Magic in the Forest -Art -By -Karen

Welcome to the” Magic in the Forest”. I decided to paint a new art quilt for the house this Christmas season. This art piece is 15″ x 26″. My inspiration was a picture I found on the internet which was all in blues. Trees, elk, and misty clouds were in the background. Here is how I made this new art piece.

Usually, I make trees by drawing the lines and shapes and then letting the paint make the little knobs that make each tree unique. This time I decided to use a stencil for bamboo stalks. The stencil had an up and down effect and those broken horizontal lines that I could use for the linework later.

My plan was to stencil the blue background and then the white would eventually be the tree trunks. I quickly realized the stenciled trees were too close together so I ended up using the edge of the stencil. Then I could control how the trees were spaced.

Can you see the edges of the trunks? Each one is unique which is how nature makes them. The bamboo lines ended up in the background and which I like better because it gave the blue more definition. It was one of those happy accidents.

I stenciled all the trees leaving in a space for the elk. He was then sponged in using another stencil I had. He was originally a darker shade of blue and I realized he receded too much. Painting him with several coats of black and then penning in the black antlers took care of that problem.

Here is how I made the bark on the aspens using a fine black sharpie. Remember sharpies aren’t permanent till you heat set them. The black lines also made the aspens more prominent against the blue.

To me, the elk was looking too lonely in my forest so I added Jet (the dog). He was painted on a separate piece of fabric and then using heat n bond, was attached to the painted picture. Here is a little trick I use to help him blend in better. When I trimmed him up to attach, I left about a 1/2″ of white fabric around all the edges. After he is attached then I paint in the background to meet him. All the edges of this applique will be disguised by your final quilting lines.

Here is a closeup of that applique. If you look closely you can see a slight line in the left aspen trunk about 1/2″
above his tail and then follow that line.

The finishing touch was the falling snow, after all this is a Christmas scene. I accomplished this by dropping white acrylic paint drops with my round brush. Then I ironed it dry by holding the iron flat and not moving it from side to side. It wiped out my iron but I love the effect.

You will notice there aren’t any misty clouds but as usual, my art pieces take on a life of their own. I hope you enjoyed a stroll in my magical forest and it brings you peace and rest this holiday season…..Merry Christmas!

17 Comments

HeatherM on December 21, 2021 at 12:33 pm

This is lovely! A great idea well executed. Congrats!

Karen on December 21, 2021 at 3:35 pm

Thanks Heather, Have a Merry Christmas!
Reply

Laurie Oliva-hazen on December 21, 2021 at 12:55 pm

Absolutely beautiful

Karen on December 21, 2021 at 3:34 pm

Thanks Laurie, Hope your holidays are merry!
Reply
Mary Joan Marley on January 3, 2022 at 4:52 am

M
Reply

Phyllis K Kochert on December 21, 2021 at 2:52 pm

Simply amazing, Karen!

Karen on December 21, 2021 at 3:33 pm

Thanks Phyllis, So glad to see you at the Gooding Christmas party.
Reply
- Kathleen Adamson on December 22, 2021 at 1:13 am
  
  Love your blog. Makes me happy
  Reply

kathleen stevenson on December 22, 2021 at 12:34 am

Dear Karen,
Thank you for explaining the process to create such a beautiful Art Piece. It has brought Christmas for me. Very Uplifting and beautiful. I also love the snow, looks real and the Animals . Thank you so much for sharing your creativity Kathleen