Hope you had a lovely Labor Day weekend!
In response to the numerous requests from friends, today I want to share with you my basic silk painting process that is used when creating my silk paintings. When you scroll down to the end of this post, there is a flicker link where you can view more photos of each step. Sometimes people wonder why the prices are a bit more expensive, than say, a scarf you would find at Macy's. It depends on many things.. the type of silk (which I will explain in more detail my next entry) , size, and of course, the level of detail and time put into each piece. Each of my scarves truly are one of a kind artworks, and really are a labor of LOVE. Here are the stages:
1. Inspiration - from books, online images, my pictures of the sky, dreams and imagination, I first must come up with a design I'd like to express.
2. Preparing the silk - After learning the hard way, I now always pre-wash my silk before painting, to get rid of any unseen residues.
3. Stretching - I stretch the hand rolled, silk scarf blank with pins on a wooden frame so the silk becomes taught from all angles.
4. Resist - Usually I draw freehand with the water based resist
onto the silk. These lines act as a barrier later when painting, and keep the colors from spreading.
5. Paint - I use water based paints, unlike most professional silk painters who use spirit based dyes. I use a Japanese sumi brush to paint in the colors - my favorite part!
6. Heat set - Once dried, I iron the scarf so that the paint chemically bonds to the silk.
7. Washing/Ironing - I hand wash each scarf about 2 or 3 times with baby shampo, soak the scarf in a water/softener mixture for a while, lightly roll towel dry, and then lightly iron on the backside.
8. Viola! It is finished and ready for photos!
Recently I finished a custom order scarf for a wonderful client of mine and took pictures throughout the entire process. To view this picture gallery, click HERE.
Another earlier custom "Go Broncos" piece also has great step-by-step pictures in the album HERE.
Another earlier custom "Go Broncos" piece also has great step-by-step pictures in the album HERE.
All together from start to finish, one of my hand painted silk scarves could take anywhere from 3-12 hours! But of course, each minute I spend is a minute I simply cherish, as I have fallen completely love with the artistic medium of silk painting... and this Labor Day, I'll end with this quote, "Love what you do. Do what you love." - Wayne Dyer
