Saving Magic. A quilt with a story
The making of the “Saving Magic” quilt, depicting magic, Macau Canidrome survivor by Yvonne Chapman Brooks
The making of the “Saving Magic” quilt, depicting magic, Macau Canidrome survivor by Yvonne Chapman Brooks
Making of “True Blue Mates.” A Quilt. in 2015 I made a quilt for the Australian Quilt Challenge (AQC) for the themed challenge “True Blue,” I decided on “True Blue Mates” based on several True Blue Aussie iconic images, the Swagman, based on my late husband, but with more hair… the Blue Heeler dog, my friends dog NED, a typical Australian bush scene, billy on the campfire and swag with Australian green and gold wattle just for good measure. Making the quilt took around 9 months, from concept and design to the finished product. it is 90cm x 90 cm. It won People’s choice that year and had an Honorary mention. the following year it went to America to the “Mancuso World of Quilts,” where it won Best of Country for Australia Making the quilt Each element of the quilt is made in the same way. Each image is simplified into a shape and colour making almost a “paint by numbers”, each piece of material is cut and fused into place, in this case onto calico, the image is then sewn over using multiple threads and “Painted” using the thread to depict direction and texture. I use a very simple Janome sewing machine and free motion my thread painting. I only use straight and zig-zag stitch. Once finished this image is cut out and forms a sort of “Badge” that can then be put into the final layout. Making the “Swagman” making the Swagman took a lot of hours, the shirt alone was a huge undertaking with multiple thread changes, as the original fabric was just plain navy with a grey grid of fabric fused on top. so dimension and shading were added using a very fine free motion zig-zag stitch. The jeans were make from two old pairs of jeans cut to get the faded, worn look where the creases are, then stitched and thread painted. The boots, which were so typical of Jeff, were the finishing touch to the worn well trodden look I was after Making the background elements A great deal of thought went into the background, I wanted to display as much Australiana as I could with out it being over the top. I decided a swag was obvious, a traveller needs his bed roll, so I made a swag for him to sit on, but it didn’t look like a swag as I had over sewn it, so I made it into a tree trunk! The swag had to be added separately and for good measure I attached a pre-embroidered Australian flag badge. The duffle bag was padded to add dimension and loose shoe laces added for a 3D effect. Trees were sewn to look like bark and the wattle was sewn with free motion zig-zag in green with three shades of yellow forming the wattle flower. The floor covering of leaves were all individually cut and appliqued into place with some metallic filament for a bit of shine. The poem G”Day my name is Ned, and “Aussie Icon I’ve been told, A true Blue Australian loved by many young and old, Been travelling with a mate of mine, we’ve found the perfect spot, campfire lit , billy on, its contents piping hot! After a bit of tucker roll the swag out for a rest, curl up by the fireside, the time I love the best. Stories of our travels, the many miles we’ve done as the Southern Cross lifts high after the setting of the sun. Memories of the early days, of others that he knew those that came before me all fondly thought of too. Gentle hands stroke my head, I give my paw, to let him know I’m listening, well…. that’s what friends are for! I decided to make the quilt about the dog Ned, he is the character in the foreground so needed to be bought into the story. The poem told the story about mate ship, travel and finding peace. Jeff died of prostate cancer in 2017, he was 61. Neds human, my “bestie” Bev died 3 weeks before him of Motor Neurone Disease. Ned died a couple of years later. So the quilt is in memory of people in my life and Ned who was adored by us all, it was seen around the world and appreciated by many. It was shared as an image worldwide and I am so proud to be able to say it is mine! A friend bought it and it is displayed in his entrance hall at his home for all to see, he has kindly lent it to me for display at quilt exhibitions.
