landscape rugs - Deanne Fitzpatrick

LANDSCAPE RUGS
A Lesson with Deanne Fitzpatrick
Years ago my son said to me , in reference to my landscape rugs, “Theses rugs are your
best work.” He was about fourteen, a teenager who barely noticed my rugs but I believed
him. They are the rugs I am most drawn to myself. The soft sense that they add to a room,
or underfoot is dreamy. They are the rugs that I can get most painterly with, letting one
colour ease into another as one area of the landscape transforms itself into another.
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Deanne Fitzpatrick
Rug Hooker
Author
Artist
Textured Materials
I often call my landscape rugs field rugs. So throughout this lesson, I will use these terms
interchangeably. You need to keep your eyes open for interesting materials that will hook
up differently than just plain wool cloth to make these rugs work. When you change the
texture of the yarns you are using, your loops come up differently, and it gives you more
room for blending materials. I like some thinner yarn, and some thicker yarns and I will
hook them alongside each other. Variegated yarns with many different colours in them
provide a great base for this type of design because they give you a colour pallette to
work from. I also like fleece because it adds dimension and height to your loops. It is
great for bushes when you hook it high. Hooked low, it just gives a variation in the
landscape.
Feeling the Landscape
It takes a long time for the landscape to sink into me. I take years to get to know it.
Some artists when they travel can come back from a trip inspired and ready to create.
Personally I have never been able to do that. I have to live in a landscape, be with it,
understand it, and oddly enough the people who live on it before I feel inspired to play
with landscape as a rug. This might change and I might become more open with time.
As much as I enjoy a new landscape, I never feel that I want to recreate it as a rug. For
now it is just who I am and I roll with it, choosing to create the few landscapes that I
have become intimate with over time.
For years I relied on memory and hooked the Newfoundland landscape as I
remembered it. After years of living here my feelings for the marsh, and county fields
grew stronger and I turned to that in my work. Years of traveling across the Tantramar
Marsh from Amherst to Sackville made me appreciate the expansiveness, the level
land, the grasses blowing in the wind. Walking nearly five miles everyday taught me
that a field changes it colouring as the sun moves over it through out the day. The light
paints the landscape in ways that an artist can only dream of. It was my walking that
lead me to field rugs. One day as I walked out the shore towards the Chapman
Settlement Road, I suddenly saw a white farmhouse and field in a way I had never
seen it before. It was suddenly a panorama that I had to hook as a rug. It was the first
field rug, a big step away from the typical coastal landscapes that I had been exploring
for years.
With in a week I had that first rug on the frame and when I finished it I was in love. That
is how you feel about new work that you believe takes you a big step forward. There is
a romance of an idea and you want to get to know it as well as you can. You want to
bury yourself in it, spend time with it, sort things out with it. That is how I felt about
landscape rugs and I have not stopped playing with them ever since. This lesson is
about what I have learned in fifteen years about making these rugs. I have put together
a series of notes here for you to get a glimpse into the way I hook my field rugs, or
landscape rugs.
I hope you will use the notes to create rugs of the landscapes that matter to you , the
fields that have sunk into your being and made you want to recreate them. You can
examine the pictures here for ideas and see how I make the rugs look the way I do.
You can see the materials I use and imagine how you might use them. I hope that this
lesson will get your imagination rolling so that the rugs you create are your own and
not replicas of these shown here. Look at these rugs for the little things, the bits of
fabrics used, the way the lines are hooked, the shapes of things. Create your own
landscapes by looking at the land you love and re imagining it as a bunch of lines and
shapes as textures. Put them together as your own. Play and have fun.
EXPLORING YOUR LOCAL LANDSCAPE
I appreciate the area I live in. From the Tantramar Marsh to the farmer’s fields to the coastal villages, I
see a different beauty in them all and I try to get around the area and take pictures. The truth is though,
I hardly ever reference these pictures when I go to create rugs. They are more about creating
compositions as I take the images, and more about seeing what is around me. When you stop to take
a picture , you stop to take a moment to see how things really are. Your camera is one of your greatest
tools to help you see. It does not have to be fancy or expensive. It can even be a phone camera.
