Wednesday, November 6, 2013

Getting to Periwinkle: Jennifer Hornyak

By the end of the month, I have to come up with a small quilt that showcases the colour periwinkle. Or is it lavender? This assignment is one of the quarterly challenges of the on-line group 12 by the dozen. Every three months, one of the twelve members chooses a colour, and we all respond with a 8.5 x 11-inch art quilt. This time round, Linda Forey chose a colour from a hibiscus in her garden.


Linda Bilsborrow analyzed the photo of this flower by using some on-line software to help us understand the colour a little better. How much blue? How much violet? Warm or cool?


Because I didn't have any fabric like this on hand, I tried several different MX dyes on cotton, but nothing was quite right. I even sent the photo of the flower to PRO Chemical & Dye company, seeking their advice about which dye or combination of dyes I might use. Their suggestion was Blue-Violet, which you can see below. Others have advised, "Start with turquoise and add magenta", or "Start with boysenberry and add a dash of this and a drop of that".

Gradation dyeing: Blue-Violet

Gradation dyeing: 1 part Blue-Violet, 1 part Indigo
Gradation Dyeing: Eggplant

Gradation Dyeing: 2 parts Ultra-Violet, 1 part Indigo
The result of all this fretting is that I now have all these lovely colours to work with, but I'm still not convinced I've matched the challenge colour. And then I have to decide on the other colours for the piece. A monochromatic range of lights and darks? A buttery-yellow as a complementary?

Until November 12, there's a show at Galerie de Bellefeuille that I hope to see. Montreal artist Jennifer Hornyak is known for her sophisticated palette and her fresh and loose handling of oil paint. Maybe I can borrow some of her inspired sense of colour to help me rise to this Challenge. Have a look at some of her still lifes, below, to see what she does with periwinkle. (Or is it lavender?)

Patchwork with Orange, Jennifer Hornyak, 2013

White Cadence I, Jennifer Hornyak, 2012

Flowers with Ice Blue Stripe, Jennifer Hornyak, 2012
White Flowers with Lavender, Jennifer Hornyak, 2013

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Wow--that really is a tough color! So nuanced! At least all your dyeing has paid off with other lovely shades. And the work of Hornyak certainly does provide some inspiration!