I wanted to use the tearing and repairing of fabric as a metaphor for healing in general. I chose to represent Harris Tweed because of its history and its association with the landscape, nature and place. If any fabric had a soul, it would be Harris Tweed. Using Harris Tweed enabled the metaphor to extend beyond physical healing and mental healing to include environmental healing.
In the painting the fabric has been torn or ripped either accidentally or deliberately. This can represent any form of injury or damage- physical, mental or environmental.
This image shows the healing process - the repair. A skilled tailor can make a near invisible repair but in my experience it isn't always so easy. Sometimes healing is challenging. Here it takes staples, eyelets and leather thongs to make the repair.
The scar after the healing process. Healing is not always returning to the original state, there maybe changes - scars, but scar tissue can be stronger. Healing can leave you more resilient. "Just because there are scars doesn't mean there isn't healing- Just because there is healing doesn't mean there isn't scars.
The three stages of healing: torn/injured repairing/healing mended/recovered (with scar)
Creating a representation of Harris Tweed in paint was all about layering textures and watercolour washes. I created a textured background by dragging different combs through acrylic gesso. I then painted the injury using a palette knife.
I used yellow ochre, cadmium yellow, alizarin crimson, and prussian blue to create the beautiful earthy tones of Harris Tweed. I created the texture of the fabric by painting on thin washes using various brushes in vertical and horizontal strokes.
Once I got a realistic textured background of earthy tones, I added the patterned threads of purple, pink and darker green. I used permanent rose and prussian blue (for the pinks and purples) and added cobalt blue to the original green mix to darken it.
I continued to work on the texture of the fabric painting loose threads and soft textured edges to create the feel of thick tweed with its woolly nap.
I used burnt sienna, neutral tint and acrylic silver for the details on the tear and repair. These painting have turned out beautifully organic and very tactile in the flesh- I hope the photographs have captured some of these qualities.
