Thoughts on comments received

It was suggested that I leave the eye in the water and the upside down tree out of my composition.

Here’s the composition with both included.

Here’s an image with both removed.

Here’s just the eye added back in.

I played more and got the following. Changing the eye to gold and making the tears turn into triangles. The last one was created in an app. Some of the eyelashes are tree branches. I forgot to add the tear in that one.

Certainly a lot to ponder. It all maybe irrelevant on September 16 if I find my proposal is not accepted for the show.

Thanks for reading.

Chris

Evolution of an idea

 While I like my original idea for the surreal quilt I think I like another idea better. Here’s the original idea….

My new idea began with this image that I created years ago. It was the combination of a photo of trees taken in Crater Lake National Park and pieced triangles. In fact I thought I would make a quilt from this someday. 

I decided to add an eye to the sky, change up the trees to make it more surreal. This is what I got.

It’s definitely not dark enough so I edited it to make it darker. 

There are several things I like about the image…

• The eye crying into the tree. I like the connection.
• The twisted tree.
• The eye in the water.
• The pieces of the original triangles.
• I like that they are dripping.
• The reflected tree that doesn’t seem to have a source.
• I love the steel blue gray color scheme. 

I tried out a few different background fabrics.

This is the image that I’m thinking of making.

Here’s a crude sketch and a watercolor image I created in an iPad app.

Thanks for reading.

Chris

Left or right?

 Idaho Beauty wondered what this composition would look like reversed. It’s easy to flip an image. I’m so used to seeing the face on the right so putting it on the left seems strange. 

I did try out another idea, but for now will stick to the original idea.

Here’s the other idea.

So should I go left or right? I also forgot that this show is just proposed at this point. I submitted my proposal and that proposal has to be accepted since even the proposals are juried. I guess we’ll see if it’s accepted.

Thanks for reading.

Chris

Maybe a decision……..

 I have played with my surreal idea a bit more. I got rid of the vortex and the pocket watch. I only have one eye showing. The eye on the left is covered by the sky and clouds. I suppose I could let a bit of it peek out. I’m still deciding about the moon. I kept the raven and the doorway.

Here’s my latest sketch. 

I put it into an iPad app to try out different colors for the quilt. The ones with the stars is interesting, but they would not be seen all over the sky with the clouds. I’m sticking with the gold eye and the tears.

I do have a potential fabric for the background. It’s one of the ombre sky fabrics from Jennifer Sampou. Of course that’s not something to worry about now. I’ll have to decide what colors to actually use. She has many of the ombre sky fabrics. I think I might have to use some fabrics other than cotton. I might have some hand dyed silk and velvet. I also might need some tulle and organza. Maybe I will even need some heavier fabrics like wool. Maybe I can use the wool batting sample that I have to create dimension when I quilt it. Lots to ponder. Should be a fun project.

What do you think?

Thanks for reading.

Chris

Smaller pocket watch hanging from a vine

 I decided the pocket watch was too large and distracting and it needed to hang from something organic like a vine. I changed the sketch. It still needs some more refining. Now I have to decide if I’m going to do this or skip submitting anything to the exhibit. I’m not sure if this is a good composition. I would hate to waste my time on a poor composition. Maybe there are too many elements. Is the pocket watch needed? What about the raven? What about the doorway? Maybe the face is too centered. Maybe the watch should be embedded in the tree. Maybe the face should be old and wrinkled.

After I finish my sister’s gift I will pull fabrics and see if anything works. Plus I need to decide if this composition is good or not.

Thanks for reading.

Chris

Playing more with one of the ideas

 I’ve done some more playing with the design with the single Raven.

Here’s an updated sketch. I’ve added a tear to the Raven and found an image of a pocket watch to copy and paste into the  sketch. I wanted it to be very large to fit the surreal theme. Plus that would make it easier to create in the quilt.

I wanted to make the background darker so I edited that in a photo app called Art Studio. I also added the moon in the vortex.

I wondered what it would look like with Roman numerals, a more realistic moon, and more blue gray. I found a pocket watch and moon to copy and paste into the image. I turned it blue gray in photo editor on iPad. 

Maybe some gold eyes?

So there’s a lot to think about here. A lot of this depends on what fabrics I have. 

Is this surreal? Am I moving in the right direction? 

Today I have to work on my sister’s gift.

