Saturday, June 25, 2011

Cropping instead of cutting


What you see here is what has become of this piece of painted and stencilled fabric so far.   I cut up the fabric, fused and stitched it onto a ground, and have applied a few more birds and some machine quilting.  I decided to work extra big, figuring I'd sort out the final size and shape later.  

So yesterday, after folding and pinning for a while with the thing up on the design wall, it occurred to me that taking a photo and playing with different crops would make this decision so much easier.  I just LOVE my digital camera.  

So I started with a basic ordinary crop.


How would it look with less green on the sides but more on the bottom? Hmmmm.


What about square?


 Maybe even more green at the bottom?


Maybe off center?


Perhaps a tight crop that cuts off elements ....


So far, the second one down strikes me as a balance I like but it's ordinary.  To my surprise, the last one with cut off bits has the most energy to me. I will mull on this for a while.  What do you think?

14 comments:

  1. I like the last one with the birds swooping in and out.

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  2. The last one, yes. Or the one just before it.

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  3. Off center, more green at the bottom. Love what you've done so far.

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  4. Isn't it amazing what a difference the cropping makes, Diane? I'd NEVER have realized it without seeing your results! I love the one with more green at the bottom, and the tightly cropped one at the end with the birds entering and exiting the frame...

    Can't wait to see what you end up with.

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  5. I actually like the first two. They look like ariel shots over a large city with the country surrending it. Reminds me of flying into NYC.

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  6. #4 with more green at the bottom and more of a rectangle.

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  7. I'm with Francoise- the one at the bottom, or the one just above it. They have the most energy and interest to me.

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  8. I like the off center one. And I like your digital solution -- excellent use of technology.

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  9. I like the second last and the third to last ones. I really like the ones with more green at the bottom, that forces the viewer's eye upward and I like the off centre placement too. I really like the shape you have created with your fabric, so I wouldn't like to cut any of it off - but that's just me.

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  10. I had no vision of where you were headed with this--
    WOW!
    Last one first...
    More green on the bottom next...
    Thanks for the lesson on cropping!

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  11. What if you tried a round crop- sort of like looking through a telescope? Just a thought. This piece is very interesting, very dynamic. There is much to see in this "city". The green gives it the country while the concentration of color and line shows us the city. While the birds know no boundaries. This is a very appealing piece indeed.

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  12. Ha ha! Everyone likes something different! I like the 3rd down--more green at the bottom. I think it emphasizes the idea of the birds flying high.

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  13. Oops, I guess that was the 4th down. And, BTW, I love the design and especially the stitching.

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  14. I am with Terry. It has the best sense of space that the birds are in.

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