Coloring Inside the Lines

Here we see some of the colors being added to the pattern I posted yesterday.  The orange to red piece in the lower left corner is extending past the gear so that I have some material with which to bind the quilt when I am done.

And here I've finished the upper left hand corner.  Do you see how differently you relate to this once it's no longer a line drawing?  You're soaking up the color and the shapes, aren't you?  I know I am.

Ursula left a comment on yesterday's post asking about color choice and how do I do that?  I guess when I approach a quilt, either I'm thinking of a very limited color scheme, or I'm thinking in terms of warm colors vs. cool colors or light vs. dark.  

In this quilt, it's about warm vs. cool and light vs. dark.  I knew I wanted to have red at the center of the quilt, and actually it's a red orange I've used as the background of the dark blue gear.  I think as I'm building this up, I'm looking for the color that would contrast the most with the back ground and the colors surrounding, but I don't want to be too repetitive. 

 And now that I have this much of it built up, the high color contrast is a little kiddish or whimsical, and I think I'd better add some brown to tone it down.  And I think I would also like to see this pattern made with a more limited color scheme, too.  

By that I mean: all cool colors, or all blue, or maybe red, black and white.  We all have our favorites, and we see them all the time.  Primary colors would also work, but then it would look like an Ikea quilt.  And then once I've chosen a limited color scheme, say all blue, I would do something to break it a little: like add a little orange (blue's complement) or something to just add a bit of interest and show that I was playing and not being so strict.  I like kiddish and whimsical, I think it's important to give your viewers the distinct impression that you had fun making a piece.  But I also want to be taken seriously.  Adding in the neutrals or earth tones can do that.

Hope that answers your question, Ursula.

And here's what I woke up to as I was having my first potty break of the day yesterday morning:

This is a storage cabinet in my bathroom with colored, transparent drawers. I sit facing it. It made me laff, so I had to share it.

New Werk

Here is the next pattern in the series of Art Werks that I am making.  It's always interesting to me to see the transition from pattern to completed work.  With the pattern, all you see is line; there is no color.  With the completed work, the first thing you see is color, and then you take in the shapes.  The fine line is lost, but it's still there, too.  Or rather, it is suggested.  Shape takes the place of line. 

It's a little like my treatment of leftovers: I'm pleased with saving the food for the laughable idea that we might eat it again (the lines in the pattern), and then I'm pleased with the fastidiousness of tossing the two- or three-week old science project the food has turned into because I'm making the fridge a cleaner place (the shapes and colors).  Do you see what I mean?

If I've confused (or disgusted you), please wait for the finished product.