This theme has been the hardest for me so far. For many of the other themes I almost immediately had my idea and ran with it. For illumination, I first thought of a lightning bug or firefly. I actually tried drawing some out but was never thrilled with my sketches.Another idea I thought of was fireworks illuminating the night sky. But I quickly discarded that idea as I found the thought of trying to portray that gave me a headache.
My third idea is what I ended up making. While I don't have any light fixtures like this in my house, I can remember times when these were used often. I can still hear the chain clinking as you pulled on it and clicked the light on or off.
To portray the illuminated lightbulb, I lightly dry brushed yellow fabric paint. I kept applying the paint until I had the amount of coverage I was happy with. I dyed white fabric to create the skin for the hand and then added additional hand painted shading and highlights. I couched down a ball chain for the light's pull chain.
Love it!! When I opened your post in Google Reader, the page was immediately illuminated. We have lights like this in our closets. I assume that you used a real chain.
ReplyDeleteGREAT JOB Terri!
ReplyDeleteLoving the pieced background.
And, the hand is perfect!
And look how the shape of the lightbulb echoes Gerrie's pears! I love this kind of serendipitous sychronicity. Click indeed.
ReplyDeleteTerri, this is wonderful. Even though you had problems getting to the concept, you sure executed it in your usual clear and perfect way. I love the pieced background, and the soft light emanating from the bulb, and the hand -- not an easy thing to illustrate! But I have to confess I just love that chain, and the squiggle looks just like it's recoiling back up after you turned the light on.
ReplyDeleteI think that your light fixture is from the same house as my boy under the covers!!
ReplyDeleteI just love the way the yellow glows over the background pieces showing the light off the bulb. Super cool. Of course, the chain is perfection.
ReplyDeleteWonderful piece. Once again I see your work as an illustration for a children's story. That lightbulb has a personality!
ReplyDeleteWhat a fun piece! I love the close-up shot. And I like that little chain!
ReplyDeleteTerri, you really got a glow happening there with the dry-brushing. Like the others, my favourite aspects are the pieced background (clever fabric placement!) and the chain. Nice touch!
ReplyDeleteI, too, love the background and the soft light coming from the bulb. We have a couple table lamps with the ball chain, but they have shades.
ReplyDeleteI was so interested in your technique of applying the paint to create the glow, it is really effective, and of course, your hand is perfect
ReplyDeleteReally pretty hand!
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