NEW TEXTILE LANDSCAPE AND COMPOSITION

"Woodlands", 13" x 10"  Lori LaBerge  2016

This piece is an exploration of the background colors of nature.  While I love nature's sometimes subdued colors, I tend to revert to an exaggeration of color in artwork.  The division of color was also explored.  Here is how it developed:

The trees were hooked first with the right hand tree raised up to create the feeling of it being behind the left two trees.  The dark gray areas were placed in a triangular shape.

The bright yellow green was added in another triangular shape in the opposite direction of the grays.  When creating shapes to follow in artwork, the objects do not have to be directly on the lines (in this they are not all directly on the triangular line), but should keep to the shape intended.

The purples were added in a general zigzag shape carrying the eye throughout the work.

The green was interesting for me as it is not a shade of green I usually work with.  It is quite bold and leads to the intended idea of the background being important to the thought process of the work.  Backgrounds are usually more muted allowing the forefront to shine.  The green follows the general triangular shape of the dark grays.

Please check out Mary Jane Peabody's post on our plein air group this past week titled "Hooking in the Great Outdoors".  Mary Jane writes an informative blog well worth following.  

Think about what part of your work you want to emphasize , decide how to depicit it, don't be afraid to break the "rules" and have a great day.  

WOODLAND LANDSCAPE, FELT SCULPTURE PREPARATION

" It's the Yellow Building, Can't Miss It", 10" X 13",  Lori LaBerge  2016

Yellow is a color I don't often use in landscape pieces.  It's a difficult color to dye to a specific shade and stands out in a piece.  Though this building found in the woods is gray in reality, it had small spots of yellow.  I decided to make one whole section of the building yellow.  

The work started as a drawing on linen on site in Black Mountain, NC.  I left out quite a bit of shrubbery and branches and simplified the wooded area on the left from how it looked in reality.   All of the branches would have driven attention away from the building and the windows, where I wanted the main focus.  The piece was brought home and hooked in the studio.

I started planning out the next sculptural landscape work for exhibit.  This piece will contain a miniature rug hooked runner using upholstery fabric which the felted work will sit upon.  

Starting to get supplies and tools in order.  I drilled holes in the edges of the felt where metal rods will be placed.  There will be two sections with one inside of the other. 

I also updated my website at www.lorilaberge.com this morning.  I added an exhibition page with photos to give a bit of history and deleted anything distracting on the site.  This means plain photos of artwork with no text unless photo is clicked on and a larger photo on the home page.  I'll take a well deserved day off tomorrow, technology exhausts me!

Look at colors you would not usually use, try using them liberally, have fun and have a great day.

ABSTRACT LINE PLACEMENT AND LANDSCAPE WORK

"Fault Line" in progress, 13 1/2" X 9", Lori LaBerge  2016

A new power adapter for my computer arrived late Thursday.  It was a full 8 day withdrawal with no way to get power to the laptop, which is about 7 years old.  I see a new computer in the near future.  Though some paperwork suffered, I was still able to hook.  In the above photo, the placement of metal parts is being worked on. 

The original plan had been for a red line through the piece.  Even though the red was quite bright it seemed expected and was a bit boring.  Yellow fit the bill with its contrast to both the grays and browns. 

The close-up shows horizontal lines, a diagonal line and vertical lines.  The yellow fault line breaks the two brown sections with the variance in direction relating to that break.

In this first version, above, I noticed when looking at the brown sections my peripheral vision led my eyes away toward the washer in the bottom corner.  

In comparison, the final design at the top of this post shows the white lines added to the light gray section. Since the white and the washer draw the eye equally, they balance each other out.  The eye now flows around the piece through a simple change in line placement.

"Across the Field"   Lori LaBerge  2016

Everything is on schedule for the landscape show.  "Across the Field" was finished early in the week and awaits framing.

View some artwork, notice the importance of line and have a great day.

WOODLAND LANDSCAPE, INDUSTRIAL FELT SCULPTURE WORK

                                  "Still Standing"  8 1/2" X 24"  Lori LaBerge  2016

Seven pieces for the July landscape show have now been completed, except for framing, and there are seven more to go.  "Still Standing" is meant to give the viewer the feeling of standing in front of a large tree before entering the woods.  I always love the mystery of where the path will lead me when going for walks.  The work was done partially outdoors and partially from a sketch and notes.

I started planning out one of the three sculptural works yesterday.  Here is how its going:

Supplies were brought out to make a mock-up of the piece.

Foam board was cut and stacked to determine fit and size of the work as the piece will be displayed on a gallery pedestal.

