Karol Kusmaul

I am writing this on a foggy overcast morning in Florida (the Sunshine state).  It’s amazing the effect that  sunlight can have on our dispositions and energy.  Fortunately, I can at least write about light with this portrait project. 

We like to go to an outdoor seafood restaurant on a nearby river.  On this particular day, there was plenty of sunlight and plenty of hungry people waiting for a table.  One family had three little girls who were patiently waiting.  I was able to capture a photo as they stood by a wood railing.  When I got home, I realized what a nice composition it was – three girls of varying sizes, connected together and framed by the wood deck and railing.  A large red fan leads our eye directly to the girls, as do the railings.  The dark diamonds in the trellis below add pattern, and so does the greenery above.  The oldest girl’s dark jeans complete the curve started at the top by the fan.  What luck to capture all this compositional goodness with a quick snap!!

Children seem to exude light.  I bumped it a bit with the choice of sunny yellow for the shirt of the playful child on the right.  I was inspired by the patchwork of Welsh artist Edrica Huws.  Her work seems to sparkle with the various prints she mixes together.  That sparkle quality was my goal in creating this work. 

Time was of the essence in making this portrait.  Working on a degree in painting is like a more-than-full-time job.  Fortunately, my professors have encouraged me to paint with fabric, so I was able to use this as one of my class projects.  The greenery was the quickest part because it was mostly one piece of fabric silk screened with thickened dye.  The wood and hair took the longest, because of the complexity.  I was grateful to have not stitched over any fingers in the process, as I mostly chased tiny loose pieces of fabric around with the needle. 

I enjoyed doing the hairdos on these girls.  Some striped fabrics helped imply strands and movement.   

I struggled with this tangle of fingers and had to undo and redo a few times before being satisfied.

The work started at 42” in length, but because of so much close stitching, the quilt ended up being 39” long.  Next time, I’ll need to allow more.  I’m glad I was able to interpret this lovely image in cloth, and while I have gathered the images and written this description, the sun has emerged, the cat is sunbathing on the porch, the plants are soaking it all in, and all is well. 

Patience    39 x 24”

Raw edge machine applique