Sports fixation!

"This is a very unlikely subject for you of all people," said a friend. I explained about the way the camera has caught the gestures and made the bodies into shapes you might not normally see. All that action....

At the painting class on Thursday I overestimated the amount of paint I could use in two hours, and instead of throwing the rest away, was encouraged to take it home, thoroughly wrapped in clingfilm. It's taken till Saturday morning to settle down to a few hours' painting. I find it best to get started right away, before breakfast - but not before coffee -

 Trying the net + plastic again - the clear sight would save a lot of cutting out!

But even on "proper plastic", too much of the paint is left behind rather than being caught in the net -

 The patchy paint looks ok on the dark background, but won't do for this project.

Next bright idea is to use a lightbox so the details can be seen through fabric that's more opaque. A blank ipad or computer screen, covered by something firm like a sheet of perspex, makes a good lightbox.

 Again, the cutout is inside a plastic folder, and the patch of fabric is stretched on the folder by the masking tape.

Result! -

It takes me a long time to do each one, but it's fun (ie, not difficult) and absorbing.

Let's try some loosely woven linen -

 Start with the darker areas, put in a bit of shadow -

 Then try to replicate the uniform -

I'm purposely using somewhat strange skin tones, one of which is burnt sienna (as in blue-uniform in a previous pic).

Once there are a few of these I'll try laying them out and adding quilting, see if that will work with the painting or whether there needs to be another round of experimentation.