Archive | July, 2016

“Ray Turner: Population”

By Ellen Lindner on July 29, 2016 in Uncategorized

You wouldn’t think that three galleries of “head shot” portraits would be that interesting. But, it really was. In the hands of painter Ray Turner, each person not only looks different, but in many cases, their personalities shine through.

This grouping was on the main wall at the Foosaner Art Museum, in Melbourne, FL.

Can you see how the background colors shift slightly?

As with every exhibit he does, the center column and center row are portraits of local “celebrities” and museum personnel. The very center portrait is of Anthony Cantanese, the outgoing president of our local college. To the left are his wife and the incoming president. You get the idea.

The portrait below was photographed from several feet away.

It was intriguing to come in close and notice the details. There was quite a bit of texture in the paint. Also, because each portrait was painted on special glass that’s 3/8″ thick each one had an unexpected depth, as well as a shadow.

The artist also experimented with how little information he could provide and still have the face be recognizable.

He tried one with no color.

And another with just a little yellow.

Could you tell that both of those last two were the same person? I’ll bet you could. It’s amazing how little information is really needed to convey an idea.

I always enjoy a visit to an art museum. I hope you’ve been able to visit one or two this summer.

Ellen Lindner

New Abstract Under Way

By Ellen Lindner on July 25, 2016 in Uncategorized

After having so much fun on the last abstract quilt, I’ve started on another one. I’m allowing the first to inspire the second, but making LOTS of changes.

This was my starting sketch.

I thought I’d probably ROUGHLY copy the background, but with plenty of alterations as they occurred to me. Right off the bat, I knew I wanted to add some undulation to the central vertical shape, and I also thought it would benefit from the addition of some yellow. I spent a little time studying the background, then I put the sketch away. After all, I didn’t want to copy it!

I started construction by using scraps to create the central shape. I left all the odd points in place, thinking they’d help me decide where to take the undulation.

That was just the start. Next, I added more fabrics – this time very purposefully – to create the undulation I wanted.

MUCH more interesting, don’t you think?

Next, came the left background. I used a couple of print fabrics to create a sort of soft/fuzzy edge where the two orange/rust and blue-green met. (Sorry for the pathetic focus.)

After making progress on the left side, above, I auditioned some additional elements as well as color placement for the background. The skinny navy line and the orange squiggle near it did not make the cut! I was doubtful that they would, but you have to make visual decisions visually. You HAVE to do some trial and error!

I added white and yellow and worked on the background on the right side. It was coming along nicely.

I finished the background, but wanted to add some little squiggles of color.

However, the orange above took over. Not a good choice.

How about yellow?

Ah, yes. That’s much better!
Did you notice that I changed the shape of the yellow on the right, too?

At this point I considered the background complete. It was time to consider the design elements. Clearly, I’d need to repeat the white and orange. Per the sketch, I thought I’d need a good bit of orange in the bottom right corner, to balance that in the opposing corner.

Ellen Lindner
P.S. Just for kicks, scroll back to the top of this post to see how much I deviated from the sketch. But, that’s FINE! As a matter of fact, it was my plan. The sketch – especially with abstract designs – is meant to be the starting point only. All of this is very fun.

Will This Pear be Famous?

By Ellen Lindner on July 21, 2016 in Uncategorized

Will this green pear be famous? I certainly hope so!

It’s the sample I’ll be using when teaching Double Reverse Applique on Quilting Arts TV! That’s right, I’m going to be on TV!!! To say I’m excited is putting it VERY mildly!

I’ve been spending lots of time making samples and “step outs,” practicing, and timing myself. (Right now I’m too long, so I’ll have to work on that.)

This technique is only one of three I’ll be doing! The other two are on Design Tips and Using a Photo as Inspiration for a Quilt. All 3 of these are close to my heart, and I’m super excited to be working on them.

Taping is in September, but I have to have my ducks in a row much sooner. What fun projects!

