretty piles of fabric =)

I cut the pieces out of paper first

then I cut the fabric using the paper shapes to guide me

pink and green! That's one of my favorite color combinations. hehe.

all the pieces for the water

That's it for my photo journal today!

Sunset Fabric Collage - Work in Progress

Many thanks to Janelle and Fausto for commissioning this fabric collage! I'm having so much fun with this one! Here's the vector graphic that I just finished. I'll use this as a pattern to cut out the fabric pieces.

Here are some pictures showing the steps I took to make the vector graphic.

reference photo I used

initial drawing from the reference photo

I drew some new plants (the first ones I drew just weren't doin' it for me.)

At 30 by 30 inches, this will be one of the biggest fabric collages I've done. I've always liked working on a large scale, and I'm excited to see how it turns out!

I'm also really enjoying the subject. It's rare for me to do landscapes, and it's actually pretty liberating! I'm allowing myself to have more of an abstract approach, focusing on the form and space rather than literally representing what's in the photo.

Yay! I label today a success! =)

Preita the Polar Bear

Preita is such a pretty Finnish name. I just stumbled across it and thought it perfect for the portrait. It means "most loving one."

Polar bears roll in the snow to clean their fur...

down the hill she goes!

This pose was inspired by my cat, Luther.
He loves to roll around on his back...

detail of the trees in the background

I'm proud of this portrait because it includes movement, expression, and an interesting background. I feel that I've met a lot of previous challenges as well as the last one, which was to choose an animal based on an interesting behavior, and illustrate that behavior.

Discovery - drawing from a small sculpture, or maquette works well too
Lesson - look to other artists for inspiration (shout out to Charley Harper!)
Challenge - two animals fighting or one animal hunting another

(To view the study, sculpture, drawing, and vector graphic for this portrait, please view a previous post.)

Polar Bear Portrait

Polar bears typically roll around in the snow to clean their fur. Looks like fun, doesn't it!? Hope you enjoy these pics of my progress on the next portrait.

the study

the sculptures (just maquettes this time)

the drawing

the drawing with added background

the vector graphic

I also started on the fabric collage. Here are some pictures of my progress so far. I was particularly excited to use some recycled fabric in this one.

a skirt I found at the thrift store

trees in the background

loose peices ready to be sewn together