Making of “True Blue Mates.” A Quilt. in 2015 I made a quilt for the Australian Quilt Challenge (AQC) for the themed challenge “True Blue,” I decided on “True Blue Mates” based on several True Blue Aussie iconic images, the Swagman, based on my late husband, but with more hair… the Blue Heeler dog, my friends dog NED, a typical Australian bush scene, billy on the campfire and swag with Australian green and gold wattle just for good measure. Making the quilt took around 9 months, from concept and design to the finished product. it is 90cm x 90 cm. It won People’s choice that year and had an Honorary mention. the following year it went to America to the “Mancuso World of Quilts,” where it won Best of Country for Australia Making the quilt Each element of the quilt is made in the same way. Each image is simplified into a shape and colour making almost a “paint by numbers”, each piece of material is cut and fused into place, in this case onto calico, the image is then sewn over using multiple threads and “Painted” using the thread to depict direction and texture. I use a very simple Janome sewing machine and free motion my thread painting. I only use straight and zig-zag stitch. Once finished this image is cut out and forms a sort of “Badge” that can then be put into the final layout. Making the “Swagman” making the Swagman took a lot of hours, the shirt alone was a huge undertaking with multiple thread changes, as the original fabric was just plain navy with a grey grid of fabric fused on top. so dimension and shading were added using a very fine free motion zig-zag stitch. The jeans were make from two old pairs of jeans cut to get the faded, worn look where the creases are, then stitched and thread painted. The boots, which were so typical of Jeff, were the finishing touch to the worn well trodden look I was after Making the background elements A great deal of thought went into the background, I wanted to display as much Australiana as I could with out it being over the top. I decided a swag was obvious, a traveller needs his bed roll, so I made a swag for him to sit on, but it didn’t look like a swag as I had over sewn it, so I made it into a tree trunk! The swag had to be added separately and for good measure I attached a pre-embroidered Australian flag badge. The duffle bag was padded to add dimension and loose shoe laces added for a 3D effect. Trees were sewn to look like bark and the wattle was sewn with free motion zig-zag in green with three shades of yellow forming the wattle flower. The floor covering of leaves were all individually cut and appliqued into place with some metallic filament for a bit of shine. The poem G”Day my name is Ned, and “Aussie Icon I’ve been told, A true Blue Australian loved by many young and old, Been travelling with a mate of mine, we’ve found the perfect spot, campfire lit , billy on, its contents piping hot! After a bit of tucker roll the swag out for a rest, curl up by the fireside, the time I love the best. Stories of our travels, the many miles we’ve done as the Southern Cross lifts high after the setting of the sun. Memories of the early days, of others that he knew those that came before me all fondly thought of too. Gentle hands stroke my head, I give my paw, to let him know I’m listening, well…. that’s what friends are for! I decided to make the quilt about the dog Ned, he is the character in the foreground so needed to be bought into the story. The poem told the story about mate ship, travel and finding peace. Jeff died of prostate cancer in 2017, he was 61. Neds human, my “bestie” Bev died 3 weeks before him of Motor Neurone Disease. Ned died a couple of years later. So the quilt is in memory of people in my life and Ned who was adored by us all, it was seen around the world and appreciated by many. It was shared as an image worldwide and I am so proud to be able to say it is mine! A friend bought it and it is displayed in his entrance hall at his home for all to see, he has kindly lent it to me for display at quilt exhibitions.
Let us celebrate with a card or two! It’s that time of year again and once again I have designs for my colourful Greyhound watercolour Christmas cards. It is no secret that I adore greyhounds, they are the most adorable creatures, so loving and lazy, the biggest couch potatoes you ever wish to meet, “Gain a Grey, lose a couch!” Well, I have two rescued Greys, Daisy, and Otis, both were my foster fails and now both are 12+ years old and enjoying a very lazy old age. Over the years I have made my images available for a couple of Greyhound rescue organisations, for them to fundraise. I support GAWA (Greyhound Adoptions WA) and BGA (Busselton Greyhound awareness.) In the past have designed a card of “Granny pants” for “Galgo’s Del Sol” in Spain. In fact, it all started with cards for the Galgo rescue in Spain several years ago, just a generic Galgo, and then I began to design cards for myself. I have also made calendars in the past featuring some of my commissions for the year which have proved popular. My Christmas card muse is often Daisy or Otis, but I have used others in the past, Maya and Zezan were a friend’s dogs from Holand, they made a beautiful Galgo dreaming card, when I saw the image and with my friend’s permission, I could not resist using it as my card for 2021. This year I have two images. The rescue fundraising card is featuring Otis, the photo was taken on holiday earlier in the year, he does not like his photo being taken and always looks like he has been told off for something, so I painted this image with a destroyed gift or two, I thought the image was perfect for “Dear Santa….define “Good” I did add a couple of PNG images (the baubles and ribbon) to my original painting to give them a little bit more depth. Otis however is not destructive in any way at all. He is an absolute gem. For the painting that I will use as my own cards this year, I chose a much simpler image, shown at the top of this blog, that of Santa giving a gentle embrace to a greyhound, a look of love, trust, and hope. I love the simplicity of it. “What would YOU like for Christmas?” I take this opportunity to wish you all a very Happy Christmas, and a happy and prosperous 2023. Paintings shown are:- What would You like for Christmas? Galgo Dreaming My Christmas hat Granny Pants GDS Dear Santa….define “Good” Christmas wish list Christmas lights This is for you I found mine!