Ellen Lindner
P.S. Learn more about Double Reverse Applique with these resources:
DRA Gallery
Ebook
Online class description
Live class description
Blog Post

Fabric Twig

By Ellen Lindner on July 16, 2016 in Uncategorized

Sometimes you just need to wrap a twig in fabric.

Update: Degen asked about my technique, so here’s some more information:

At my local quilt store they save the tiny strips cut from fabric as they create fat quarters. Then, they bag them up and sell them. These are what I used, which means they’re cut on grain. I didn’t use any glue. I started like a bandage: lay the strip down in the area you’re about to cover and start wrapping. When I changed colors, I’d leave a tail of the first color and cover it in the same fashion with the new one. At the ends, I had to tie a few knots.

I’ve also used these fabrics for knitting. See this post.

Ellen Lindner

Liquefy and Crop

By Ellen Lindner on July 12, 2016 in Uncategorized

Are you playing along with me? If so, you’ve printed out the liquefied image from the previous post and you’ve found some small compositions within it.

I found ten, but I’m only showing you four of them.

Again, any one of them would be a great start to an abstract quilt. What did you find?

Later, I wanted to select one or two of my compositions for the next stage of experimenting. The first thing I did was to turn them all upside down. That gave me a new perspective.

I chose two and cropped them SOME MORE! Maybe you can find their points of origin in the images above.

Finally, I began to play with the image above and to turn it into a viable sketch.

Maybe this?

Or, with slightly altered colors:

Hmm, yes. I think that’s a good starting point. As with Brainstorm, I won’t try to perfectly replicate the sketch. I’ll use it as reference to get me started, but then – once again – take plenty of detours. I’m already thinking I’ll add a little yellow. We’ll see.

Ellen Lindner

Taking Detours

By Ellen Lindner on July 8, 2016 in Uncategorized

When I’m in experimental mode, my plan is to take every creative detour that pops into my head. What an Adrenalin surge that is!

After completing Brainstorm I wanted to continue to work in the loose, experimental way I had when creating it. First, I wanted to play with colors. I figured I’d probably use the same ones I’d used in Brainstorm, but perhaps in different proportions. Hmm, how to best audition my options? Since my Brainstorm fabrics were still strewn all over my work table, I could have easily pinned them to my design wall. But, I decided to do some coloring on the computer, instead. (I used Photoshop Elements, but you could do lots of this with colored pencils and paper.)

I opened a picture of Brainstorm and digitally “sampled” the most prominent colors. That is, I copied them. I loaded my digital paint brush with each one in turned and slathered them onto a plain sheet of digital paper. I tried to do it without a lot of thought. I used the same size brush throughout and my only criteria was to spread the colors around.

Well THAT was fun!

As you can see I also drew on a few motifs that I thought I might use at some point.

I was pretty floored at this point, because either of these could be tweaked a little and turned into a wonderful quilt background. Wow, what a concept!

Next, I decided to make blocks of color in a computer file that I could fill in with the colors. I didn’t intend to make a blocky quilt; I just wanted to play with proportions.

Woah, another good result. What’s going on here? I like these proportions a lot.

But, as I said, I didn’t want a blocky quilt, so I did some digital magic. I “liquefied” the above image.

Also very cool. But, I don’t want to make a quilt with that much action in the background. No worries. I’ll go back to that recent exercise where I found small compositions within the larger piece. Now, doesn’t that sound like fun?

All this play would be more fun with some playmates. Would you like to join me? You could do something similar with one of your favorite quilts as a starting reference. Or, I tell you what: I’ve made the image above copyright free. You can print it and play with it to your heart’s content! To find compositions, use two L-shaped pieces of cardboard to create a frame. Move them around, adjust their size, and tilt them some too. You’ll find many intriguing little designs. Draw them on your image and cut them out. I suggest cropping way in and getting 3 or more compositions from this. But, that’s up to YOU. I sure hope someone will join me. My enthusiasm is getting hard to contain!

Preview: Of course, after finding a composition I like I’ll take some more detours. 🙂

Ellen Lindner
P.S. If you want to work with a larger version of this image, go here.