Now that I can see again after I had the scar tissue zapped in that left eye, I can see to read books. So I picked up some of my quilt books I bought through the years. I like to look at the pictures! (Come on, I know you do too!)
So I decided to read Elizabeth Barton's Inspired to Design. I tried taking a Quilt University class with her about 2 years ago, but you really needed to be a trained artist to keep up. I am not. I can't draw shading in to save my life. So I got lost in the details trying to understand it all. I figured in this book I could take my time, re-read it a dozen times and ask questions of people who knew what they were doing.
One of the exercises Elizabeth suggested was to take a photograph and break it down into a simpler composition. I took that a step further.
I chose one of the Yosemite photos from our trip in 2010. The beautiful country gave me a basis for a design that would never have entered my mind. It flowed in proportion to the spaces around it in an amazing way. I could never have just put lines on a page and had it look like this.
I want to spend some time in my photo stacks and see what else I can come up with. I may even try to create a few masterpieces even!
Sounds like a simple technique. I can't wait to see what you come up with!
ReplyDelete