Throughout Europe & the UK representations of the 'Green Man' can be found on buildings, in churches & hiding in gardens. He is an intriguing character & I have enjoyed 'finding' him on my travels. Even here in Adelaide, there are a couple of figures amidst architectural features who could be described as being a Green Man.
I have one in my garden too!
He is actually a planter, & for many years a succulent has grown from his head to create the most wonderful dreadlocks!! Unfortunately, I am very good at forgetting to water his hair &, let's just say, his dreads are not in the best of shape at the moment!! I've recently had to give him a hair cut, removing the dead bits, so with a bit of perseverance, his flourishing locks may yet return. Inspite of my poor care, each year his hair sprouts the most wonderful little flowers.
He was my muse for the weekly art project this past week!
As I've recently started a 10 week study course, time was even more pressed than usual. My WAP was not the priority & when I did have a slot of time to produce something, it was very limited.
I used pencil to draw the various componants of the photo above. I wasn't too fussed about accuracy, I merely wanted to feel the shapes and observe what went where. This is one of the values of drawing!
I raided the fabric stash in order to make a start.
My base fabric was a loose weave cotton/linen mix that came from curtain swatches. It was a perfect texture for drawing onto with my prismcolour pencils, which have a waxy softness to them.
My composition was split in half after I layered the 'leaf' fabrics on & cut back to reveal their lovely tear-drop shapes. Using a shiny fabric as the lighter colour, provided a splash of energy to the piece.
For the flower, I confess to little planning. It was most definitely a rush job! I am pleased with the use of this old shirt sleeve as the top outline though, it had a good blend of colour tone.
Cutting back & cutting back some more, the flowers were revealed!
Here is the final outcome & although I really should have taken more care with the placement of the flowers (instead of panicking that I needed to start cooking dinner), I'm quite pleased with the result.
It is a reminder of what my Green Man's dreadlocks looked like...in healthier days!!
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