Sketching Palm Twigs
In my neighborhood there are a lot of Queen Palms. They’re sort of THE classic palm: tall and willowy.
Click any image for a larger view
But, what I keep noticing about them is the fruit clusters. And the bumpy twigs that remain when the dates are all gone. (I get to study these up close on yard trash days, when I’m walking the dog.)
The fruit clusters are actually huge. About half the size of one of the fronds. And the dates change colors as they ripen and fall: green, purple, red, orange, and yellow. See the close up shot of ripe dates above. Since I needed to do a quilt with certain measurements, you can see that I’ve drawn those onto the photo, in anticipation of doing some sketching.
First, I recorded the general spray of the twigs, as well as their nubby shape.
Next I began to consider more abstract options. What intrigued me the most about these fruit clusters? What did I want to showcase? Clearly, it was the bumpy twigs, their gentle curves, and secondarily, the dates. I sketched. Maybe I could do an abstracted piece that showed a close up of the twigs and fruit.
But, I needed it to be vertical, so I changed it up. In the sketch below, I didn’t take time to draw the twigs with bumpy edges, but I knew I’d include them in the final quilt.
But, maybe the twigs should be more delicate. Eventually, I came full circle and decided on a more realistic composition.
Now that I had my design sketch, I still had a few things to consider.
– I had originally planned to make this piece with complementary colors: a berry/fucshia background with yellow-green twigs. But, after doing the last two quilts in this colorway, I was getting tired of it.
– What should I do to the background? I didn’t want it to be too plain. It would need to both contrast with and support the foreground twigs.
Check back to see my decisions.
Ellen Lindner
