"The Quilter" is painted in oils against a hand-dyed batik fabric background. As a quilter myself, I auditioned many fabrics from my collection before deciding on the colors and patterns surrounding her face. In this portrait, I wanted to catch the quilter in the middle of her work, surrounded by the tools of her art – the spools of thread, the scissors and pin cushion.
Quilting is an art form that is very tactile. The weight and feel of the fabrics play an enormous role in the making of textile art. This portrait intentionally focuses on her face and hands, helping the viewer to recognize the love and skill involved in the quilting art form.
"To be honest, I've never met a quilter who didn't quilt for the love of it."
The sketch
I sketched out the quilter seated at her work table and began to plan the areas surrounding her face – whether to paint finished quilts or actually sew quilting fabrics to the canvas.
Auditioning the fabrics
After blocking in her face in oils, I began to audition batik fabrics. I wanted to keep the light coming from the left side of the canvas, so I selected darker values of fabric for the right side and lighter fabrics for the left.
Adding collage elements
A quilter is always surrounded by the tools needed to sew. In this photo, I'm using a jewelers saw to cut old wooden spools in half to adhere to "The Quilter" canvas. I also sewed on a pair of real scissors and half of a pincushion with pins in it.
Finishing the details
In the finishing phase, I added more color to her face to better complement the colors of the surrounding fabrics. I focused on her eyes, giving her a more intense gaze. I finished her hair and hands and added textured bracelets of fibres.