Your camera is a view finder. As you move around you change perspectives. As you zoom in or zoom
out, you get completely different views. Peggy’s Cove, pictured above, is just a few hours drive from
my house. I recently visited there for the first time in twenty years and while there I took lots of pictures
just with my phone camera. They were not meant to be beautiful photographs but instead just a tool to
jog my memory, and to see Peggy’s Cove again from a few different perspectives. You can see in the
images above how I took some close ups and some broader landscape images.
I will probably never hook either of these but there are things I notice in the pictures that I might use in
landscape design. For example, I really like the big rock in the foreground and how it anchors the
composition. If I were creating a design I would probably make it a bit smaller, but still it gave me an
idea. In the picture to the left I like the crown of rock in the foreground that elevates the houses. I think
a layer of rock like this might appear sometimes in one of my hooked rugs. I like to mine images for
ideas and learn what the landscape around me really looks like. Takes notes about it, sketch out some
of the ideas and keep them as a resource for your own designs.
Activity
Take your camera on a little journey and make many pictures of the same landscape. Zoom in, zoom
out, walk around, squat down, stand on a rock; change your perspective then examine the pictures for
ideas for your landscape rugs. Do not use the pictures as rug designs but use them as fodder for your
own imaginary villages.
THE LONELY TREE
This tree on the way to Parrsboro has captured my attention for the last year or so. Sometimes it is a single
detail in the landscape, a tree, a rock, or an outcrop of some sort that makes you stop and think about how you
might hook it. Though I have not tried to hook this image above, (which I absolutely love) as I poured over some
small images again, I saw that the tree was influencing my work. I did not intentionally do this. It just happened
because I was noticing and watching what was around you. It is akin to learning a new language I suppose.
After immersing yourself in it for a while you are surprised to discover the new words you know. Seeing and
keeping notes and pictures about what you see is like this too. You will discover that you have new tools in your
tool box as you hook rugs. I love how these little rugs just came out of me with out me thinking about the
particular tree that inspired them. If you really lie in the landscape around you and keep your eyes wide open the
landcape will transform itself in front of you on a regular basis, from season to season of course, but also from
morning to night, as the light changes.
THE WILD TREE
Here is another example of the tree being the main element of the landscape. These were pictures I took
somewhere along the way, and once again, I can see their influence in my work. The influence here is really
about form and composition.
Hooking the Trees:
Lonely Tree from the previous page: I outlined the branch areas as irregular ovals and then filled them in
with lighter greens, some cloth, some textured yarn and some slub. The roundness of the slub suits the
roundness of the branches. This a kind of stylized or graphic way of representing the lonely tree.
Wild Tree: For these trees I hook the trunk first in a linear way, leaving empty spaces for the areas where the
branches are going to overlap the trunk. For the branches I used khaki based greens, and blue based
greens ,because I find that is often what a spruce or pine looks like with the light hitting it. I used cloth and
fleece mostly, hooking the fleece just a tiny bit higher. Notice how the outside edges of the branches are
very organic and staggered looking. This is very intentional and there was not a straight line used in these.
The tree is also shaped by the sky behind it, the negative space. By hooking around the branches you
further form the branches themselves.
IN THE WOODS
As a child I spent hours and hours in the
woods behind my house and the only
trees up there were wild spruce. They
were squat and bunched together. I
remember as a child feeling a kind of
richness about them because there were
so many. When something was so
abundant it made you feel wealthy. I felt
the same about beach rocks. There was
something beautiful about abundance.
I still live among an abundance of
Spruce trees so when I hook them I
often hook many. Here are what I
believe to be the most important things
to remember as you hook these trees:
Top Image: I like to hook them in upside
down vees that are slightly turned out at
the edges. I keep changing the shades
of the vees so that they stand out from
one another.
