OBT – 2nd Floor Final Mat Shots

I wanted to present both in process and finished shots of the second floor mat. As you can see the corner starts out in dark brown and moves toward red. I used a different pattern here by using only odd numbers for each piece of paper. I added the paper in groups of three or five, and worked so that each paper connected to the next bit in a different pattern. 

From the shot to the left you can see how the marbelized browns include shades and hints of red, which is how I worked the transition. It was difficult to dig through all my browns to find scraps that contained enough red to serve as the beginning of the transition, and added enough texture to the piece to be interesting.

I must share my quandary as I worked on this one. I viewed the portions you see and noticed that it needed more color, more life, which meant less brown and red and more of something else. So what to do? I started the search for more colors and how I could add them without losing the portion I had already created.

I reviewed the color wheel in my mind, and remembered that yellow and pink and orange might work well with the colors already in place. I pulled out more colors and scraps and started working again. Remember, I started working with odd numbers of each paper scrap, so I had to add more color from paper where I had enough to add it in odd numbers. I had a couple pieces that would have looked beautiful, however I did not have enough to keep up the pattern.

Here is a close up shot of one of the corners where I added more color, notice that brown and red are no longer prominent. It has a great deal of pink and orange and moves into yellows. Upon finishing the mat, I then had to figure out which side was the bottom and which would end as the top. That decision really comes into play as I add the calligraphy, so when you see the final piece you will understand.

Here is a shot of the completed mat with the frame around it so you can visualize the final color scheme as it will appear when it is finished.