Slick Silk

Victorian Clematis

2011-12-17T00:11:00.007-05:00

Growing up the daughter of avid gardeners with green thumbs, I never saw this variety of Clematis. On East the side of the house grew the "Blue" Clematis (I will never understand why in the world of botany everything purple is called "Blue". I'm guessing it's because that's what hue the colour is leaning toward - But, not even blue berries are blue. They're PURPLE!!. Ahem, moving on...), but my parents never grew the white.

After completing this scarf, I was shocked at how many people commented they enjoyed the colour scheme. It reminds me of Victorian wall paper. I can picture a dark library with a wood burning fire place and kerosene lamps catching the glint of the white clematis through a pipe tobacco haze.

The lady who purchased the scarf from me was a background/layout painter where I worked. She has been painting backgrounds for many, many years and it was a huge complement to me that she liked what I painted. Compared to my other scarves, this one does have an air of sophistication and old world class.

I guess I could add this to my, "Evening at the Opera" collection of scarves.

El Dorado

2011-12-15T21:33:00.007-05:00

This is a marriage made. My passion for animation meets my lust for fine art. When I was in high school, my classmates would always tell me how much patience I had. Many commented that they could never possess the patience that it would take to complete a painting like this.

El Dorado was meant to be outlined in gold. I have the foil, and I could still do it. But, I have bigger plans for another scarf of this magnitude which will be dripping in gold foil outline. The art of Dreamworks "Road to El Dorado" was fantastic. This scarf is my homage to that brilliant animated film and was an immense challenge to paint. I still feel very strongly that it's an evolutionary shortcoming to have only two arms.

Thankfully, a good friend of mine had downloaded all of, "Agatha Christie's Poirot", and I spent three days painting away and listening to that funny little Belgian solve crimes and teach me how to open a mango.

El Dorado - 12" x 72".

The War of the Roses

2011-12-15T21:12:00.007-05:00

I haven't painted in months. It's my art therapy, and I love it so much. Animation is my life, but when I'm not animating this is what I LOVE to do. IF my whole life worked out to be perfect, this is what I would do day in and out. Painting is so amazing, and if I could ever enter craft shows with enough inventory I would.

This is a new scarf you haven't seen yet:

"Rose" Scarf - 11" x 60"

New Scarves

2009-09-29T10:30:00.009-04:00

Yes, I have finally updated my Blog! Here are some new scarves for you to see.
Again, all of them are totally available for purchase.

Orchid scrarf- 8" x 48"

Belle scarf- 8" x 48"

Hibiscus scarf- 8" x 48"

Hollyhock scarf-11" x 60"

Blazing Dahlia scarf- 11" x 60"

Georgia Iris- 8" x 48"

Finished scarves

2009-07-21T15:38:00.011-04:00

Rose Scarf
(inspired b y Tiffany)
8" x 48"
$45

Clematis scarf
11" x 60"
$80

Lily scarf
8" x 48"
$45

Hibiscus scarf
8" x 48"
$55

Concept art /Templates

2009-05-20T22:48:00.012-04:00

Here are some of my conceptual pieces.

---Hollyhock.

--Took me about 6-8 hours to draw out this one.

The most awesome thing about these templates is that they can be reused again and again.

All of these flowers come in so many colours so I am looking forward to experimenting.

--Red Col-Erase from College is my friend.

--Both Scarves featured in this post are 11.25"x60". All templates are life sized.

Gladioli For Wedding

This one is for Susie's wedding. I know that she said that she wanted something simple, but I cannot simply do a half-a%^ed job on anything.

--Not exactly the same on both ends.

--This one took me a lot longer to draw. Approx. 8-9 hours from start to finish.

---Susie requested no border. So, I hinted one with leaves instead.

--All scarves will be different colours of pink with similar greens throughout. All will be different yet, the same in pattern. I hope that they will do.

FYI

To the persons who view my Blog. If you would like a custom design for someone please feel free to leave a comment or request my contact information. I am always up for commissions and ideas and critiques are welcome. All of my scarves are for sale and feel free to inquire.

Lily Scarf

2009-05-20T22:35:00.009-04:00

This lovely pink scarf is the most simple of the designs that I have come up with. I wanted something that was really plain and elegant with not too much pink.

---Template design. Hardest part about silk painting is the line thickness. You can never really get it perfect and I think that I need a smaller tip then just a #5.