Once the design with foam board was decided on industrial felt was cut the same size as the boards.  I had to do some figuring as the board was 1/4" and the felt was 3/8" (do we ever get away from math?).  The piece will be 15" long X 11" wide X 8" high.  Next, decisions will be made as to how to create the landscape throughout the work.

The weather here is beautiful for a woodland journey.  If yours is the same, enjoy the sights and sounds of nature and have a great day.

COMPOSITION AND VERTICAL SHAPE, FINISHED STORAGE SHELVES

 As yet untitled work in progress,  8 1/2" X 24",  Lori LaBerge  2016

Walking through the woods behind our house I spotted a lone tree and quickly made a sketch of it.  The tree had a bit of an odd shape to it and I'm hoping it will work in this piece without too much adjusting.  Sometimes what looks great in nature doesn't quite translate to an artwork.  

It is important to think about canvas shape when creating a piece.  This called for a vertical shape.  This shape shows strength and leads the eye upward.  Think about standing upright and proud versus slouching.  The rectangular shape presents stability.  These are aspects I wanted to stress about the tree.  Height, strength and stability.  This tree has stood the test of time through the 50 mph mountain winds that are common in our area. 

Think about what other subjects would work in a vertical format.  Waterfalls, telephone poles, roadways, full portraits, etc. 

If you read last weeks blog you remember the above as a blank space.  Pete and I worked on and completed the shelving today.  Nothing fancy, but oh so efficient.

The pile of boxes I used to dig through to find the right size waiting a bit of organization.

Here is the shelving with all the boxes now easily visible for use.  I plan on labeling the shelves with the various sizes of the boxes. 

Look around museums and galleries.  Try to find some vertical canvases and determine why the artist may have chosen that certain format or shape of canvas for their work and have a great day. 

COLOR DECISIONS IN ART

"At Bridge's End"  9 1/4" X 13",  Lori LaBerge  2015

It's back to work in the studio after a nice Christmas and New Year break.  The continuation of creating pieces for July's landscape exhibit have been keeping my design skills in use.  The above work is all about the color. 

There are many ways to use color in art.  You can use it to show a time of day or year, to depict mood or atmosphere, to experiment with specific color combinations, or to show light and shadow.  I tend to veer from realistic color in favor of using color to fit a mood or to exaggerate nature's palette.  I saw shades of lavender in the gray bridge and decided to emphasize this by making the whole bridge lavender/pink shades.  Quite bold, it is based on a bridge in Black Mountain, North Carolina. 

Here the compositional lines are drawn in.  The top and bottom of the bridge fit between the horizontal lines.  The top orange/brown, the edge of the lighter blue and the side of the red are spaced to touch along the vertical lines.  

Compositional lines are also separating out large areas of color.  Most of the blue is below the middle horizontal line.  This breaks the rule of splitting a picture in half. Some blue is carried up further into the bridge opening.  Most of the lavender/pink is between lines, the red in the lower right rectangle and the brightest of the orange in the two upper right rectangles.

More color planning was done this week:

These colors will be used in a tree in the woods scene.  The scene will be calming with browns in the tree, greens in the background, heather lavenders on the ground and a modest use of pink and off whites to contrast with duller colors.

  

This is a sophisticated color scheme for an abstract work in the road sign series. The grays along with the butter yellows have a neutral tone to them.  Neutrals are often used to emphasize shapes when the artist's intent is to put shapes before color in a piece.  The top of the piece will contain the green and turquoise.  A limited use of color rather than a vast mix of colors will tend to be more sophisticated.

The yarns and industrial felt above will be used on a multi-layered sculptural work.  I hope to create at least three or four of these types of works to be shown on pedestals at the landscape show.  The yarn colors definitely have a woodsy feel to them.  I hope to use them with embroidery and sculpting techniques to depict vegetation.

Think of how you use color combinations, through dress, interior design or other methods and have a great day.

"BREATHE EASY" LANDSCAPE, LITTLE THINGS MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN DESIGN

"Breathe Easy"  13" X 9",  Lori LaBerge  2015

There are so many beautiful spots throughout Western North Carolina.  I've made sketches of some and taken photos of many more.  The work above is based on a photo I took in Montreat, NC.  Pete and I were on a walk and this area was a great place to stop and relax a bit.  

The bridge really caught my eye, but as I looked closer I realized what really interested me was the tree growing under the bridge and its relation to the curve of the bridge itself.  You can see this area in the lower left of the photo.  This is what I focused on when planning the design.  I changed the green grass to have more of a fall feel which felt better for the artwork with the lack of leaves on the tree. 

