BRINGING AN UNDERWATER SCENE TO LIFE

In a recent whole-cloth artmaking experiment, I created the sense of light and sun above water,contrasted with a grass-filled area representing life beneath the surface.

Once I took a look at the composition, I felt it needed some movement and characters. Time for fish! I cut out stencils from freezer paper, holding on to both the positive and negative pieces.

Here I’m moving around the fish positives like paper dolls. (An easy way to try out different positions and angles.) When I got what I liked I lightly held them in place with masking tape. Then I placed the outline (the negative image) of the fish over the paper doll fish and removed the positive pieces. I ironed down the freezer paper to make a clean edge.

To paint the fish, I rolled on a coat of translucent white acrylic paint. If you are interested in using paint on fabric in your artwork, I can’t recommend enough the many uses of a simple foam roller. Using it just takes some practice. You can work dry or wet, cover big areas or – as in this case – keep it very controlled with a light-light-light application of paint to maintain transparency.

Now to rip off the stencil and reveal the fish. Ta-daaa!

Here is a section of the quilt where I have begun the stitching. I like the way that layer adds more dimension to the underwater scene and seems to push the fish a bit further into the background.

I create all my works from original, hand-printed and hand-painted fabrics. The possibilities are endless.

View Bobbi’s artwork on her gallery page .