Middle Image: Notice the difference in
how I hook the trees in the upside down
v shape ,as opposed to the soft circular
shapes of how I am hooking the bushes
beside them.
Bottom Image:
You can see how I have left room
between the trees to fill in the negative
space around them and further create
the shape of the tree itself. I also like to
vary the tones from tree to tree so that
they do not all run together in terms of
colour.
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BETWEEN THE TREES
The space between the trees is as
important as the trees themselves in
terms of defining what the tree
actually looks like.
Top image: Make sure the
background you choose, whether it is
sky, water or background hills is in
contrast to your trees if you want the
trees to stand out. Here I have chosen
creams and light greys as this will
allow my trees to really stand out.
Middle Image: I use one blueish grey
and hook it in a zig zag like line, right
up close to the tree to further define
the tree. As I hook it I leave room to
add other colours close and around it
so that there can be a blend of
colours behind the tree. In this case
the colours are on similar tones and
work well together.
Bottom Image: See how close the
colours are hooked together. There is
a transition in the background of
cream to greys and each colour is
used to draw out the tree shape. The
sky is hooked in large amoeba like
areas while the trees are hooked in
the upside down vees. The contrast in
the direction of the hooking makes
sense and adds to the overall textural
effect of the rug.
You can see from this illustration that
hooking the trees is as much about
hooking around the trees, as it is
about hooking the trees themselves.
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THOSE TREES OVER YONDER
Just look at trees in the distance as you are driving. There are often little peaks that hit the sky in points. This
is what I try to replicate when I hook trees in the distance. I also notice that trees in the distance are other
colours than green so I go beyond green in my colour choices. I look for spruce like blues, plums, purples,
and teals to mix with the traditional forest greens that you would choose. When I hook trees like this I do
very much the same as I would for the larger spruce trees that I showed you previously.
The other way I like to hook smaller trees in the distance is by hooking small triangles of different colours
layered on top of one another. I make the triangles erratic so that they are not perfectly formed triangles but
rather slightly oddly shaped ones. This method of hooking little triangles works even better if you do not
make the lines perfectly straight because it gives you room to wiggle some background colour in behind
them.
Again, the wiggling of that background colour in behind the triangles of little misshapen trees is what will
make the trees appear realistic. Sometimes I will even put a loop or two of the background colour here and
there in the lower parts of the trees so that it looks as if there is sky behind them. This offers distance.
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Back Hills - Hundred Acres Rug
You can see the trees in the front of the back hills if you look closely. You cannot see them well
because there is no contrast and in this case that is okay in this rug, unlike the earlier ones
shown, because I wanted the trees to blend into the back hills. I also wanted to give the
impression of trees just before the hills started because it would add more depth and make the
rug more interesting. Sometimes hooking the shape of something against a similar colour just
adds texture to the rug and interest as in this case. You will notice both kinds of trees and can
see them in the close up below. Once I started hooking the hills though, I began hooking the
wool cloth across the hills in soft curved lines, and soft amoeba like areas of hooking. I often do
not outline the hills where they meet the sky because I like to see the shades transition here and
see different colours meet the sky in different parts of the rug. It makes it more natural and less
primitive looking.
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POINT OF INTEREST
In this rug the point of interest is really the
flowers which are sort of impressions of
red poppies with a bit of white flowers on
thin branches behind them. The flowers
do not have to be realistic, sometimes
they can just be the impression of a
flower or dark branches.
THE WOOL SHOULD FLOW
The difficult part of making this kind of
rug is transitioning from one wool to
another. In the pictures to the left you can
see I have areas of gold, tan, and blue
green, and I have used shades of each of
these colours to create an area of the
field. If you look at each area though, you
will see that even what looks like one
colour has many shades hooked into it.
