
Sometimes I am a forgetful idiot. A sensible way of painting a large silk scarf is to start in the middle and work your way out finishing with the borders.
There is a logic to that as often a border will use the predominant colours of the main design of the scarf, but in a different amount and at a different scale.
And, then there is the time I began by painting the border in its entirety first .
I did have a rough idea of the colours I wanted to use for the whole scarf, but as I painted the borders they looked dead and dull and despite deciding I was NOT going to use any turquoise, there it was added to the border and bringing lightness and energy.
I think adding the turquoise to the borders worked and in the end it didn’t significantly change the colours for the centre panel except for featuring as a 50% dilution on the vase motif.

As I think you can see in the original painting which I used as the source for this scarf (above top left), the vase was blue and white with red flowers with not a single brushstroke of turquoise in sight.

Unusually in my case, it turns out on this occasion it was better for me to start painting the more restricted borders before splashing out in the centre.

Mirelle is now finished, steamed, photographed and on my shop.
It’s always fascinating to see how you bring everything together.
Thanks – sometimes there is some order even if it’s in reverse.
What a dazzling work of art you have created. It is so interesting watching the different stages it goes through.
Thank you. It is certainly one of my more brighter pieces of work.
Our best laid plans…!!! I know this sequence of events myself. I really like the finished results.
Thank you. We do like colour don’t we and I think this one although brightly busy is very wearable. Need to get some model pics for it when the weather improves.
It looks great Agnes. In the dim dark ages I used to do counted cross stitch, and you always had to start in the centre or the entire thing would get out of line. Not quite the same comparison to your creativity.
Oh yes, my mother used to some of that, but being of a challenging temperament she always started with a part she liked the look of first. 🙄 And, consequently the finished piece was always a little out of shape.
That gave me a giggle.