The last detail...

The final detail to my latest piece has now been added. I wanted a bird, one that was taking flight, escaping its fate and flying off (hopefully) to a better future. I googled caged birds and came up with a parrot which appeared to be preparing for flight.

This is one of my first drawings.

I wanted to pare it down to just a few lines and, after several attempts, reduced it to this.

However, I decided I had gone too far. I wanted it to be a stylized interpretation but with more volume. Many drawings later I had what I wanted and here it is as a freezer paper stencil ironed on to the fabric.

White textile paint painted over the stencil.

The stencil has been removed to reveal the bird. In this photo I have also worked further on the background.

I am now into the really scary bit, where I need to pull it all together. This is very risky as I could easily stuff it all up, and the whole piece heads for the reject bin! This does happen occasionally sooooo..... fingers crossed!