You will also notice that there are several
textures in each area, including some
carded fleece or natural fleece. This
allows for you to blend wools more easily
because you hook another texture up
right along side the fleece and you can
really blend the wools more easily
because of the softness of the fleece..
Hook in irregular shapes, and let the
edges of one line blend into another. This
technique is what makes these rugs flow.
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ESTABLISHING THE FOREGROUND
I like to establish my foreground first when I am hooking a rug like this. I often use a dark colour
and hook lines up and down, like strong strokes in a painting. Underneath them at the base of
the rug I will often hook a colour across all the strokes that grounds the branches and gives them
some earth or land to grow out of, like the brown across the base of this picture below.
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DON’T BE AFRAID OF COLOUR
When I first learned to hook I turned to paintings to teach me how to create good
landscapes. I would take big books of paintings out of the library and I would study them,
examining the shapes of the brush strokes. It was through doing this that I was able hook
rugs as if I were painting. I would actually trace the outline of the brush strokes with my
finger. I would suggest you try that with the picture above. You learn about movement in
hooking rugs this way. The odd shapes that I create with each strip of wool makes the field
look as if something is happening in it, as if the wind was blowing or the field was changing
from one type of flowers to another.
In this one little area (approx 12 by 16”) of one of my field rugs there are over forty colours
used, many of which are on the same tone. Now if I did this all over the rug it would not be
as interesting. There are also many textures used in this one area. I have used various
yarns, tweed and solid cloths, hand dyed cloths, sari silks and various other materials. This
is good for an area of your rug, but you will also need larger area of a single colour.
Remember a single colour does not mean a single wool, but many shades of one colour,
such as gold, blue or green.
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FOREGROUND
The cabbages here are in the foreground, and I would say the yellow behind them could also
be considered foreground. This is a good area to add a point of interest.
MIDDLE GROUND
The field of smaller cabbages and the colourful fields of mauves and pinks and greens would
be considered the middle ground.
BACKGROUND
The ocean, islands and sky would be considered the background.
DIVIDE THE SPACE
Think about your landscape in terms of these parts. Items in the foreground will appear larger because
they are closer to you. The middle ground appears further away and the background is the far off
distance. Thinking of your landscape rugs in these terms helps you manage perspective which is
important if you want to create an expansive landscape. I think of my landscape rugs as big acreages ,
and that I can see for miles around. I began hooking these rugs after walking and looking at big fields of
farmland and noticing how big or small houses appeared. It was these observations that lead to my
field rugs and helped me understand perspective.
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THUMBNAIL AND FORMAT
A thumbnail is a small quick sketch that captures your ideas. I spend a few seconds on each
one. If you get in the habit of this you can capture a lot of ideas really quickly and keep a
record of them as well.
For landscapes it is a good idea to change the format of your sketches, using lots of different
shapes and sizes of boxes because changing the format forces you to look at the perspective
differently.
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LANDSCAPE AS CONTEMPORARY DESIGNS
You can create very modern designs with landscapes by keeping the designs quite simple. Notice
these four rugs. They were put on the frame together as four in a row and hooked almost as if they
were one piece. I left four or five inches between each one so that I would have room to hook and
bind them separately. The designs here are really just three or four crooked lines across a square.
Much like the lines in the drawings shown in my sketches.
These rugs look more contemporary because of their square shape and the fact that they are a
quad. Making a diptych , or triptych or any number of separate pieces lends a contemporary feeling
to your work. These rugs are tied together with the thread of pink or fuschia through out each of
them. If you work on these separate pieces like these it is important to make sure they relate to
each other and that the textures and colours flow through each of them so that they hang together
well.
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BALANCE
Balance really means to create a sense of unity throughout your mat. It does not mean that
things need to be exactly the same on one side as the other, like the scales of justice.It is not
about all things being equal. Balance can be created by balancing colour, not necessarily the
same colour, but a similar tone, throughout the mat. The same can be done with texture, or
form, or line. For example, in these rugs, the shape of the yellow hill, it’s line is balanced by the
same kind of lines in the second part of the rug. Red or rust is also spread throughout both the
rugs. The top of the hillsides in each rug reflects the other and this also provides balance.
