"Watchful Night" - gift for partner

StephKunze

Active member
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This is a combined birthday and Christmas present for my partner. I drew the deer referencing one of the many photographs he's taken of white-tailed deer that frequent his yard. I used fabric, fabric trim pieces, colored pencils, pastel pencils, an ink pen, and a mirror to make this piece, lol. So about the most mixed media I've ever used in one piece.

I took PaintBoss's suggestion to use a black ink pen to bring out facial details in the animals. It was a big help!

The mirror is reflecting my white ceiling, so that's why it's so bright. My idea is that, when you see this in person, the mirror will reflect your eye as you're looking at it. (It's small enough to only really reflect an eye or another small part of your face.)

My next piece is going to be a capybara (or capybaras), and it's going to be a gift for my mom. I'm thinking that piece will have a color palette of browns, yellows, oranges, and pinks. It will be more pattern heavy than this one, I think, since my mom loves patterns.

I still have lots to learn about mixed media, but even so I enjoyed making this. I hope my partner likes it.

watchful-night-done.jpg

"Watchful Night" (mixed media, 12 x 16 inches, 2025)
 
Wow this is so beautiful! I love the fabric pieces and the texture they provide and the birds and animals inhabit their space so well. The mirror is a very cool addition!
 
Wow this is so beautiful! I love the fabric pieces and the texture they provide and the birds and animals inhabit their space so well. The mirror is a very cool addition!
Thanks! This was my first timing using a mirror and probably will not be the last. In order to get that size I had to buy a 20 piece pack, haha, but I also have some other ideas of how I might use one in other pieces.
 
This is elegant and beautiful! I can't imagine your partner won't be tickled to see this, especially given the tribute to the white-tailed deer he loves to photograph. I love your textures and the vertical lines. I'm smiling at the appearance of your ceiling in the mirror! It's getting texture, too!

Wonderful piece.
 
Thank you so much! I gave it to him yesterday, and he said he loved it and was looking forward to finding a place to display it. So I'm happy :)
 
Ooh I love this. The animals are beautiful - they look so silvery! And I love the textures too. Great idea to use fabric. I'm looking forward to seeing your capybaras! 🙂
 
Ooh I love this. The animals are beautiful - they look so silvery! And I love the textures too. Great idea to use fabric. I'm looking forward to seeing your capybaras! 🙂
Thank you ☺️ I'll be starting on the capybaras next week, so hoping all goes well and I finish it!
 
Well, Steph, you have outdone yourself! The finish is incredible considering you are marrying all those materials together. It truly is a mixed media piece! Boy, it’s wonderful. The execution and the design, and I really like the idea of bringing the viewer (eye) into the piece. I mean, you look like you been doing this for years! And of course your husband loved it! So special. I’m really glad the little hint for the ink pen helped.
I knew Arty would love it too. She also puts the mix in mixed media!😁😁😁
👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻❤️
 
Well, Steph, you have outdone yourself! The finish is incredible considering you are marrying all those materials together. It truly is a mixed media piece! Boy, it’s wonderful. The execution and the design, and I really like the idea of bringing the viewer (eye) into the piece. I mean, you look like you been doing this for years! And of course your husband loved it! So special. I’m really glad the little hint for the ink pen helped.
I knew Arty would love it too. She also puts the mix in mixed media!😁😁😁
👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻❤️
Oh gosh thank you so much. Your comment means a lot to me, this is so kind of you to say. ❤️ And it was a help! I used pen and ink not just on the animals here but also on the trees. Definitely planning to use more pen and ink for pieces in this style. :)
 
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