Design Process

 For my collaboration with Melanie, we decided that I would do a floral, specifically Nasturtiums, which I love and have always wanted to paint, or draw, or make into a quilt. It's just the perfect time to do this, since I am feverish with garden desire, and not a speck of garden yet to plant. I wanted to do something 'designed' rather than improvisational, so I spent some time in research.
I have lots of my own photos of my nasturtiums, and of course Pinterest is jam-packed with gorgeous images, which I studied and sketched.

Sometimes I like to alter a photo to eliminate the detail to get right at the essence of the object. I used my fave photo program Picasa to take a look at the shapes of the leaves and flower.

 Then I spent some time just drawing, erasing and redrawing the shapes I liked. Lots of details, which I would try to distill into just the essentials.
I have a bunch of reference books too, so I dragged those out and looked at how others have tackled the same flower. Love the design-y aspect of these ideas.

 

 And then I quit for the day and let my brain work on the ideas overnight. First thing this morning I grabbed my coffee, and bounded up to the studio. With pencil in hand I drew my nasturtium, erased, refined and redrew it four times, in different positions. I think I've got it now. The urge, which is so strong, to include every last detail of the real blossom is one I have to resist.
Less, less and less, or simplify, simplify, simplify.

And then the leaves? That was much easier. I cut a leaf shape, and cut it into wedges and that will make the veins, which are so typical of nasturtium leaves.

So now I will make a bunch of flowers and leaves and find a lovely way to assemble them into a composition. The next fun part!