My newest work is an impression of this wonderful spot in Central Vancouver Island where it will make its home. The photograph was taken from the customer’s kayak while on Sproat Lake heading towards the division between these two bodies of land.
I was comissioned to dry needle felt this scene and mount on Lake Erie beach. My boards were collected from a couple of beaches along the Erie shores between Ridgeway and Fort Erie. Removing all screws, sanding over rough splintery wood and cleaning off sand was the first step in preparation. I will also go over the boards with a non visable sealant to preserve the wood – just waiting for some nicer weather! The close-ups of the drawing shows the land features and their natural division. To enable the photograph to fit the 71 x 11 horizontal profile, I have had to stretch the image slightly to fit. The completed work will not significantly show these changes.
Excited now to begin the actual felting, I have cut a piece of fine quilt backing to fit the 71 x 11 measurement. For my first compositional layer, I use wool in the most basic of colours. This layer will be covered, but is essential in that it provides a grounding upon which the silk and blends can “grab” into a ground (microscopically, wool has tiny curled barbs onto which smooth silk and plant fibres can attach). The end result is an ahesion of all layers as one felted fabric. I am using a single, spiral cut felting needle which will take the fibre on the top and push it through the base. Small ends are left free at the back, while the front of the work becomes denser the more the needle is used.
Here is a short video of the process: https://1drv.ms/v/c/dbd4f2deee7d36d5/IQCTUJgJi7h8RZ-X5b3HJBnbASkImIQa-JU1HLPP_Q7zbwk?e=6H960r
This composition has 3 basic areas: foreground water, mid-ground land formations (as many as 7 on the left hand side) and sky which we could call the background. I have divided the composition into 4 horizontal areas to enable the stretching of the image to remain true to the original photograph.
From here more of the silk and viscose fibres are used to provide sheen to the work. My usual method is to work on the sky area first, midground, then foreground. This order enables the fibres to layer themselved front over back in a more natural placement. I have many shades of blue and green in my “palette”; however, blending these enables an even wider range of secondary and tertiary colours which gives my landscapes a natural and diverse palette. Still, this is only the beginning. I will complete the first of the secondary layer, then build more detail and colour from there.
As I move foreward in my observation, I begin to see more and more detail in the landscapes typography: hills and valleys, snow, bare rock, various trees, not to mention the cloud formation and shadows and light reflection on the water. My client was concerned that there might not be enough interest in this landscape; however, I have made provision for that should this be the case.
Looking at on-line photographs of Sproat Lake, there is a foreground peninsula covered in tree growth, which juts out from the right. The original photograph has a canoe bow in the centre of the photograph – bright orange. The shadow on the water to the left would then provide a balance to the other 2 features. But, let’s see first if what I have in front of me is enough to complete this compostion.
From this point I will be adding emphasis to the cloud formations and highlights to the water. I’ll also revisit the landscape to pick up on the light where it might be enhanced or taken back into the distance. I will also need to get my stepladder out to photograph from a height as my arms don’t reach high enough to cover the entire 71-inch span!