Why am I struggling so much with this surreal art image idea?

What can I blame it on? Here’s what I’m thinking…..

My background in Physics and Math can be a great advantage at times with my quilting. At other times it can be a disadvantage because I tend to over analyze things. I think that’s the case with the surreal show. I’m used to making sure the physics is correct. I make sure things are illuminated correctly based on the light source location. I make sure the perspective is correct. I make sure the values are correct. I want things to physically realistic. Plus as a quilter we are used to making sure our compositions are balanced.

Of course all of those things are not necessary for a surreal image. The balance, the perspective, the lighting do not have to be correct. But my physics brain wants them to be correct. So there has been a real mental struggle with this. 

My last image with the super large crescent moon did not excite me. I have rejected it. 

My original idea for this quilt had a glowing doorway that my daughter did not like. I took it out to simply the composition. People will say things like…let the quilt tell you what it needs. I’m not sure what that means. I don’t think my quilts ever talk to me. My process is to think, analyze, think, analyze, try different things, analyze again, try more things, and finally settle on something. Maybe that’s what the quilt speaking to you means. 

I’m a planner and need to know where I’m going with a quilt before I start. I’m not good at improv quilting. Of course even with a plan things have to be changed during execution. Plans don’t work 100%. I’m definitely not a throw it at the wall and hope it sticks person.

So I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about this image. I missed the illuminated doorway and wondered what else could be illuminated. First thought was to put the doorway back, but that did not work because it’s really distracting. I suppose it could work for a different idea like having a huge lit portal with crows flying out of it into the night sky. I actually like that idea. Might have to work that out.

My next thoughts were to think about what else could glow besides the eye and tear drop. Maybe it could glow below the roots like the tree was glowing. I tried several versions of that. First glowing brightly then less bright. Then I drew in some fissures in the tree bark. You might notice that I decided to move away from a square composition to a vertical portrait composition. 

The fissures needed to be cleaned up so I did that. They might be glowing too much. Will have to over analyze that!

I want this to be a standard size so I can Velcro it to a gallery canvas. So I thought 24 by 36 might be good. That means it would have to be narrowed to work out to that size. Plenty to edit when making this. 

Here it is square. Is it better vertical or square. I’m sure I will over analyze that. 

So with edits as I construct this do I have a good idea? Sometimes I feel like starting over with something completely different. My goal is to still use Jennifer Sampou nightfall sky fabric for the background, batiks for the trees, silk for the eye, crow, moon and gold stuff.

Well that’s enough over analysis for one day.

Thanks for reading on this long journey.  And for the title of this…..The Weight of Midnight (or nightfall) or Exit Light. More thought needed there!

Chris 

Still thinking…

I did some research on what would make a crescent moon surreal and dreamlike. The suggestions were to make it too large and make any reflections unreal. So I tried those things on my image. Meanwhile I’ve decided to leave out the doorway. So it’s just the face, tree, crow, and the moon. The clouds near the open part of the crescent look strange because I think they are at a different angle than the ones below the crescent. Plus there are too many clouds and they become too dominant. When I appliqué them I would use a silk organza so they are more subtle. Fewer is also a good idea. 

Here’s the new idea. The moon is too large and very thin. A few stars added near it. The reflection in the water might be too much for this moon which would make it surreal. You can see what I mean about the clouds. Julierose just commented that it’s too dark. She’s right.

Here’s a lighter version. The actual values will depend on what fabrics I use. 

I received an email yesterday acknowledging my submissions and they would be deciding what is accepted on the 15th. So nothing to be done before then. 

I will be working on my sister’s gift today again. I’m almost done.

Thanks for reading 

Chris 

The craziness continues…..

I am still debating about which idea to make into a quilt for the surreal show. I keep going back to my original idea with the woman in the tree. I know that Pat and Idaho Beauty vote for this one instead of the eye in the sky with gold tear stream. 

Woman in tree

Eye in sky

Then I consulted my daughter. This is her take…

“Both need some tweaks to their composition IMO. The eye in sky one looks like a collage. The elements like the eye have nothing to do with the rest of it, so it doesn't look cohesive. I like the woman in the tree one more with how the face and moon are framed with the tree, but it needs some cleanup around stuff like the door in the water. It feels out of scale.

I think the composition might work better overall with just the face/tree and the crow as the major elements.”

She also said not to believe what AI says about art.

Here’s the image without the doorway. The moon or the reflections in the water would have to be dealt with. Not sure this is balanced. Maybe tree needs to move to the right a bit. Change where the bird is looking. Give her a second faint eye partially obscured by the clouds. The last image has the faint eye.

At this point I almost hope my proposals don’t get accepted and I don’t have to think about this anymore! 

Thanks for reading about all my craziness.

Chris

I forgot I created this one with the door.

I think I’m narrowing it down

I played some more today and think this might be it. Some of the earlier images had too many tears.

Of course the trees need to be significantly simplified. Aside from the fact that it would be nuts trying to cut out all those tiny branches, they are just not needed. The image would be better if only the essential things remained. I think I might make the eye about 10% larger, but not change the tear size.

The other thing to workout are the triangles. How many should there be and how obvious. I won’t know that if and when I make this piece.

Here’s the image.

Here’s a crude sketch. I have simplified the trees.

Of course the other eye question is how open should it be? 

Here’s the image with the eye a bit more open. I kinda like a bit more open, but am not sure. I go back and forth on that.

I think some different materials are called for. 

Jennifer Sampou nightfall sky fabric for the background.  

Wool for the large tree and cliff.

Gold silk for the iris and tears. Maybe some Angelina fibers for some highlights.

I might stencil the triangles so they blend with the sky.

Superior Magnifico thread for the ripples. Or maybe a metallic thread.

Thin flat cotton thread for the dark areas so it disappears.

This was submitted so now I wait. I made progress on my sister’s gift today. 

Any thoughts?

Thanks for reading so many blogs lately.

Chris