Quilting-Painting whole cloth quilts

It always amazes me how fast time disappears. I think that the 6 hours while the children are at school will go forever but it doesn't.  It seems like I have just started a project and it is time to pick up the kids from school again.  Life rolls along like a fast roller coaster ride.sometimes it seems as if I am in control of the twists and turns and other times I feel completely out of control.  I am feeling like that at the moment and it is my art that grounds me into some normalcy.  It is wonderful to pick up a pencil and let my mind be released from the days pressures that are all around me.  It is like my hand moves on its own accord to  create something magical and special.

My violin quilt piece of work has felt like that to me.  A magical process of creativity.  I know my god guides me to create and helps me to make my mind and body work freely together.  I am always grateful for his guidance in my life.  I felt his presence quite a bit as I worked on this painting.

Last week I showed you the design process on this piece of work. (found at the link below)

http://catherineparkinson.blogspot.com/2011/10/quilting-painting-whole-cloths.html

After I drew the design onto the fabric it was time for me to paint.  I find this step quite difficult as I get very nervous about committing paint to fabric.  It is hard to commit my ideas to cloth in case I make a mistake.  I know many artists find it hard to put pen to a blank page of a sketchbook but I don't mind that but the thought of painting a whole cloth I get very nervous. 

The first thing I paint is the face when I am doing a portrait.  I start bu painting the eyes, nose and then mouth.  I refer to the original photo and a photo that has had the colours reduced in it so I can see the shading changes in the face more clearly. 

The second part I paint is other parts of the painting with flesh colour.  I found painting the fingers very difficult but it was a good challenge for me.  It is always hard to get the fingers to look right and not like fat (or skinny sausages)

I next worked on the hair and the violin.  While I was working on the violin I noticed some problems in my original sketch.  By using pencil I can rub out any problems and paint over the area until it is right.

As I continued to add more around the face I added a little more shading to the flesh areas to define shadows more (this is a bit hard to see on a photo)  I added gold to the hair to add more dimension and a little 'sparkle'  My daughter loved the sparkle and wished she had real sparkles in her hair.