I take many walks along the river bank here in the Holme Valley, UK and the undergrowth by the path is lush with weeds - we have a lot of rain here! At first sight all just looks dark green but, on closer inspection, a number of wild flowers are growing in amongst them, adding sparks of colour. I have created two pieces inspired by these flowers that light up the dark.
The first piece I worked on, unintentionally, ended up being quite representational. The weeds are depicted via the textured background which is both machine quilted and hand stitched. The leaves and petals are machine appliquéd and I then added a variety of handstitch to provide additional detail. This piece captures the dark weediness of the river bank.
(24 " x 30")
I felt, however, that this piece was a little static and formal. It didn't capture the serendipity of the ways in which these flowers 'pop' up in the darkness of the weeds and so I embarked on a second very different piece that I feel captures this a little better. This piece is also machine appliquéd, with dense machine quilting in the background and a little hand stitch for contrast.
(24" x 20.5")
Which shall I put in the gallery?
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