This is the second gorilla image that I’ve made in a series of smaller works. Two friends were interested in Gorilla One before she was finished, so I decided to make another one. This is a different gorilla (I think) from my friend Robin’s photos of an amazing trip to Africa. By the time I zoomed in on the face of the gorilla, the image was a little fuzzy, but I was happy with my drawing.
I scanned the drawing onto my computer and reversed the image. I subsequently reversed the image on the original photo which is why it appears reversed above. I always have the photos on my iPad in front of me as I am stitching. I printed the scanned drawing at a size where the eyes were large enough to includes lots of detail. There is something compelling about gorilla eyes and they set the tone for the rest of the work.
I transferred the drawing onto a scrap of eco-dyed canvas. As I described in my process for Lioness 2, I started my free motion thread painting with the eyes, and then continued with the collaging. I tried to make use of the imprint of dark leaves at the bottom of the dyed fabric but they did give me some trouble in the next stages!
The first draft of stitching got everything firmly attached. The second draft added more details. You may notice that the purple tree fabric under the chin (above) disappeared! I tried a few options but couldn’t get the dark leaf prints to look right so I added loose threads which let some of the dark show through, blended the areas together and looked more like the longer chin fur.
I had originally thought to make this girl 10″ by 10″ but the dimensions just were not looking right to me. She is a finished size of 9″ wide by 10″high. Gorilla Two is off to live with Robin and Sandra as a reminder of their wonderful trip!
I have really enjoyed working on these two Gorilla pieces – the expressive eyes, and exploring dark fur in a wide range of colours and fabric motifs. There will definitely be another gorilla on the list for future projects!
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[…] and one side. Once again I found this a wonderful piece to work on. As I mentioned in my post for Gorilla 2, the eyes provide such character, right from the […]
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