NGIP

[mirrorshard]

Here's the full-size version of my new icon.

I was inspired by a visit to the William Morris gallery - currently under threat from the council - and by reading Morris's Some hints on Pattern-Designing.

One of the things I've always had trouble with is working with multiple colours in one piece, and there's a passage in there that gave me one of those Aha moments.


Now, to speak broadly, the first of these methods of relief is used by those who are chiefly thinking about form, the second by those whose minds are most set on colour; and you will easily see, if you come to think of it, how widely different the two methods are. Those who have been used to the first method of dark upon light, or light upon dark, often get confused and troubled when they have to deal with many colours, and wonder why it is that, in spite of all their attempts at refinement of colour, their designs still look wrong. The fact is, that when you have many colours, when you are making up your design by contrast of hues and variety of shades, you must use the bounding line to some extent, if not through and through.


The design itself is the result of messing around with diagonals - it's built on a 3x3 grid of rectangles, and elaborated from there. I knew I wanted silverwork in the triangular sections, but that wouldn't work in itself as a bounding line, so I added in black bounding lines for that, and made the border more solid than I had originally intended.

keira_online commented that it looked like a stained-glass window, which wasn't what I'd been thinking when I did it, but seems accurate. Part of that, of course, is because I decided to spoil myself and use French ultramarine. I hadn't worked with oils for years, and I have no idea why not after that - the feeling is wonderful. I still need to varnish it, to bring out the depth and brilliancy of the other colours (the black, purple, and silver are acrylic), but doing that always feels so definite.

Comments

[kake]

The fact is, that when you have many colours, when you are making up your design by contrast of hues and variety of shades, you must use the bounding line to some extent, if not through and through.

Yes!

(I learned this from web design rather than Art. A solid border does wonders when something just isn't quite coming together.)

[mirrorshard.livejournal.com]

Morris refers to pattern designing (for wallpaper, embroidery, fabric printing, and so on) as one of the Lesser Arts, rather than fine art. That whole essay is very much about the importance of decoration and of knowing what it's for and why to use it, and how to work with the materials and the substrate you have.

So web design is probably a perfect example of what he was about.

[redcountess]

It reminds me of leadlight (moreso than stained glass), and would make a great leadlight panel.

I passed some great Arts and Crafts era bungalows in the bus from Scarborough to Whitby, I would love to live in one of them.

[keira-online.livejournal.com]

Have you tried painting on glass?
I remember a bodged attempt at school (it was technically metalwork, so more about the metal than the glass), would have been great if I'd been better at soldering :P But the actual painting on glass was fun.

[mirrorshard.livejournal.com]

I've tried a few times in the past, but never in this style, so it's something I want to have a go at. When I collect enough circular tuits.