---This is what it looked like before I steamed. Lets hope it turned out.

--From start (drawing)-To Finish (painting). This one took me 1.5 days. About 5-6 hours drawing time, 45mins-1hour for stretching and then 7 hours painting.

--This scarf is 8"x48".

--I had some issues with the resist on the border of this piece.

Hybiscus scarf.

2009-05-20T21:18:00.009-04:00

These are my latest and greatest scarves. I spent all the long weekend painting and drinking and drawing!!! Okay, the bad thing about not drawing for a while is tangents. Tangents are the bain of my existence and I am ashamed of myself for producing so many in my work. I cannot believe that after 2 years of design and all Prof. Crook would say is "Don't Tangent!!", and then attach some empty threat to it. Anyhow, here is what you have been waiting for.

--I wanted to make this one pink-ish. But, I didn't have any pinks, so I ordered more. 20 60ml dyes for $115...yeah.

--Scarf is 8"x48".

Clamatis scarf

2009-05-20T21:00:00.009-04:00

Almost 5 months ago I completed this scarf. I was thinking--"Little black Dress", when I created it.

--Template for the clematis scarf.

--The whole painted scarf....still have not steamed this one.

--This scarf is 11.25"x60". From start to finish it took me 10 hours to draw the template and then an additional 20-30 hours to paint. This has been the most labor intensive scarf I have completed thus far.

--Details.

--I was thinking of doing this one again, but in pink.

The Silk Painting Process

2009-05-20T11:47:00.000-04:00

Hello again. This is my silk painting corner where you can view and comment on all of my projects. I decided to start with the silk painting process to enhance your understanding of how laborious and time consuming this medium is. This art form takes a lot of patience and understanding that nothing is set in silk until the work is steamed and ironed without flaw. Silk painting is a Zen art form as you are a slave to the dyes and how the react with the silk. All work needs to be complete on a flat surface or the dyes might run and bounce around the silk.

Step1- Wash your silk.
All of the silk scarves that you will purchase are supposed to be clean and ready for painting. However, to be extra cautious I have found it wise to wash all of the silk before hand and let dry. This will give you a chance to inspect the merchandise for flaws and identify any inperfections in the silk. Wash in luke warm water with "TNA" Soap and then let hang to dry.

Step 2-Stretch your silk.
I have seen some artists use metal frames, however I find that wood is light and easier to work with. Attach your silk to the frame with 3M Scotch tape (you can use cheaper stuff but it will not hold as well) and pins. I have found that keeping a thimble on hand is good to save your fingers.

Step 3- Resist your image.
Place your image under the silk frame and using a waterbased wax resist apply trace the image onto the silk. Keep Kleenex and cue tips on hand to help correct and mistakes that might happen. Let all of the resist dry before you paint. After the resist has set, you now have 3 days to paint the scarf or the wax will start to spread and it will hinder the silk's absorbency.

Step 4-Paint your scarf.
This is the most crucial and time consuming part of the whole project. The dyes are sensitive to water before steaming and any water dropped onto the painted portions of the scarf will show and bleed. I have found it very useful to keep a bottle of resist on hand in case I did not close off any lines properly during the resisting stage.

Step 5- Wrap and Steam.
This is the second stage in the process where things can go very wrong and ruin all of your hard work. After the silk is done painted and has dried- take the silk off the stretcher and place on a piece of clean news print and cover with white tissue paper. The tissue paper is to prevent silk on silk contact during steaming, If the silk contacts itself the dyes will bleed on each other. Roll the silk up and fold, then suspend from a cross bar and place a pot. Use a canner pot and place a felt circle at the bottom and a square over the top. This will create a convexion steaming process that will fix the pigment to the silk.

Step 6-Wash and Iron.
Remove the silk from the pot after 45mins of steaming on stove top setting #4. Wash the silk using "TNA" soap until there is no more dye that bleeds from the painting. Ensure to constantly take fresh water to prevent any dying of the white parts of the scarf. After the silk is washed it is time to iron. Begin by placing silk on a towel and roll it up padding it dry. After, using a white bed sheet over and under the painting, carefully iron it. Make sure that there are no creases and the sheet is always dry. If the sheet is not dry the heat from the iron may boil the water under the scarf. Thus, creating a stain permenently set in the scarf.

Step 7- Now you are done.
Just remember not to fold it.