Call of The Wild

Call of The Wild completed August 2010 measures 26 1/2" x 24 1/4" and is the second piece in Nature Series Part III. Here, I had wanted to portray a more realistic looking bird in a wildlife setting. Inspired from a photo, this Red Bellied Woodpecker is inked on a satin/cotton blend, heat set and machine appliqued to a painted and inked cotton background. When I first created this background, I never knew what would live there. When I placed this bird onto the background, he immediately "moved in and found himself a home!!!" This piece really DID seem to take on a mind of it's own from the very beginning. In the original photo, this bird is resting against a blue sky but simply changing the background to a complementary color really allowed this little guy to have a dominant presence. This has been a very enlightening lesson on color theory and I am really happy with the results. The branches that he rests on are composed of various upholstery materials and dyed lace to convey a bark like texture. Once the composition was complete, I struggled with how to quilt it. Finally, I decided to quilt leaves in the background in shades of muted purple and green. This allowed the background to have texture while not detracting from the main composition. The quilting came out pretty nice though you would never be able to tell from the pictures. Sadly. I lost my Nikon on the way home from South Carolina last month and have not yet replaced it. There is really no substitute for a good camera and I am sorely missing mine!!! Guess I'm in the market for a new camera again.