It's All About Fabric Painting!

I took some books on watercolor out of the local library. There is a huge difference between painting on fabric vs paper but I was inspired to rethink my approach. I decided to think about the fabric in terms of layers so after the paint dried more color was added creating a more complex design.

I initially sponge painted leaving large areas of unpainted fabric showing. Eventually I started to drip paint from the top edge allowing it to run down. I rotated the board so the drips covered the entire surface. 

After heat setting the fabric it was ready for more play time!

Every studio should have a stash of bubble wrap! Using a thicker fabric paint I pressed gold and purple wrap across the surface until it felt right. 

This piece was an experiment in monotone. I lightly dragged the paintbrush across the surface. With a wet brush I went back and painted over with just water to get the black to meander a bit over the fabric.

Although there are only 2 layers in this piece I felt "less was more". 

It was fun seeing the contrast between the black and red! 

Screen Collage with Thickened Paint!

After reading Breakdown Printing by Claire Benn & Leslie Morgan I've started to soak the fabric in soda ash and water before screening. In the past I've added soda ash and baking soda to the thickened dye mixture but it greatly reduces the shelf life of the dye. With this system I can keep the thickened dye around for days allowing me time to complete more projects without remixing. I'm not sure how long the shelf life is but I plan to experiment and find out! 

Here are a couple of pieces I did this past week... lots of fun to free motion screen! 

I started by creating yellow vertical lines with the thickened dye. Next I laid the screen on top and pulled red and blue across the surface. I repositioned the screen moving it around until the surface was covered. 

Detail: 100% Cotton, 36.5" X 44", $25

For this piece I used yellow and blue thickened dyes. A lovely green meanders through the design as the colors mixed. Overall it a soft bright look. 

Detail: 100% Cotton, 36.5" X 44", $25

If any piece needs to be in your stash please contact me by email and let me know!

caroleatondesigns@gmal.com 

Textured Surface + Layering Fabric + Fabric Paint!

I thought I'd try layering fabric over bamboo fencing before painting! It was a quick and easy way to get texture going while experimenting with a new light weight cotton I recently purchased. 

I used Seta Color transparent fabric paint.

The heavier cotton is below and the lightweight cotton on top!

The paint dried very light. I think the bamboo fencing may have
absorbed more than I anticipated! 

 

Here is a detail of the bottom layer

This is the top layer. It's 36" X 58" and with the lightness
it makes a delicate panel!

I'll go bolder next time now that I understand the mat better
... on to learning new things! 

Screening with a Twist!

I recently purchased "Breakdown Printing" by Claire Benn & Leslie Morgan. I have yet to watch the DVD that came with it but the book is great! When I'm excited to try something new I tend to jump in with both feet. Only after I've gotten my hands dirty and have a feel for the technique do I slow down enough to read the directions or guidelines! 

After mixing up batches of thickened dyes I squirted the dye onto the back of a prepared screen. The bubble wrap and other materials were placed on top of the dye and left to dry. 

The screens are almost dried. I pulled off the bubble wrap and other items. The marks left behind will add an interesting element to the design (I hope!). 

Using a squeegee I pulled clear print paste across the screen. This step is repeated multiple times until the dried dye breaks down and we are left with a fun design. For the piece on the left I added a fern design using a Thermofax screen created by PGFiber2 Art.  

The process was time consuming due to the drying times. I love instant gratification but I'm going to keep at it experimenting and seeing how far I can push this technique!

Have you ever tried deconstructing screens?