Balance is really about making sure the elements of your rugs are weighted throughout your
piece so that they are pleasing to the eye. If a piece is to heavily weighted in one area, colour,
or texture it will draw the eye and disturb the overall sense of the design itself. Balance is an
issue of sensibility. A landscape that has good balance can still have strong focal points or
points of interest. It can have a stormy subject but the overall composition of the piece is
peaceful to the eye.
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LET IT GROW
I like to let my landscapes evolve rather than feeling
that I have to plan out every colour, every rock, every
flower. I will draw on the basic lines but I will add
more details as I hook.
In his book “The Art Spirit”, Robert Henri describes
the purpose of landscape art is to “express some
mood of nature as felt by the artist.” You want to
create a feeling in your piece as you hook it rather
than map out a paint by number for yourself to fill in
patch by patch. Approaching the rug organically and
naturally, changing colour and texture intuitively, will
lead to a landscape with more mood and feeling. This
is a difficult thing to teach because it takes a level of
expertise that you can only get with practice. Working
on a series of small pieces, using different colour
palettes will help you establish this.
The two rugs shown on this page are very different
from one another in terms of mood . The top left,
called Marshy Hope is much more somber while the
bottom rug is much more hopeful. These moods are
created mainly by colour, but also by composition,
one house is always a bit more lonely than two. The
left rug has a much greyer base and this affects the
mood of the piece.
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PLAY WITH DESIGN
Make an effort to experiment with design. In this rug I threw in the row of small blocks and the leaves,
turning this landscape into a semi abstract rug. There was no real intention here other than to play. In
playing, the idea of fall turning to winter emerged. You may be hooking primarily a landscape but leave
yourself room to experiment with design and perhaps feature a landscape element . This rug only
measures about 14 by 12 inches but I believe it is one of the rugs that helped me take a new step in my
hooking toward a more contemporary approach to landscape.
The greys of the leaves are unrealistic but they speak of winter. The border lines of colourful squares is
quilt like, or it reminds me of the trim on a parka. The white underneath it is all about the snow that is
about to fly. Above it the rich rust ground and the hills of green are the last bastions of fall. This rug is
about one season changing to another.
Throw in atypical elements if you wish, but remember to try to create a feeling or mood for a piece as
you do this. For example, I would not have thrown a teddy bear with a balloon in this piece. It might be
atypical but it would counter the mod or the feeling of the rug.
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FALL AND AUTUMN
Accentuating the fields with
golds , red, wines, and rusts will
create an autumn rug. Most
Autumn rugs though make the
mistake of only focusing on
these colours and forget that
there are still hundreds of other
shades in the fall. As well there
are many shades of each of
these colours. When you make
a fall rug make sure that you
have several shades of each of
your typical fall colours.
Remember that there are still
bits of flowers left in the fields
and that there are lots of seed
pods and past due flowers
heads still on stems. These
things give you the opportunity
to add interest to the
foreground areas of the field.
Also feel free to intersperse bits
of colour, like the light blue
sprinkled here throughout the
gold and the green. It draws the
eyes and makes one wonder ,
but because it is sprinkled
around an area of the rug , it
leads the eye to travel that area
and it highlights the different
tones in the rug.
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FORM AND SHAPE
The form and shape of your landscape, whether it is trees, hills, or pathways should seem natural. One of
the things I try to remember is that there are very few straight lines in nature. I like to lay down the lines of a
landscape before I start to hook it, that is I do a very basic sketch of avery loose lines that help me define
the main lines that form the shape of the land.
For example ,in the rug above I would have drawn the shape of the hills, and the horizon line, but all of the
lines in the sky , water, and inside the hills would have been hooked.
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