Virgen de la Alta Gracia Painting

My art has been a long love of mine but with work and family, I seldom get a chance to do it. So I thought I'd post some of the images of my new project. I am painting on fabric, Our Lady of High Grace which is the patron virgin of the Dominican Republic (La Virgen de la AltaGracia).  The country's official patron saint and Queen Protector of the heart of Dominicans. It will be a gift for our departing Franciscan Priest. It will be sewn onto his priestly robes, I am only hand-painting the image.

This is an image of the original painting which is said to have been painted in the late 15th century in Spain. It was mysteriously delivered by a shrouded old man who dropped the painting and disappeared. This portrait of the Virgin Mary in a Nativity scene is also in cloth.

 I usually don't do commissions because I usually like to choose subjects that inspire me. I chose to do this painting because it was a gift for our departing parish priest.

So I am starting with my rough sketch first, then I am transferring it onto fabric. Before I trace my sketch onto my fabric I sprayed a fixative on my sketch so that the graphite from the pencil didn't transfer to the fabric. WIP images of the process.

Rough Sketch
 

Transferred Sketch onto fabric

 

 

Started painting the background on the fabric with Acrylic Paints and Textile Medium.

 

 

Working on Fabric is a whole different experience. Blending colors is a little harder. I prepped my fabric with a combination of Gesso and Textile Medium so I can be able to have my Acrylic paint blend better. I did notice that to much of this mixture tends to pucker the fabric. So I used it lightly. I am going to heat set the paints with an iron when finished so hopefully the puckers will come out. Stay tuned I will try to post my progress.

 

 

 

My Sewing Swap Doll

Every Christmas, me and a bunch of talented women from our cloth doll club (The Garden State Artisans Cloth Doll Club) get together and either we swap a doll or exchange a handmade item for Christmas. This year, it was a sewing theme swap, so I thought I'd make a Needle Case with a Doll's face as the cover. So, I thought I'd share my handmade needle case doll. I usually make pretty dolls but this year I wanted to do something different.  I guess my style is changing or I may be evolving into a new style. I like diversity, anything from Pretty to Creepy to Gothic. I know it's an artist thing, we never can settle for one type of art. That's what makes Doll Making soooo Fun!!!  Here's how I started my process.... First, I started with a sketch and then made a template the size I wanted, this ensures that the doll is scaled appropriately. Second, I made a foil armature to save on the amount of clay I use and then wrapped it with floral tape. Third, I made the eyes out of Fimo Polymer Clay in white and translucent. I avoid using a straight pure white clay because it's too stark for an eyeball. Fourth, I then used Prosculpt Polymer Clay and Acrylic paints for the face. Lastly, for the hair, I used  multiple hair extensions. A lot of my dolls have this hair because I like the silky look. I'll try just about any type of product to get the end result...lol. I named her Angelia. Eventually, Heather, my friend, received the doll I made.

This is my template sketch

On the left is my Armature after it was wrapped in floral tape and beside it is the armature covered in Prosculpt.

I am not a portrait artist but i think i came pretty close with this sculpt...LOL!

Here is Angelia with her extensions... I definitely think she looks creepy in this photo...hehehe

She looks like Rapunzel with the long Braid... hahaha

These needles are Doll Making needles, so they're a little larger than normal.

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