This week, I have been doing some painting. Sometimes (not always!) it’s faster to paint a quilt than to actually sew one :)
Here are some photos of my step-by-step process for
Painting a Watercolor Quilt Block
First I decided which blocks I wanted to paint and then I sketched them out. I worked out basically where the colors would go (much like you would decide ahead of time where the fabrics will go when you are planning out a quilt.)
Then I went over the lines with a pigma marker and erased the pencil lines (I drew a quick sketch on a scrap of paper so I remember how I had planned to lay out my colors.)
Next- the fun part- I start to paint. I fill in all of the blocks with my background colors. (I normally don’t paint that close to the edge of my paper- but I wanted to fit all of my blocks onto a single sheet.)
Next, I would have normally painted in all of the little flowers and dots and stripes to create the patterns in the different fabrics. However, I started to paint my flowers (you can see a few on the left of the below photo), but I didn’t like how the yellow was coming through, making my blue just a little too green. So I decided to try something different. I painted my little designs separately (see right side of photo):
Then I added them in Photoshop. It was fun to try it this way, and I think it came out pretty well:
What do you think?
You will be seeing this artwork in the future. For starters, you will probably see it pretty soon in my Etsy shop…
I would love to make a quilt built on the painting might be fun!
Yes, it would be fun! The great thing about painting a quilt is that you can “design” your fabrics any way you’d like :)
That is very pretty!
Thanks, Missy!
That is really pretty, and I love seeing the work “in progress”! The colors you used are really fun, and I agree with Elizabeth that it would be fun to see a finished quilt that matches your painting!!
Someone suggested that I show more “works in progress.” (Maybe it was you??) Anyway, the hardest part about that is remembering to take the photo for each step!
So pretty!! You are amazingly talented!! Love coming here to see what you have created, thanks for sharing with all of us!!
Thanks Sandy! I just got it all finished up this morning! I love finishing a big project!
So cute, but I like the original painted ones better, eventhough I can see what you’re saying about the blue. Maybe gouache or acrylic next time? My Mom and Aunt are whizzes with a needle, but I always say I do all my ‘quilting’ with a pen and paintbrush! ;)
Oh my….I do love what you are doing…I don’t have a steady hand but this is awesome!
It all just keeps getting better So cute and so much to learn