Cynthia St. Charles Store

Thursday, May 21, 2009

Dragonfly Colors


I thought I would use orange dragonflies on the Yellow Roses piece. Orange was the color I happened to have on hand. But after looking at it on my design wall for a while, I wondered if another color might be nicer.
So, I made some dragonflies in different colors. The blue ones kind of disappear, but I like them against the yellow flowers.
These red-violet dragonflies are also a bit more subtle. I am leaning towards subtle. I feel like the orange kind of overpowers the very subtle details of the block printing and quilting in the background. Opinions? It is always interesting to hear what others think.

9 comments:

  1. I vote for the blue ones, because of the subtile color difference between the 'background' and the dragon-fly. An bright orange dragon-fly seems to be a poisonous one and dragon-flies aren't (I think).
    Warmest regards from the other side of the 'pond'.
    Lya

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  2. Do they all need to be the same color? Think about how the sun and shade affect the colors. Also, on the orange ones, is it possible to use another color over them to subdue the orange some?
    It's a lovely work, and I can't wait to see the finished piece!

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  3. I like the blue best. If they are a bit hard to see, then they are a surprise. I think seeing a dragonfly is fun surprise. Dragonflies aren't obvious, unless you see them moving.

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  4. I like the blue, especially if you are looking for subtle. If you are concerned about them fading into the background too much, I'd suggest taking a fine point pigma pen and inking around the wings. Or you could stitch either by machine or by hand with a single strand of embroidery thread. If you've seen any of Suzanne Marshall's work, then you know how effective this kind of outline can be.

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  5. I like the blue and red-violet best. The subtlety means that the viewer is allowed to "discover" the dragonflies and then is drawn in to look more closely as they search for more.

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  6. Hi Cynthia, I like the blue and red-violet as well... but I can not say that I don't like the orange.
    It makes the piece feel 'warm'... whilst the other 2 keep the 'cool' feeling the background fabric generates.
    Very, very beautiful.
    I love your work.

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