I do apologise for missing last week’s posting – we spent a very enjoyable few days in London and then when we got back I was laid low by a nasty cold. London was hugely enjoyable – we used to live there and it was fascinating (and sometimes frightening) to see how the city had changed since that time, but all the same it’s still one of the world’s great cities, with wonderful galleries and museums and theatres
But back to more ordinary things. I’ve been looking over my list of pieces that are finished, or nearly finished, and I’m staggered to see that they’re ALL about birds. Birds are wonderful things, of course, but I really need to get out more and see if I can find some different subjects. But we’re stuck with birds for the next few weeks, I’m afraid
So – here’s another one of Scottish Birds in Scottish Places. It’s a flotilla of mallards that I saw one day when I was driving along the banks of the Don, our local river. All the birds are identical so it was just a matter of stitching out the same duck 5 times on a painted background. The alignment of the members of the flock was easy enough with the help of a few basted guidelines and the video camera on the Innovis
A flock of mallards on the River Don
The whole thing is quite a large panel – so large that the picture doesn't give much of an idea of the size. Each duck is about 6 inches long and the total length is about 20 inches. I'm afraid the fabric is so lightweight that you can see wrinkles between each duck, but that problem should disappear when the piece is mounted. It’s a cold, wintry scene, but believe me the Don can be a pretty cold and wintry river, and it was one of the waterways that flooded badly during the recent heavy rains
I love it. You have shown us once again how to make something artistic with our embroidery and a little paint. The only thing that would make it better is if there were some female mallards in the scene.
Birds are good. And at least here, birds and ‘possums are about all the wildlife we see in the winter.
🙂
I really love the wintery feel of the background.
Love your mallards. They make me smile. I’m glad to hear we will be seeing more birds. Deena
Love the mallards.
we have a small creek behind our house. And see Mallards swimming down.
The colors you used to paint your background fabric add to making the mallard ducks pop off the canvas with a 3d effect. Simply a magnificent scene.
Really like these Mallards, we have these locally and they flock on the ponds around here. I like the puckers…they give movement to the fabric under the ducks to give emphasis for the movement of their legs under the water…another texture…
I love your mallards! It’s so effectful with your painted background.
Beautiful..you are amazing….Betty