Dragonflies Floorcloth

I finished the Dragonflies Floorcloth. It is 4′ 6″ wide by 6′ 6″ long. This would be great in an entranceway or mudroom or it could be used in a living room, in front of a sofa. My intent is to have it be used in a vacation home setting here in the mountains. The dragonflies celebrate the beauty of the summer; the snow-tipped pine cones are a reminder of winter.

Previously, I wrote about a floorcloth I had painted several years ago using this design. It was done using colors which were a little brighter. These blues on the new one are more like denim and I applied multiple layers of a thin wash to create the darker tones.

Here’s the older one:

The original Floorcloth was smaller (30″ X 45″) and by virtue of its size, could be a little daintier. If I had made this bigger one equally “dainty” it might have started to be too “cute” and wouldn’t be as likely to work in a variety of situations.

This new one is looking to be in a log-style home or an Arts and Crafts period home.

Besides the layers of wash, I also added some texture (which unfortunately doesn’t show very well in this photo. I stamped the interior light blue with a slichtly darker blue in a pine cone pattern. Then the wide yellow border stripes got little branch-and-leaf details. It wasn’t really intended, but it ended up giving the appearance that the whole floorcloth is trimmed with ribbon. I like it. It adds interest.

Here’s a close up of the center stamp and the border:

The next change is the pine cone detail in the corner. I made a stencil using a giant pine cone for reference, stencilled it with brown in the corners, then painted in the snow which is just dusting the tips of the cones. This helped to tie in the browns and white from the center medallion.

This floorcloth is now in the Show Room Collection. I only have a handful of floorcloths for sale in the Gallery at any given time. Anyone can feel free to call me to find out what’s available today.

Starting Monday, I’ll be working on the pastoral view of Mount Ascutney for the large T-shaped floorcloth I mentioned awhile ago. It’s all shrunk, primed, hemmed and lined out. Now the fun can begin! Check back here for its progress. I’ll try to post photos whenever possible.

2 Responses

1. Mary L. Curry Says:
   February 16th, 2008 at 6:25 pm

   Now all I have to do is to buy a nice rustic place in the mountains!

   Seriously, I love this one!

2. Angie Nelson Says:
   February 17th, 2008 at 1:58 pm

   Striking! I really like the revision with the pinecones stamped in the background. It does look very Arts and Crafts style.

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