Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Dark and Stormy Night


There is one project on my WIP list that I have yet to blog about:  Dark and Stormy Night (Storm at Sea).  Despite the fact that I usually find naming quilts an arduous process, this one came unbidden.  Probably because Snoopy in Peanuts started all of his creative writing endeavors with, "It was a dark and stormy night..."  This always gave me a giggle (yeah, I know, I'm easily entertained).  However, it seems perfect for this quilt.

The picture above is courtesy of my EQ5 program.  I have not proceeded very far with the project.  I'm still cutting the pieces.  While the project will be color controlled in that all the blue pieces will be some shade of blue, the green pieces some shade of green, etc., each of the 64 blocks will be unique.  No fabric repeats.  That probably sounds crazy to a lot of quilters, but for me, it's fun.  I'm still collecting fabrics for the purple and green pieces.  The blue pieces are all cut.

My favorite colors are blue, purple, and green.  Yet as a rule, I tend to pair them with at least one warm color.  It always seemed to me that cool colors tend to need warm colors and visa-versa.  Art theory tends to confirm this.  My art background is very minimal, being limited to one art education class back when I thought I was going to become a teacher.  The teacher spent a lot of time teaching us about the color wheel.  Complimentary colors:  those straight across the wheel from each other.  Analogous colors:  those right next to each other.  Apparently, there are defined ways of putting colors together in order to create an attractive combination.


Then she told us about the painting "Blue Boy" by Thomas Gainsborough. 





Apparently Gainsborough broke the color theory rules when he created this painting.  The theory is that warm colors give the feeling of moving toward the viewer, while cool colors--like blue--give the feeling of receding from the viewer.  Gainsborough proved this didn't necessarily have to be the case, because Blue Boy feels fully front and center in this painting.  Of course, if there are any warm colors to be found in this painting they are very muted.

I have no idea why this particular thing of the many things that art education teacher taught us stuck in my head, but it did.  So my Storm at Sea is my own attempt to make cool colors come forward.  I'm doing it by making the background totally black.  A cheat compared to Gainsborough's beautiful painting.  Nevertheless, there you have it.

10 comments:

  1. Michelle, that is going to be a stunning quilt! I can't wait to see how it turns out.....

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  2. It will be a great one when completed, I guess I'm entertained easily, too, the name is cute!

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  3. The quilt is going to look fantastic. If you want to argue, purple and green might be your "warm" colours, since red and yellow is used with blue to make purple and green...Still love the colour combination, and think it is a great idea.
    Elzaan

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  4. I want to photograph this when its completed. I want to attempt to capture, accurately, its depth.

    Its going to be gorgeous!

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  5. What a great-looking quilt design! I love how there is the illusion of curves (or maybe that's just me?) but it's all straight pieces. I love the name too, how appropriate! I had forgotten that's how Snoopy started his stories until you mentioned it. :)

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  6. Oh, I liked reading about the Blue Boy painting. I did not know that.

    Your quilt is going to be really amazing. What sorts of fabrics are you using? I may have a purple or two that I could send you. LMK :D.

    xo -El

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  7. P.S. I totally remember Snoopy typing out 'It was a dark and stormy night.' lol. I thought that's how all great stories started. But, you know, now that I think about it, I haven't read one single book that starts that way. I must not be reading the right books.

    xo -El

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  8. I love those colors, too, and I love your design, and the name. I think it is very fitting.

    I always loved the Peanuts cartoons and Snoopy's writing endeavors always made me chuckle.

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  9. The light and shading make "The Blue Boy" stand out to me. Glad to hear the information about the colors.

    Love the quilt, those are some fantastic colors. I am not a quilter but I do like to look and feel fabric. Can't wait to see it when you are done with it.

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  10. What a great post, Michelle - love that little snippet on Blue Boy. I do love that painting!

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Your comments brighten my day. :-)