MAKING A LANDSCAPE I love doing watercolour landscapes using the bright rainbow colouring, using the warm (light) and cool (Shadows) colours. I start very basically with a rough idea of where I want the light, being transparent Yellow is easy to hide with other colours, so this is my first layer, with splashes of water I create the soft mottling look that also helps to add depth to the finished piece. Here I have used Art Spectrum Lemon yellow with a hint of Windsor and newton Cobalt blue Light. Step 2 When the first layer is dry I start to add details that will also add depth, I am starting to deepen my colours, but still keeping the warm colour tones. Here the distant branches are starting to take shape using the pale yellow greens, then adding the deeper cooler blue greens you can see how the image starts to move towards the viewer. Here I use Holbein Bamboo green and Daniel smith Spring green, plus a deeper yellow for the branches. Step 3 Now my third layer begins to bring the foreground closer using the cooler colours. Simple straight lines form tree trunks. Some painted in the Australian red gold to provide a mid-ground, then the blues and purples for foreground. A spattering of leaves, careful not to completely block out the background, re painted in a mix of the cool colours, I have used Art Spectrum Phthalo Blue, Windsor and Newton Dioxazine Purple and Windsor and Newton Bengal rose Gouache. Step 4 Some extra branches have been added in the cool colours, and using wet on wet the ground has been added, keeping the light in the centre and deepening the edges to create a pathway, water has been splashed on the paint as it dries to create my signature mottling. Finishing I decided that the painting looked too empty at the top and wanted to create more of a forest walk feel, so I added more leaves and deeper branches to the centre, some splashes of paint and some liquid acrylic iridised paint to add a little bit of shine, then detail in the pathway using a liner brush and a bit of white for the highlights. I have used cool colours, mainly greens to bring the “Light” forward, and a deep blue green for the shadowing. Some of the pink works as a warm tone when mixed with the orange, yet still acts as shadow due to the intensity of the colour compared to the distant paler more diluted colours.
Back in 2016 I was approached by a lady asking for a commission to be painted of a beautiful dog called Bizzy. Tragedy had struck and they had raised a small amount to have a portrait done for the owner, who had chosen me to paint their portrait. I was touched and asked what the tragedy was, it was heartbreaking, every animal owners worst fear, On Tuesday, May 24, 2016, a dedicated animal professional was called back to her home after being away for an hour and a half, to find that a fire had broken out in her home where she was caring for several dogs and cats. The home was filled with smoke. Sadly, seven dogs: Riot, Flash, Harry, Bizzy, Dash, Enzo and Riley and 2 cats: George and Moshi succumbed to smoke inhalation. only two survived: one dog: Lola and one cat: Intrigue. “1 hr 38 min was how long no one was home. We ran in and out bringing them out until the firemen stopped us. Thanks to the firemen, and the wonderful vet Dr Claudia Richter who attended the scene and tried to revive them. I held and cuddled everyone and told them I loved them and refused to leave until they were all taken care of. My heart and world are completely shattered by this. Shattered.” They formed the “HAPPY DOGS LEGACY” and decided to raise money to equip every fire truck in the 152 fire halls in British Columbia, with pet oxygen masks, a customized piece of life-saving equipment to help revive pets exposed to smoke. I donated my portrait and, with its value asked them to put it towards buying masks and donated a portrait voucher as fund raising. I remember vividly painting this portrait, Bizzy looked so happy. She was an agility dog who loved life. Such a gorgeous girl. I felt as if she were communicating with me throughout this portrait. It touched my soul. I felt I did her justice and hope Liz Werner found peace in Bizzy’s portrait. Watercolours
A Greyhound called Blue It is well known that I love Greyhounds, I am lucky enough to have two of these beautiful dogs in my life at present plus one honorary grey. I fostered greyhounds for Busselton Greyhound Awareness and was a hopeless foster fail. There is something about these beautifully athletic, aesthetically pleasing, creatures that has quite a cult following in the canine rescue world. “Blue the Grey” was one such boy, a rescued racer who was adopted by chance by his mum, Kimberley Oxley, and who became the voice for Blue and his fellow greyhounds. He has his own Facebook page, had thousands of followers and touched many hearts. Meanwhile it seemed his heart was not well, He had a tumour in his heart that eventually saw his life end prematurely. His followers were devastated, me included. His love of toast became a world wide thing. Toast for Blue was launched when the outpouring of grief for this beautiful boy was taking on a life of its own. A fundraiser was launched and nearly $130,000 AUD was raised in a miraculously short period of time, to help other smaller greyhound rescues. I have often reached out to people who have lost such a figurehead, and asked if they would like a donated portrait, its my way of acknowledging something amazing. “Saving Wilma”, from New Zealand was one figurehead, that helped many greyhounds via fundraising events. “Maximus” the cat for the Stray Cat Rescue Team West Midlands in the UK, and Blue would be another. This is his portrait, his Mum will now use this for fundraising items such as T shirts and bags. It’s amazing an humbling to see an image that you have put your heart and soul into, becoming a well known image and helping at the same time. I have had hundreds of comments and “likes” as a result of this one image. Remarkable that one image can reach into the hearts of so many. Vale Blue, you were a true champion.
