Personal Logograph #5

After doing four small test pieces in the logograph series, I decided to work on the large piece.  I knew I wanted the background to be one piece of fabric with different colors on it.  Since I usually dye solid fabrics, I did not have anything that would work.

I didn't want to drag out all the dye stuff for one piece of fabric, so I decided to paint it.  I started out with a white fabric.  I painted outside on my deck.  Since I knew the colors would be covered up at the end with white, I didn't concerned myself too much with how it got painted.  Here is the slapped on progression of color.

After I had the background fabric, I machine appliquéd on the logograph figure in black.  Then I did free motion stitching over the entire background.  This is what it looked like at that stage.

Then came the really scary part.  After spending all the time to appliqué and stitch the piece, the moment had come to see if I would ruin it all with the white paint.

Here's what the white paint looks like over the stitching.

I covered the entire background leaving a "halo" around the figure unpainted.  In the picture below, you can see I was painting on my table.  The figure is covered in blue tape, just in case I happened to drip on it.

I had mixed some textile medium into the acrylic paint and this made it somewhat transparent. After the first coat, I decided I wanted it more opaque.  So I did several layers of the white paint. Eventually, I pinned it up on my design wall and painted it there.  That way I could step back and look at it and see at what point I wanted to stop.

Here is the final piece.  You will be able to see this artwork in person in my upcoming exhibition with my friend, Kathleen, called Textiles x Two at the Initial Point Gallery starting Dec. 1 in the Meridian City Hall.

Personal Logograph #5

hand painted and commercial fabric,

machine appliqué, free motion machine stitching,

acrylic paint

50 x 50"

©2012 Lisa Flowers Ross

Available for purchase