I often find as I work that little changes can make a difference in a piece.  

In the above, the lower left branches both touch the curve of the bridge.  My eye kept going directly to the rust spot on the bridge where the two branches appear to be clamping onto it.  It bothered me so I made a change.  I could have removed the rust area, but that would leave two rust sections on the upper left with nothing to balance them out.  A different change was required.  *Note:  I did not take a photo of the first version of the work, so the line touching the bridge is photo shopped in to show you how it looked.

Here you can see how I removed where part of the branch touched the bridge.  This opens up the area and leads to the branches following along a diagonal line more fluidly.  The edges of the darker green in the grass area lead you upward on the diagonal to the tree.  I find in looking at the final work, the section of the rust no longer dominates where my eye goes in the way it did when both section of the lower branch touched the bridge.  

Before making major changes, take time to look and see if a minor change can make a difference in how you feel about the piece you are working on and have a great day.

"DOCKSIDE" RUG HOOKING COMPLETED, ABSTRACT AND LANDSCAPE IN PROGRESS

 "Dockside"  20" X 20",  Lori LaBerge  2015

"Dockside" is ready for the framing process.  After hooking, I cut metal rods, painted them and attached them to the piece with copper wire.  The metal on the dark side was painted gold and the metal on the light side was painted dark gray so there would be contrast with the background.

 Close-up of  metal section

While looking at some nearby docks and discussing the design with my husband, I decided to wrap yarn around each of the metal rods to mimic the rope tied around some of the poles holding up the docks.  The wire was twisted and left raw on the ends.

I also had time to color plan a design I had worked on for the connection series a couple of months back.  The mix of greens (mint, yellow-green and a chartreuse) should really pop against the gray background colors.  

"Winter Hideaway" in progress, 14" X 14"

With only seven months until the exhibit "Landscape: Four Ways" opens, I have designed twelve of the works to be exhibited.  Hooking on "Winter Hideaway" started this week.  The piece was developed from a sketch done last winter.  With the show being held in July, I'm figuring on having to complete a landscape every two weeks plus still work on my geometric abstracts and plan out a few pedestal works for the show.  When framing is added into the time plan I'll be fairly busy.  After our last artist meeting, I am excited about the exhibit.  We work really well together.

I always find it calming to work in the winter months, even when I am fairly busy. There is something about time alone in the warm studio while the winter wind is blowing outside that is soothing and relaxing.  Find your time and place to relax while creating and have a great day.

PLEIN AIR STUDIO WORK, LANDSCAPE COLORS, WINTER COLOR PALETTE

"Abundant Color"  12 X 12  Lori LaBerge  2013

The holiday season is upon us and "Abundant Color" was completed just before Thanksgiving Day.  The bulky yarn for the tree was found in a bin in the studio and overdyed to give it depth.  The color pops against the blue sky, making it the focus and the grayed greens in the background do not pull attention from the tree.  This is one I may find difficulty parting with.  Next will be framing decisions.  I have been framing the 4 X 6 landscapes in modern gallery 8 X 10 black frames.  This piece has the feel of needing a more formal landscape frame.

Since working in the outdoors, the colors of the landscape have been on my mind.  I found a great book written for painters.

  

Color Mixing Recipes for Landscapes has over 500 color ideas.  The index is set up according to subject.  Need a color for the foliage on an Aspen tree, its there.  Yes, its that specific.  Colors for soil, wheat, tree trunks, the sea, skies, rocks, etc. are included. 

Though it is a book specifically for mixing paint, experienced dyers should be able to get an idea of what color dyes to mix to achieve similar results.  I cannot wait to hit the dye pot. The book is available through Amazon here where you can take a look inside of it.  There is also one for portraits which I have not seen but which can be found here.

We had our first ice storm this week.  I have never hooked snow and this year will be my chance to tackle it.

  

I put together a partial winter palette of wool.  Winter colors are beautiful.  They are so much more that just white.  Look closely and there will be blues, grays, lavenders, pinks and off-whites in addition to other colors.  The skies may contain subtle shades of yellow, pink and even the appearance of green.  The dark colors of evergreens and tree trunks contrast with lighter hues.  

  

This grouping would not complete the palette, but it is a good start.  I would like to add one or two warmer colors, depending on the scene created.  It is a good grouping of values as can be seen in the black and white photo below.

Take a walk on a sunny winter afternoon, enjoy the colors that surround you and have a great day.