I’ve finally finished all 8 pieces of the Charley Harper bellpull and stitched them together. It turned out more or less OK, but somehow the whole thing was not really what I’d intended. The masses of leaves tended to obscure the outlines of the birds, and the birds somehow looked flat and undefined. Also the differences in tone of the hand-painted fabric backgrounds made the breaks between the separate panels too obvious
So I turned again to brush and paints. First I made the outlines of the birds darker and more defined, and I made the background to the birds paler, so that they stood out more. Finally I blurred the boundaries between the individual panels so that the whole panel looked more like a single piece of fabric
The Charley Harper bellpull after painting
The long thin shape looks a bit distorted but that's mostly due to the way I had to photograph it – in real life it isn't quite so bad. The bellpull isn’t entirely finished – in particular the individual panels need more work to blend each one into its neighbour. But it’s getting there. Now all I have to do is figure out how to mount it
LOVE the whole panel! Mia it looks very good! I do think you really have a great idea adding the paints. They do make the birds ‘pop’. Can’t wait to try my on version.
Mia, have you ever seen treated pallet board? The wood would be an interesting accent for the birds. Could be done as a frame or just mounted on the boards as a background.
Love your ideas.
Spanky