The Reveal: Catch and Release

You've probably been waiting on tenterhooks for this day to come, haven't you? It's time to reveal the art quilt made for the "Portrait" prompt for The Endeavourers art quilt group. Mine is from a photograph taken when we traveled to Swan Valley, Idaho, to see a quilting friend. Mike was nearing retirement at the time, and he was interested in taking up fly-fishing in his next life. Our friends generously arranged for a fishing trip on the Snake River near their Idaho home. 

Here's the original photograph of Mike with a cutthroat trout he caught that day.

For a long time, I've wanted to render this photo into fabric, and this seemed like as good a time as any. I sorted through my scraps, looking for anything that could be used.

And then, I went to work, starting with the jacket below the face.

When the whole portrait was done, it looked like this.

I had a fabric in my landscape bin that made a perfect background. I fused it to the background and then added the border. Batting was added without the backing, and then it was thread painted. When the thread-painting was finished, I added the backing and quilted it lightly. 

This is my first attempt at a full-on face. Prior to this, I'd only done human faces in profile. The nose was the hardest part for me to replicate.

I quilted some branches onto the tree, and did some quilting up and down the tree trunk.

Also, I quilted some clouds in the sky.

The fish was thread-painted along with the rest, but then I added some glitter thread to give it some sparkle.

Here's a close-up of the fish.

Backing up a little bit...

From there, I did a little quilting in the border, and then added a binding.

The back is made from this fabric that's been in my stash a long time. It was just what I needed.

And there you have it. My quilt, "Catch and Release," ends up at 21 x 16.5 inches. I had fun making it. I hope you like it.

To see more "Portrait" quilts, click here to be taken to The Endeavourers blog.