August 27, 2007

Colorful Weekend

Wow, what a colorful weekend I had with Sherrill Kahn. She is a warm, generous teacher that is willing to share everything she knows and encourages you to take it even further. If you enjoy playing with paint and experimenting, I highly recommend this workshop.
The paints we used are Lumiere which is a metallic paint and strong coverage. Textile paint is transparent and glazes the surface beautifully. Neopaque is strong, bold colors that covers completely. Sherrill's Sorbets are pretty colors that really pop and have amazing coverage. I have a better understanding of how and when each type of paint should be used.

These pieces have several layers of paint and were stamped rolled and scraped. Both of these designs were printed from a design I drew onto a Styrofoam plate. Different colors of Lumiere were used. The one on the right was outlined with gold Lumiere paint.
All three layers began with one application of paint. The first layer was wet fabric, the second wet layer had the images painted onto it: red grid, gold spots and red circles. The rest was filled with colors. A third wet layer was added and all pressed together and magic happened. After it dried, I took the layers apart and did a masking tape resist, stamping, scraping and outlining to each piece. I really like the way all three turned out.
I have done this on my own and have found many great designs this way. You cut a hole in a small piece of cardboard and move it over a photo until you find a composition you like. The painting on the left was inspired by a photo in a National Geographic, the one on the right was taken from my sketchbook and was inspired by a piece of fabric.