The Bristol - an exciting start

I have not posted recently due to the Christmas holidays and my enthusiasm to draw and do little else - i.e. update sketch book or blog. 

Whilst I normally draw from direct observation and make no preliminary marks on the dissolvable fabric, I have decided to break with this and trace the dominant lines of the Bristol engine. I know I am questioning the need for art to be perfect and by tracing it it may seem that I am not allowing the natural freedom encouraged in my previous works. For such a large, diagrammatic piece to work, there must be an element of accuracy in the design. However, the element of chance and distortion will still occur when I remove the dissolvable fabric - weaknesses will show, overstitching will bulk and the edges may expand. This feels rather scary because after hours of careful and controlled  working, the piece will then be subject to a random and free act which will turn the drawing into an organic image that may or may not work.

To trace the image of the Bristol engine  I broke it down into 9  manageable pieces to allow me to work on one part at a time. 

Here is the work so far -

Image traced onto solufleece

At the machine...

I have worked fairly constantly over the past three weeks and think about a quarter  of this free machine embroidered drawing has been completed. I will post more images soon.