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!