Currently Browsing: realism

art quilt with believable imagery
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Creative Chrysalis

142 – Toxic Spill

August 4, 2022

Progress is being made on big Fear Quilt, despite interruptions mentioned previously. Anyone who has tried to keep a blog going consistently…

realistic art quilt showing detail
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Creative Chrysalis

137 – Just Cut It Out

February 1, 2022

Precious creations are dangerous. Becoming attached to what you’ve made, either because of the look of it or because of knowing what…

images of fabric collage process
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Creative Chrysalis

103 – Vortex People

February 6, 2021

Excited to make my first people for this quilt. Upon starting this project, I challenged myself to improve both drawing skills and…

Fabric collection, paper template and Mousetrap Game reference
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Creative Chrysalis

100 – How Good is Your Color Memory?

January 25, 2021

My color memory is such that I can go to a fabric store and quite accurately remember the colors and patterns that…

Susan Polansky, drawing, full and detail, reference images
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Creative Chrysalis

99 – Putting Reference Images into Place

January 21, 2021

Now I put my collection of reference images to work. Using the magic of Photoshop Elements, I make a quick photo collage…

illustration detail by Susan Polansky, with related reference images
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Creative Chrysalis

98 – Reference Images for Translation

January 17, 2021

Reference images are crucial for translating a line drawing into a realistic art quilt. With my intended plan for a 3’ high…

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Creative Chrysalis

47 – 7.5 heads are better than one

June 23, 2020

The size of a human figure is often shown in “heads”. Height: 7 ½ heads, Width: 2 heads, Arm length: 3 ¾…

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Creative Chrysalis

36 – What you see is just an illusion!

May 19, 2020

How do you become a better artist, a better anything? Identify what needs improvement, then learn and practice.I need to study up…

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Creative Chrysalis

34 – Perspective is all about relationships

May 14, 2020

An imaginative world requires convincing size, shape and space in order to be believable. Photographs can give me the basics of how…

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Creative Chrysalis

9 – What is reality?

March 19, 2020

For my next quilt: Topic: fearSetting: amusement parkStyle: believable reality Have you ever thought about different kinds of artistic reality? Photorealism strives…

Finished Butterfly and Flower Quilt
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butterfly

14 – Butterfly has landed!

February 21, 2019
It took longer to finish up this quilt than I expected, though it wasn't the quilt's fault. Life just got in the...
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butterfly

13 – So much greenery

January 11, 2019

The assembled quilt has been loaded onto my A-1 longarm sewing machine. Not only will the stitching hold down the fabric collage…

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butterfly

12 – Where will the butterfly land?

January 7, 2019

Before quilting, I need to play with the position of flowers (I’ve painted a smaller second one) and butterfly on the painted…

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butterfly

11 – Soft as a butterfly’s wings

January 2, 2019

Added some paint to soften the edges between black border and fused color spots. I’m liking it! #butterfly #wings #fabriccollage #saqawip #fabricpainting…

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butterfly

10 – Building a butterfly

December 20, 2018

Building a butterfly with fabric -the photo shows back and front. The black fabric has fusible on it, which made it easier…

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butterfly

9 – The black of a butterfly

December 16, 2018

Flower painting has been put aside – now for something completely different, creating the butterfly. Hard to go to straight black after…

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butterfly

8 – Oops-your background is showing

December 14, 2018

My painted flower had a transparency problem. The background was showing through, especially the trellis lines, even with a white backing applied….

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butterfly

7 – Do you see a problem?

December 13, 2018

There’s a problem here-do you see it? (Painted flower from Andrea Brokenshire’s workshop and painted background from my photo reference.) #paintedfabric #paintingproblems…

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butterfly

6 – Leaves and stems appear

December 4, 2018

First steps…painting a background for a new quilt using my photo for reference. I’ve maintained some areas of white by ironing on…

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butterfly

5 – Making a mess is fun

November 28, 2018

“Controlled mess” is so much fun in painting! Here I’ve protected areas that I want to keep white with freezer paper templates,…

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butterfly

4 – Winging it with paint

November 25, 2018

Using a black and white photocopy enlargement underneath the fabric, I’ve painted the main structures. I can wing it from here by…

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butterfly

3 – Beginning the background

November 19, 2018

The background begins! #artworkinprogress #paintedquilt #saqawip #susanpolansky

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butterfly

2 – A perfect background!

November 16, 2018

My photo from the summer is perfect for the background of the flower I painted in Andrea Brokenshire’s fabric painting workshop! #artstart…

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butterfly

1 – What to do with a painted flower?

November 14, 2018

I made this painted flower in a workshop taught by Andrea Brokenshire. She’s a very talented quilt artist and generous teacher. Only…

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India quilt

9 – Final composition achieved!

April 4, 2018

It’s not a perfect photoshop edit, but it’s what I need to make a quilt from. I love making my own reality!…

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India quilt

5 – Making a vertical from a horizontal

March 22, 2018

India quilt composition in progress. #photoshopedit #ilovephotoshop #artistsoninstagram #neqmexplorations #saqawip #jaipur #susanpolansky

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India quilt

4 – What story do I want to tell?

March 17, 2018

Of course my India quilt will have people, and maybe a few animals (like the cattle and dogs that were everywhere.) Fantastic…

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India quilt

3 – Uplifted by kites

March 16, 2018

Kites dotted the skies wherever we traveled in India. I like my quilts to have meaning, and kite flying seems so symbolic…

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India quilt

1 – 6 months and counting

March 10, 2018

I’ve begun my next quilt, and as a departure from my usual method, I am making it specifically for an exhibit at…