"Freedom's Gaze"
Lincoln Memorial Illustration for Quiltfolk Magazine
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This work is informally dedicated to all our service members.
This work is informally dedicated to all our service members.
My second print of our 2020 series on Quilted American Landmarks. It was a slow process to integrate quilt patterns into and around Lincoln's figure. I referenced the quilt pattern called New York Beauty to create my own variation of sun disks which are historically a symbol of power.
An appropriate artwork for Memorial Day 2020 this illustration of Lincoln also seems like a celebration of our country's determination to overcome all challenges. I sketched out this design back on March 14 as our world began to change. Originally designed to be released second, this design will likely be released shortly after Memorial Day.
This artwork was a study in tonal shifts using a monochromatic scales, a common theme I have observed in quilting designs from quilt shows around the country. I needed something interesting to stop the visual flow at the bottom of this design. This lower panel is a series of radiating tone variations of the blue and deep red that appears in higher intensity in the top half of the design.
Lincoln's head and face required a higher level of contrast and intensity of color creating a central focus. The dark halo of rhombus shapes accentuates this contrast and pulls the eye toward the face. These shapes created another monochramatic transition.
The normally full circle shapes of the quilt pattern called New York Beauty were modified as sun ray fragments pointing like arrows at Lincoln.
The wireframe
The original sketch concept
