Hand painting on silk
Yet another first. I've bought a few basic paints, some silk and a clear gutta. I've also bought Silk Painting - New Ideas and Textures by Jill Kennedy and Jane Varrall. It's the 1993 edition but I think it will give me more than I need. It's a lovely book with a very accessible feel for a beginner. Even better I found that Jill has an online tutorial at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QxaYX2i5s78 which is very good as well.
I prepared a piece of silk by stretching it into an embroidery frame and running a line of gutta round the edge. Having watched the youtube clip I thought I might not have made a thick enough line. I chose three colours to use unmixed just to see what happened. My paints looked very, very bright. I began by wetting my silk with a sponge then I painted lines of alternating colours.
Thankfully the paints were not as bright as I thought they might be. From blue, pink and white I got an amazing variation of tone and lots of texture. The splodges on the right aren't breakthrough from the gutta but where my paintbrush overshot the edge.
The way the colours blended wasn't consistent and I don't know how much that was chance or whether I did something different.
I have only a limited amount of silk fabric at the moment so I have to make every bit count. I put a piece into a large hoop and divided it into four sections. This time I used the yellow and green.
The lower right section was scattered with sea salt; rather too much I think but opinions vary. Moving anticlockwise I loaded a large brush and rolled it onto the fabric I then followed up with yellow. Next I covered the section in green and towards the bottom (middle) I introduced yellow and the effect although unexpected is lovely. The blue section has had a more adventurous life. At first I wanted to do wet stripes on wet but all I got was a very bland, plain surface. When it was dry I dropped some yellow onto the blue and while my back was turned this happened:
It looked really unappealing. So I set the colour and tried the drops again.
This photo is immediately after applying the paint.
I might just have to chalk this one up to experience but we'll see.
I decided that my control of the gutta left something to be desired so I made a design on paper and transferred it to the silk for some practice. The basic design I used was a shape from a past piece of work. The gutta went on more smoothly but although I started off well once the shake began I found it best to break off and re start.
I tried to blend the red with yellow but it's subtle to say the least. There were no breaks in the gutta but once or twice my paint has gone onto it and stained it. I thought I had a steady hand until I began silk painting.
I now have some more silk and it's finer than previously. I also have different gutta and some additional paints of another brand so who knows what will happen. The design idea came from a lovely book by Chant Avedissian called Patterns, Costumes and Stencils. The book looks at textiles of the east which are the inspiration for Avedissian's work.
I drew my design and I was aiming to get more subtle colours than previously (even though Avedissian's aren't).
My gutta wobble seemed a bit less and I was pleased with the way it went on. I allowed a couple of hours for the gutta to dry but it wasn't enough because the paint drifted into adjacent blocks. I don't think there was any break in the gutta. I'm not sure whether this is retrievable. I'm leaving it for today.
The gutta leakage continued throughout this piece and I'm pretty disappointed. I think maybe I need to apply more of this particular brand of gutta. I'll need to take advice. Colour wise I managed to get something a bit less brash but I'm not at all sure whether this is what silk painting is meant to be like. Maybe the stained glass effect it has needs the colours I feel resistant to. I'd wanted minimal "rose" shapes from the salt but the paint didn't spread in the same way as it had on my previous work.
As always when things don't seem to work well there's always lots of things to learn. I find I'm still struggling with wanting things to be "right" and finding it hard to accept the failures. I'm trying to re frame these efforts as learning exercises.
I couldn't end the silk painting on such a negative note so I just had a play. I have some birthday cards to make so I just did a practice piece that I intend to cut up. Interestingly I used my original clear gutta, allowed plenty of drying time and there was no leakage.
I've tried putting a viewing frame on this work and it promises to offer some lovely effects for my cards. It will probably make nine.
Avedissian C, 2009, Patterns, Costumes and Stencils, SAQI London
This photo is immediately after applying the paint.
 |
| After 25 minutes |
 |
| After 2 days |
I might just have to chalk this one up to experience but we'll see.
I decided that my control of the gutta left something to be desired so I made a design on paper and transferred it to the silk for some practice. The basic design I used was a shape from a past piece of work. The gutta went on more smoothly but although I started off well once the shake began I found it best to break off and re start.
I tried to blend the red with yellow but it's subtle to say the least. There were no breaks in the gutta but once or twice my paint has gone onto it and stained it. I thought I had a steady hand until I began silk painting.
I now have some more silk and it's finer than previously. I also have different gutta and some additional paints of another brand so who knows what will happen. The design idea came from a lovely book by Chant Avedissian called Patterns, Costumes and Stencils. The book looks at textiles of the east which are the inspiration for Avedissian's work.
 |
| Chant Avedissian designs |
I drew my design and I was aiming to get more subtle colours than previously (even though Avedissian's aren't).
My gutta wobble seemed a bit less and I was pleased with the way it went on. I allowed a couple of hours for the gutta to dry but it wasn't enough because the paint drifted into adjacent blocks. I don't think there was any break in the gutta. I'm not sure whether this is retrievable. I'm leaving it for today.
The gutta leakage continued throughout this piece and I'm pretty disappointed. I think maybe I need to apply more of this particular brand of gutta. I'll need to take advice. Colour wise I managed to get something a bit less brash but I'm not at all sure whether this is what silk painting is meant to be like. Maybe the stained glass effect it has needs the colours I feel resistant to. I'd wanted minimal "rose" shapes from the salt but the paint didn't spread in the same way as it had on my previous work.
As always when things don't seem to work well there's always lots of things to learn. I find I'm still struggling with wanting things to be "right" and finding it hard to accept the failures. I'm trying to re frame these efforts as learning exercises.
I couldn't end the silk painting on such a negative note so I just had a play. I have some birthday cards to make so I just did a practice piece that I intend to cut up. Interestingly I used my original clear gutta, allowed plenty of drying time and there was no leakage.
I've tried putting a viewing frame on this work and it promises to offer some lovely effects for my cards. It will probably make nine.
 |
| Mary's card |
Avedissian C, 2009, Patterns, Costumes and Stencils, SAQI London
Kennedy J and Varrall J, 1993, Silk Painting - New Ideas and Textures, Batsford, London
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