Tuesday, July 26, 2011

reminded me of something


Stuck in a rut, predictable? I like to think of it as style - my fondness for the horizontal format. This is what I am working on now, the paper is Colourfix (sanded pastel paper), and the image is 6 1/2" high and 23" long. I think of this piece as a cousin to Neptune's Leaves (NL can be seen in my right sidebar and a segment of it is in my header). The main similarity is that the background is going to be a gradation combo of aquamarine and teal-ish colours. Also, the subject matter is based on leaves which shall be funked up according to my imagination.

The inspiration comes from pictures I took of one of my hosta plants. The shape of the leaves and the graceful curving lines were what got me. As I looked at my small preliminary sketch of these two leaf shapes, I kept having the thought that the lines in the leaves reminded me of something. Once I worked my drawing up to the 23 inch long version, I saw it - the lines remind me of the curved ridges on the throat of a humpback whale! Humpback Hostas, how is that for an obtuse title? :-) 

As you probably can tell, I am letting the tooth of the paper show so that I can benefit from the glow of the red paper. By the time I have all my layers on, the tooth shall be more covered more but the red shall still be influencing the look of the piece. No burnishing here. My favourite medium of art work to look at is pastel so when working on sanded papers, I like my work to have a sense of pastel about them.

Summer is whizzing by, it shall be August in a few days. I was sorting some garden pics last night. When I saw the lilac pictures, I was struck by how having all the lilac bushes in bloom seemed such a long time ago...I would like to hit some sort of summer pause button!

6 comments:

Lynda Schumacher said...

The shapes and colors you have going in this one are lovely and intriguing, Teresa.......look forward to seeing it progress.

Jennifer Rose said...

i thought that the lines reminded me of something. they do look a lot like a humpback whale throat :D

Ann said...

I am also looking forward to seeing this one progress. Very interesting so far! If you locate that pause button, please let me know where to find it :-)

Paula Pertile said...

I miss my lilacs too! They were here, then gone in a flash. I can still smell them in my mind though.
Love the humpback hostas! Can't wait to see them evolve.

Ester Roi said...

Oh yes, I can definitely see the throat ridges of a humpback whale. What a great association! I love how uniquely you interpret nature by making colors and shapes your own. I can't wait to see it finished!

Teresa Mallen said...

Well goodness, look at all the nice comments that have popped in.
Thanks everyone for your interest in seeing this progress, I feel no pressure, LOL and Jennifer Rose and Ester can see the Humpback association - wow - so I am not off my beam! Good to know. Thanks for reading ladies and thank you for taking the time to comment. You are all so kind! :-)