Creating the Story

We have a Shaker style dresser that I have always liked for its simple austere styling. It seemed like a worthy subject for a painting, however something more needed to be added, something to tell a story.

It occurred to me an item of clothing, hanging on the dresser would complete the scene, so I went to my favorite source of inspiration, Pinterest. After poking around for awhile I decided some type of a pinafore apron would be just the thing to enhance the idea.

Where would I get such a thing? I’ll have to make it. After drawing some sketches, the type of fabric was the next decision. Some type of sack cloth or gauze or….linen…..I just happen to have some natural toned linen curtains (not in use), perfect.

Above is my work table with the repurposed curtains , soon to be a Shaker apron. This was really fun, cutting, gathering and making the garment something that I  pictured hanging on the dresser. And the painting began-

I liked the almost abstract feeling of the simple shapes and how the color blocks related to each other. The canvas was toned a warm color to set the palette for the warmth in this scene.

The story was starting to evolve at this point, texture being one of the key elements I really wanted to show case.

The palette I used for “Shaker Inspired” was Titanium White, Cadmium Yellow light, Cadmium Yellow medium, Cadmium Red Light, Cadmium Red Deep and Viridian Green.