Telemark Rosemaling is the most beautiful of Rosemaling designs or Norwegian style of folk art, of all. It is dynamic and appears to move.
One motif less commonly seen in Telemark style is Birds. Traditionally birds when used as a motif, were featured looking backward. The meaning stems from religious times in the middle ages when one had to keep a watch out for evil that might sneak up and infiltrate the frailties of the human spirit!
Some say the bird’s ability to renew its tail feathers every year was seen as a symbol of (religious) renewal and this is why the bird looks back over its shoulder.
Whatever the reason, the addition of a bird motif becomes an asymmetrical focal point in and is surprisingly easy to achieve with some basic comma strokes and flat brush highlighting and shading.
Chalk or trace the pattern on your proposed project unless you want to work freehand. It can be card, wood, canvas, prepare the palette with three values of each colour, and paint the C and S scrolls. The first value used is the medium value. Make sure you then place the shading colour (the darker value) on the inside and the highlight or lighter colour on the outside of the scroll.
If you are unsure how to make a c and s strokes there is a youtube video below
The bird, is a series of c scrolls and s strokes with embellishment of comma highlight strokes on the body. The body is one large c stroke, the tail several overlapping comma strokes. The wing is completed with very small c strokes in a highlight or white colour over the top of the blue wing.
Finally, add a few detail strokes on the bird’s body, the eye, a yellow beak and the final liner embellishments and then it is complete.
Birds are something Rosemaling artists may ponder about.
Beautifully done! Thanks also for the interesting information about the bird in the painting! 😀
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Ineke, the bird was an extremely popular motif in Hindeloopen ( Dutch ) painting, so it is no surprise that it appealed to yourself. I am also fond of the bird motif.
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One day I am going to try my hand at it! 😀
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Then I will look forward to the results, and hope that you will share them here.
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I still need to make a study of it first. I think I already have a collection of patterns I have gathered way back in 1980ties
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They sound interesting. Are they individual patterns or part of a book or magazine?
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Was a series from a magazine. I have to dig into my one box that I have not unpacked jet(after 5 years still in the the box!)
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Oh that is ok. I am still painting things I started 15 years ago….I call them UFO’s – unfinished objects!!
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I agree! I also have UFO’s. Retirement doesn’t give that much extra time to complete them
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Interesting – as the common perception is that we all will have plenty of time to do just that, in our retirement.
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Ha ha that’s a real joke!
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Gosh, that’s pretty, Amanda ! – and CLEVER ! You must be very chuffed.
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I was happy the way it turned out M.R. The bird was easy to do once broken down into the various strokes.
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The work is beautiful. I admire you tremendously !
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Oh thanks, that is ever so kind.
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