ABSTRACT "CONCRETE BLUE", ARCHITECTURE AND COMPOSITION

"Concrete Blue"  14" X 11",  Lori LaBerge  2017

We took daily walks while visiting California. One day we passed a bright blue building. It stayed in my mind not only due to the color, but also the angle on top. I drew a sketch on scrap paper that night and transferred it to a sketchbook upon returning home.

The challenge was to make an interesting composition out of the scene. It is all about relationships to lead the eye to the white and blue areas. The red lines above show how the top and bottom of the lilac wall section are angled to lead to the bottom of the white rectangle. The top of the light rust section leads to the top of the blue wall. The area on top where gold and green meet leads down to the left side of the white.

The lighter values form a sideways "Y" shape leading to and framing the blue building while the darker values are laid out in a triangular format. A curve at the top breaks up use of straight lines. 

Frank Lloyd Wright said, "Architecture is the scientific art of making structures express ideas". I am led to think about how the 2D abstraction of architectural forms should be approached. In reviewing some of my sketches, there is a depiction of the relationship between the focal point of the work and the shapes around it. The question then becomes "How do those shapes enhance the focus?"

MORE GEOMETRIC SHAPES IN PROGRESS, ART IN GREENSBORO

 Untitled work in progress  14" X 11"  Lori LaBerge  2017

Another work was started this week based on downtown Los Angeles. This piece has a larger variety of shapes than my two previous architectural works leading to more color decisions. Colors were chosen to represent the feel of being near the water with a variety of light, dark, mottled, mixed and abrashed wool used.

The photo shows how values are dispersed so far. The darker values are around the edges and will continue to the left edge to form a U shape surrounding the lighter values, which are in the center and will continue to the upper area.

We drove over to Greensboro to deliver artwork and happened upon an exhibit of Richard Fennell's works at Greenhill.  I had a wonderful time exploring his use of brushstrokes and color. The works invite you into their world.

 Works by Richard Fennell at Greenhill exhibit

Works by Richard Fennell at Greenhill exhibit

One of my favorites.  I love the way this house was half hidden lending a sense of mystery. Work by Richard Fennell at Greenhill exhibit

ABSTRACT GEOMETRIC INFLUENCED BY LIGHT

In progress work,  "Intersection",  14" X 14" Lori LaBerge  2017

There is still a little tweaking, but hooking on "Intersection" is done. A metal bar will be placed across the top and a decision will be made whether or not to place metal over the light orange-yellow. 

The work is based on a sketch done looking down on an intersection glowing with sunlight. To portray the spot where light was shining the lt. yellow/orange values and the lt. gray values were placed next to each other, bringing the eye directly to these areas. The light area was then surrounded by gradually darkening grays.

The wool colors behind the orange-yellow and green consisted of black, two dark grays, four medium grays and three lt. grays.

The work consists of values, much as nature does.  

While taking daily breaks from the studio, I couldn't help but notice the abrupt changes occurring in the landscape.

Bright whites and a touch of red among the green on one day led to...

the whites perishing and orange arriving a few days later.

I thought about how the contrast of the white against the green creates a wonderful contrast and how a few days later one would need to use some imagination to visualize the same effect.  The diagonal triangular shape of the white could lead to an interesting abstract piece.

BACK TO WORK, TWO-VALUE STUDIES TO GUIDE COMPOSITION

Untitled work in progress  39" X 21"  Lori LaBerge   2016

I did not know how much I would miss rug hooking. During our trip up to Vermont, I did not bring any work with me.  A return to hooking this week felt good. We'll be headed back up north tomorrow and the projects will go with me.

This week some more of the yellow was hooked. Rather than finishing all the yellow, I decided to see what the background was going to look like. Some of the blues and grays were added along with red and purple lines.  

I will be visiting some auto salvage yards to find a hubcap to use for the head of the figure. Right now I'm on the easy part. I'm quite sure I have a challenge ahead of me combining rug hooking with a hubcap. I foresee some sleepless nights in my future.

A two-value study of landscape scene

In preparation for teaching Plein Air at Green Mountain Rug School in June, I began working on two value studies to discuss with the class. When working on outdoor landscapes, studies can aid the composition process.

I veer toward geometric studies, but they could just as easily be organic in nature. The idea is to separate out the light and dark sections of the design. Do they balance? Is the shape pleasing? By doing this exercise it is easier to determine if a certain composition will work before moving on to further sketching and the actual hooking process. Spending time on design will pay off later.

Here is a thumbnail sketch of the scene I was viewing when working on the study:

It is easy to see the breakdown of lights and darks. The land in the forefront and the building were drawn as one large mass in the earlier two-value study.

Here is another example:

Two value study

 Thumbnail sketch of scene being viewed.  

The land, tree and background building will be darker than the sky area above. One could also add mountains in the background to add to the piece, even if they were not there in reality. You are creating art, not copying nature.

I know, more books.  We had lunch at Long Trail Brewery in Bridgewater Corners, VT and drove over to Woodstock for dessert.  While there, the Woodstock Library was having a book sale. Could not resist these at two to three dollars a piece.

Art Exercise-

Try creating your own two-value studies. 

"BRIDGING THE GAP" ABSTRACT CONTINUES, AGNES MARTIN'S USE OF COLOR

First section of "Bridging the Gap" in progress, 11" X 11" Lori LaBerge  2015

Work on the latest piece has continued this week.  The curves are constantly being tweaked as they don't follow the grid of the backing linen.   A spot-dyed wool is being used in the purple section and the lighter sections needed to be near the edges as the darker sections did not give enough contrast. Placement of darks, mediums and lights were marked off.

