There’s going to be a woodpecker, too..

I am going to start rereading the book again, at some point soon, but in the meantime, since I’ve rediscovered my “Vision of Placidus” notebook, I know that one of the birds I was going to include is a woodpecker.

I’m going to have to go to the shops and find some more gauze soon, as well, but while I can squeeze an animal in to the existing fabrics, I will do so.

I’ve commented before, I think, that getting a readable and workable design drawing onto gauze is a non-trivial exercise, but this opaque white line (a Posca pen) is pretty much the best I’ve found so far, and it also allows me to help myself by putting a few extra emphases on the lightest parts.

It’s amazing how quickly these little animals go, once I have a chance to get started. In fact, I was so entranced by how Woody was growing that I didn’t stop to take photos. In fact, I barely stopped to draw breath.

So this photograph shows a single afternoon’s work. I’ve used mostly fine silk threads, although his red breeches are a soft perle, and some of the white is probably cotton. As for approach – I simply tangle my stitches together, feather stitch variations, Cretan stitch variations, the occasional chain stitch or straight stitch. What I’m hoping is that the tangle of stitches will create a subtle variation in colour that will help the whole thing feel alive when it’s viewed from a reasonable distance.

I didn’t have much I wanted to add, in the end. A few highlights, filling in the wings a little, and then really the woodpecker is done. I may add more when it comes to assembling the piece (remember all those seed stitches I added to the View of the Excavation once I started assembling the Dreams of Amarna panels?), but that can wait until I know what is being balanced with what.

I have been thinking, on and off, since I was asked about it after my talk, that assembling Placidus may prove to be an exceptionally challenging process. The panel I envisage is going to be about five foot by four foot, and I have a horrible feeling I’m going to be propping it against a wall or slinging it from hooks or even emulating one or other of the great Impressionists by somehow arranging a slot in the floor to drop it into while I tackle the top.

Maybe I shouldn’t be in too much of a hurry to finish this one…!