Experimenting Part 1.

I mentioned recently that I had developed the germ of an idea to incorporate painting and embroidery.  Not five minutes after posting that thought on my blog I discovered Fi at Marmalade Rose had beaten me to it.  This lead to a Google search and the realization that my thought wasn't that original after all....  If you take the time to look at Fi's blog I encourage you to check out more than the post I've linked you to, she is awesomely talented and marvelous.  Not to mention living in one of my favourite places in the world.

Anyway, I decided to just get on with it and start experimenting with my idea.  My initial intention was to do a portrait but somehow that morphed into a rooster. No idea how, the weird and wonderful ways of my mind there...

I began by taping a bit of plain cotton quilters fabric to a piece of scrap cardboard.

I then loosely drew my image onto the fabric with a mechanical pencil. No reason for that choice other than the pencil was near to hand so I used it.

I wet parts of the background with a damp brush and discovered a couple of things.  Firstly the fabric resisted the water (perhaps I need to wash it first). Then I added more water and the fabric stuck to the black cardboard making it difficult to see where I was applying colour. I also think a sturdier fabric would be easier to use. Perhaps calico or maybe I could iron some interfacing to the back of this fabric for future use.

  I used cheapo tube watercolours and tried to get a wash type effect in the background.

I continued to splotch colours on and now I look at it on the computer I realise I have somehow ended up with blue feathers on the chest.... oh well.  I left finer details like the eye, beak detail for the later stages.

 I did experience some bleeding where the colour spread out and started to look smudged and out of shape, particularly around the face.  So I quickly pulled it off the cardboard and hung it out to dry. 

Now I need to work out what to do as my next  step.....I have knit and natter with my sister tomorrow so will take some embroidery floss, needle and hoop and see if I am flumoxed or inspired.