It all starts with a good clear photo, one where the subject is not blurred, not too far away in the photo and preferably in good light, head and shoulder shots that are clear and close are great for detail, when sending me images to paint try not to reduce the size of the image, larger MB are great to work with, screen shots or thumbnails from social media posts are really difficult to work with as the image enlarges or prints really blurry, not good for detail or colouring, and I always feel it shows in a painting. I can montage several images together to form group paintings, but it is always handy to know sizes of the subject in comparison to each other. I draw from photos, I use a grid to enlarge the subjects for my paintings, ensuring accuracy in the finished portrait. I begin with by painting the backgrounds which can be tonal or multi coloured, or occasionally left blank. I let the background dry completely before beginning the subject. Watercolour portraits These take a few days to produce, longer if there is a large amount of detail to include. I begin with the palest or white areas, when completely dry I work on the darker colourings and shadings. The eyes are the last to be painted and take several layers to complete to get that glassy, moist look. The final steps are the white gouache and the pen work, for which I use a draftsman pen with Indian ink. Acrylic Painting Acrylic painting layers are more complex and need to dry before adding another layer. Luckily, Acrylic paint is quick drying, unlike oils which have a long curing time. The first layer is blocking in, just covering the canvas, and getting the basics in colour and shape, the second layer is the beginning of detail, and finally the fine detail and highlights are the last to be added. On this portrait I left the light tan colouring until last, the opposite to the watercolour technique. Sometimes I will look at a finished painting for a couple of days without touching it, just checking that nothing jumps out at me that requires altering. It takes roughly a week to 10 days curing time, longer for dark paints, for the paint to dry completely, before the varnish can be applied without causing the dark paint to smear over other the colours, when the varnish has cured for a few days, the painting is ready to be shipped or hung on the wall.
I used to avoid using watercolours, thinking they were boring and “wishy washy”, so my early portfolio consisted of Pastels and Acrylic paintings. I used to dabble with watercolours but found the method difficult as I had never really been shown how to use them. In my Graphic Design course, many moons ago, I had been taught the basics, the application but never how to paint with watercolour. That all changed when “Galgo’s Del Sol”, a Galgo rescue in Spain approached me and asked if I would produce an image of a generic Galgo as a condolence card, a “Rainbow Bridge” card, I decided to paint a rainbow without the usual rainbow shape, but rather how the light from the rainbow would look as it reflected on the Galgo. That was it, my first ever Rainbow watercolour! I experimented with colour, anything but the normal colours, and used the warm colours (Yellow, Orange, Yellow Green) on my highlights and cool colours (Blue, Magenta, Blue- Green and Purple) in the shading. It took a few attempts but eventually I was developing my style, my signature colouring. There were a couple of failures, and each painting gradually developed until my style was softer and more blended, but still very bright. Backgrounds Then I began to experiment with my backgrounds, nothing too bright at first, but with splashes of colour and water to create what resembled a hand dyed effect. I continued to experiment with colour in my backgrounds over the years, taking into consideration where the light would come from, and therefore how those colours would reflect on the subject, this continued to evolve until I developed the background style I use today. Challenges The biggest challenge is painting black animals, I don’t use black, I use indigo and purple then the highlights are tones of blue, purple, magenta and even greens. Occasionally highlights of yellow are used on the very bright sheen of the fur and highpoints such as eyebrows and noses. I finish with white gouache for the bright white areas and that all important dot of light in the eye. Black cat, when black isn’t black, and “Daisy” the very first pet portrait I won a First Prize with, using this style.
Get in touch with Yvonne to book your own commission today!