It was a busy week with many decisions to be made on various activities and when I feel stressed I always do two things:  have a glass of wine and read an art book.  I have always turned to art and it has never failed me.

"Agnes Martin" by Nancy Princenthal

I found myself reading a book about Agnes Martin.  She worked with a subtle sense of  contrast when she began working with grids and stripes.  I could not find photos of her work that gave permission to use, but her work can be viewed here.

In rug hooking we constantly talk about the importance of value and contrast with most of it being centered on intense contrast. There would be no better work to study than Martin's to learn about the opposite, the subtlety of value. 

   Wool colors close in value.  Notice the feeling you get from them.  What would you design with these colors?

Martin's work always gives me a sense of tranquility.  The colors she used are muted and similar in value leaving one with a feeling of peace and calm.  There is also a slight innocence to her pieces. Maybe it is the purity of paler, lighter colors.  I can easily see this having an influence on my work down the line.

People tend to veer toward the familiar.  Our brain is constantly trying to make sense out of the artwork we view.  Martin's work deletes that need and forces the viewer to see more from what at first looks quite simple.

Pale yellow, pale blue, pale peach and textured medium beige

At first glance her grids look very controlled, yet the pencil marks are not perfectly straight lines.  They skip and wave while along their "straight" path.  Martin called herself an abstract expressionist though many see minimalism in her work.  The two are different and she seems to fit into both as the simplicity and paring down of the work fits the mode of minimalism while the sense of the unconscious ideas she portrayed may fit into abstract expressionism. 

Clothing in yellow, ecru and stone

Martin worked in repetition.  The grids are repeated rectangles or squares while the stripes repeat themselves throughout a piece with alternating colors or lines in between them.

A tower of books.  Repeated stripes of various thickness in calm colors

Think about how color affects us, notice the calm colors around you and have a great day.

NEW MIXED-MEDIA FIBER AND METAL DESIGNS FOR "ROAD SERIES"

I received confirmation of booth space being reserved at the Carolina Designer Craftsmen show in Raleigh, NC.  The show will be held over Thanksgiving weekend. Since I have been making quite a few larger pieces lately, I will need to focus on some in the $100-$300 range in order to have a variety of pricing options available. I will be on the road the next three weeks, so this is the perfect time to work on some smaller pieces.

Designs drawn on linen and ready to be packed up for the trip.

Below is the design process of the three pieces worked out this week.  These are roughed out designs and I may make some changes during the hooking process.

Design for "Parallel Roads"  9" X 13"  Lori LaBerge  2014

Here you can see how many erasure marks were made while working out the placement of lines.  Usually I start out placing the lines then look at the various shapes they create.  Often, changes are needed to eliminate odd shapes or lines that are too close together. 

Color planning for "Parallel Roads"  9 X 13  Lori LaBerge  2014

In the first sketch the parallel areas were the same width. I made the decision to vary the widths for a more interesting piece.  I will be placing fishing weights on the color sections and the gray marks within them gives me an idea of how they will look.  I'm debating on placing a larger weight hanging down about an inch away from the top right hand side as this design still feels like it needs something.  Also, the pink section may be too close to the center of the work.  I'll continue working on this and see where it takes me.

Design for "Tunnels"  9" X 13"  Lori LaBerge  2014

When searching through a box of metal pieces, I found some cylinder shaped lamp parts which gave me the idea of tunnels.  A chain will be placed through the two cylinders and left to hang down the ends of each.

   Color planning for "Tunnels"  9" X 13"  Lori LaBerge  2014

The local Blue Ridge Parkway is surrounded by the beautiful greenery of the wooded areas on the roadside which led me to use the color green.  There are a multitude of both short and long tunnels to drive through along the Parkway so I will use one short and one long cylinder in the piece.

  Design for "Ice Ahead"  9" X 13"  Lori LaBerge  2014

Though we are in the Summer season, I've been thinking of using turquoise or light blues in a piece.  This led to the thought of icy roads.

Design with color planning for "Ice Ahead"  9" x 13"  Lori LaBerge  2014

This color plan has the cold feel I was going for.  The purple will add a tad of warmth to offset the coolness.  A chain will hang down the center of the purple section to represent tire chains.  When I drew this out on linen, I narrowed the blue line directly to the right of the purple section slightly and moved it closer to the purple in order to create variance in the parallel lines.

While working on both large and small works for this series I have found it interesting to see how size affects the design process.  Look at works of your own or on the web and see how a composition would have to change if made larger or smaller and have a great day.

ADDING NEW COLORS TO THE PALETTE

The works created for "The Stripe" series used a fairly consistent palette in all of the pieces.  This, plus the stripe theme, kept the series cohesive.  The salt bag portion of the nomadic series, currently in the works, is sending me to some new colors. While hooking, I ended up pulling out a bright magenta I had planned to place in a rectangular stripe portion of the piece.  It had the same value (lightness or darkness of a color) as the turquoise placed next to it and just did not work.  When values are similar a lack of contrast occurs.  The replacement color is in the light/red/pink range which is a color I rarely use, but flows well with this piece.

I tend to veer toward brights and darks with a neutral thrown in.  There will be more chance to experiment with adding lighter shades to my favorites this year.

Above is the original palette that was planned.  Not enough light values.

Above, a black and white version allows you to see that there is too much similarity of values in the center grouping.  More light is needed.

Above you can see the lighter color substituted for the magenta.  This adds needed contrast to the piece.  Below is the color photo of the above.  Compare to the second photo in this post.  Much better.

We all have colors we are drawn to, and  I am no exception.  Join me this year in adding colors you would not normally use to your palette.  Whether for clothing, dinnerware, home decor or other areas of your life, enjoy the range of colors available and have a great day!