life lessons, Little Things Studio
New French Silk Dyes
I’m finally back to SILK PAINTING! I haven’t painted a scarf in MONTHS! Dave and I have been married a little over a month and spent a huge bulk of our time looking for a place to move in Nashville. We finally found a fab house in East Nashville that we’ll be moving to September 14th! BUT I have Renegade Craft Fair in Chicago the weekend before we move! AH!!! I’ve been scrambling to get my inventory back up and make new work. AND I’ve had a lot of freelance work coming in that I just didn’t want to turn down. I’ve packed three boxes to move. Makes sense that I’m still worn out.
I switched to professional dyes when I bought my silk steamer. I was using silk paints that mimicked dyes. I thought the dyes would be the same as the paints, but they are VERY different. It is a completely new medium that I’ve been having to learn. It takes a lot of control and lot of thought. I’m not sure if I can make the same sort of designs that I was doing before, because it’s so different. It is like from painting with acrylics then switching to watercolor. I have only shown Dave the scarves I’ve done over the past few weeks, because I frankly have not liked them. I have been SO discouraged. Not good, y’all. Just not good.
Today I had a breakthrough that I wanted to show you. I realize this might not be the best scarf you’ve ever seen. BUT it’s a new exploration. It’s a new start. It’s a new direction. And it’s WAY better than the previous ones I’ve painted with the dyes. I am encouraged for the first time since I started painting with the French dyes.
Would LOVE to know your thoughts!
I LOVE this. Have you ever considered doing smaller squares to frame?
Thank you!!! And NO, I haven’t! I hadn’t thought about smaller! hmm… that gives me something to think about.
I L-O-V-E that! Almost a Monet-ish design . . . that was my first impression . . . and that’s a great idea to do smaller squares suitable for framing!! You are amazing!
I agree with the Monet comment above, Kate! I love the Impressionist style and think you should experiment with that! Go outside and squint your eyes in the sunshine…that’s how impressionists saw things! Love the sparkle! Practice with watercolors first on paper. You’ll get it!! Try using a batik method with wax, too. I love what you do!
Love to you and Dave!!
Brilliant blues! LOVE, Kate.
Reminds me of a few aerial photographers..
http://www.123inspiration.com/aerial-photography-by-bernhard-edmaier/
http://www.123inspiration.com/stunning-aerial-photography-by-edward-burtynsky/
Wow it reminds me of those shimmery oil slicks you see in puddles on a rainy day. I really like the jagged edges on the dye marks too. I’m excited to see what you come up with next 🙂
I love it as well! And I can think of several ladies that would love the style (thinking Christmas presents)…
Trust that the exploration will only make it better. Don’t be discouraged you produce beautiful work and you are a constant source of inspiration for me. 🙂
I too am LOVING this! Reminds me of those “screen savers” from older pcs (could still be a thing and I’m just not with it) where the color moves and was always cool to watch with your favorite tunes playing in the background 😉
Was this done freehand or did you use gutta?
It’s lovely.
Lu
Thank you so much! It was freehand. I have only used gutta a couple of times and it involves an extra step that I just didn’t want to deal with.