Thanks for reading.

Chris

Change of plans

 I decided to do some sketching on my iPad last night instead of looking at more possible surreal images from my stash of images. Just note that I’m not great at sketching on my iPad. 

First I sketched the upside down trees with the face and the flying birds. This is somewhat different than the image from yesterday.

Then I decided to try sketching something  bit different, but kinda based on this idea. This is what I got. Again I’m not great at sketching on my iPad. Nor am a great at human faces. If I go with this idea it will have to be refined. 

Then I thought I’d make the woman cry. I suppose I could change the time on the pocket watch to right before midnight. Midnight is when humans run out of time. 

Any thoughts on these?

Thanks for reading. 

Chris

 

Design choice #2

 I created this image many years ago. I’m not sure what photo app I used to create it. I started with a photo of bare trees, turned that upside down, and added the birds with the app. Here’s the image.

The image achieves a surreal effect because it confuses our sense of space.

Here are the reasons why this composition feels like a dreamscape:

Conflicting Perspectives

• Inverted Elements: The bare trees hang downward from the top of the image. This forces us to question which way is up. Is that water at the bottom?
• Spatial Distortion: Birds appear to be flying through the branches and the water simultaneously. This blends the sky, the ground, and a water surface into a single, impossible plane.

Textural Contrast

• Graphic Silhouettes: The sharp, dark shapes of the birds contrast heavily with the organic, chaotic lines of the branches.

Monochromatic Palette

• Grayscale: The muted, desaturated tones strip away the familiar colors of nature. This creates a haunting, ethereal atmosphere that detaches the scene from reality.

I asked AI to transform it into a quilt to see how that would look. It’s certainly beautiful.

I asked AI to take the original image and make it more surreal. This image really excites me. How about that face lurking in the tree branches? I’m not sure how to pull it off, but the challenge would be fun. Plus you know how much I like grayscale. I have a lot of hand dyed gray fabrics to work with. Again these images would just be inspiration. So you can see my decision on what to make gets more complicated.

What do you think of these images? I like the one with the face as well as the original one without the face. 

Thanks for reading.

Chris

Design choice #1

 I really like this image that I created last year. 

Why it’s surreal

Indoor-Outdoor Paradox: Bare trees growing out of an indoor wooden floor.

Two Climates: The left side depicts a cold blue winter night, while the right side shows a warm, golden glow.

Weird Ceiling: A galaxy hangs directly over the pathway instead of a normal sky or roof. When I was much younger and used to use my telescope to look at things in the night sky I once had a dream that I went outside and saw a galaxy in the sky just like the image. So I can relate to this dream like image. 

Floating Lights: Magical sparks float in mid-air without a clear source.

The Doorway: A blinding white doorway sits at the exact center, acting as a mysterious gateway that anchors the entire impossible image.

I wondered what this would look like as a quilt. AI showed me. Actually 2 versions of that. One with crows added.

I like the trees growing indoors. I like the walkway leading to that door. I like the perspective in the image. I’m not sure about the crows or at least that many crows. I do like the galaxy in the sky and there are fabrics available for that.  This would certainly be a challenge to create. It would be beautiful when done. It is very dreamlike which definitely fits the theme of the show. It’s certainly one to consider. 

My quilt won’t look exactly like the image. It will be my inspiration. 

Another possibility tomorrow.

What do you think? Thanks for reading.

Chris

Looks like my next big project has found me

Our local art museum is potentially having a show next year of surreal art. Here’s the advertisement to see if there is interest from the registry artists. 

Surrealist art often incorporates scenes that feel unreal, ethereal, or pulled directly from a dream—blending reality with the fantastical. 

I have so many images that I have created that I could use to make a surreal art quilt. I just don’t know which image to use. I could be tempted by any of them. I think what I will do over the next several blogs is to show them and discuss each in more detail.

I will start with a piece that I’ve already made that is surreal. It’s the one that I did for the recycle show in 2025. So I suppose I could just enter that one. But I’m really thinking of making a new piece.

Here’s the recycle piece entitled, “From the Inner Mind to the Outer Limits.”

I asked AI to modify this image to make it more surreal. This is what resulted.

It certainly is that. I would probably not do this piece since I don’t like doing the same thing more than once. Plus it’s a pretty busy image. 

Tomorrow I will talk about another possibility.

Thanks for reading.

Chris