I am posting photos of my latest three hooked rugs. I thought it would be interesting to put up the photo that inspired the rug and then follow it with the rug. These last three I worked on simultaneously as I ran out of blue and had to order more blue wool in order th complete the skies of each of them. They are smaller than the last rug that I posted.
My previous rug was a large landscape that featured a thicket of paperbarks which were dwarfed by the much larger scenery surrounding. I liked the results but I really wasn't done with the paperbark trees, so I did another smaller one which focused more on the trees.
Here is the photo that inspired both rugs:
There has to be some thought to artistic license. If I hooked a rug that looked just like this photo, it would be very boring. And in some sense the photo only captures part of the reality of the stand of trees. Having been there over two days in different lights and building a complete map of where the trees sit in the landscape I went home with a much richer memory of this place. In some ways my artistic license is a more complete record of the reality of the location. Phil thought I went too far with the colorful patchwork quilt of the foreground. I agree with him to some point. However if you walked through that dull looking reed you would find the tiniest and most delicate wildflowers of every color and configuration. Just wonderful!
The photo below was taken from the top of an ironstone mountain that Phil and I did a vegetation survey on. I fell in love with this place and its unique flora and vantage point. We walked for days over rocky ridgelines and exposed outcrops. The photo doesn't show the banded ironstone whereas my rug does.
A campsite in a borrow pit along a dirt road into the central desert. Desert poplars are the first thing to come up after a burn or a disturbance and they are short lived. This was at sunset and the red glow of the setting sun bathed the scene. My photo again does not do it justice.
I put in some clouds trying to convey that it was a sunset but I think my clouds look like floating cigars! Not happy with them and if I did it again I would put more leaves on the tree. The orange and the green colors are much brighter than the camera could capture.
I've got four ideas for the next rugs so I better leave you and get on with the linen, hook and wool. Hope you enjoy seeing these.
