This is my latest portrait in progress. I have done more work on it since I took this photo, so this is only a teaser.
This little girl intrigued me from the first moment that I saw the photograph. She is just starting to walk, dressed in her rompers (puffy looking, probably from her diaper underneath), her hair sticking out in all directions and holding on to the spokes of this 1930’s car. She is just so cute! It brought back memories of photos that my parents had taken of me and my family. I always wonder what the story is behind the photo.
Portrait of girl with 1930’s car
The original photo was quite small – only 2″ x 3″, so I enlarged it, so that the child would be closer to life size. The larger size also makes it a lot easier to recreate the details. This piece will finish at 25 1/2″ x 35 1/2″.
When I start on a new piece, I choose the details that I think are most relevant to the picture, and then decide on the values (e.g. light, medium and dark), and finally the colours that I feel best fit the scene. I wanted the little girl to stand out and be the focal point, so I chose a bright red for her T-shirt. The car will be a blue-green, to complement the red. You can see some of the fabrics, that I am thinking of using for the car, on the right side of the photo.
The method that I use to create my art is fusible applique, where a sticky film is adhered to the back of each piece of fabric, and then the pieces are assembled like a puzzle to create the picture. Once the picture is complete, it is ironed to fuse it and to keep everything firmly in place. Then, I add stitching to add further detail, and finally quilt the piece to add dimension. I am looking forward to getting the car started!
Let me know what you think!