Let's start with a salute to the incredible colors of fall in the Northeast. We are in peak color right now. Early in the morning the surrounding "earth" is just golden with the morning glow and the changing colors of fall. It is spectacular.
Maybe that's why I was inspired to paint this weekend. I didn't do much painting because this is only a small project, but I enjoyed it nonetheless.
Several months back I found this unique fabric at Joanns. It was in with the "faux leathers". It is made from 100% rayon for the top fabric and definitely has a leather look to it. Who knew rayon could look like leather? In reality it is a quilted leather look, even better. I knew when I bought it I wanted to paint it and I knew I wanted it to be some sort of bag. You can see here where I traced out the outline of a flap for an NCW wallet. Another gift? Maybe mine? Not sure but it will be fun to make.
I started by building my paint palette. I took the lid from an old candy can and covered it with low tack tape. Masking tape would be fine as well. Why? Well, it gives the paints a bit of texture to be rubbed off on. ( There's something grammatically wrong about that last sentence.) I am going to use Shiva Paint Sticks.
Shiva paint sticks are oil paints in stick form. They are unique in that they have a skin that forms, preventing them from drying up into little blobs of pigment. You remove the skin with a vegetable peeler. This exposes the moist paint which you then rub on the textured tape on your palette. They have a rather lovely glow and allow the base to show through the paint. They are usually put down with stencil brushes and that is what I did. They can be blended in the palette like any other oil paint. Downside? They take a long time to fully dry. A heavy application can take a week to dry. Once dry you heat set them to make the paints permanent and they are permanent.
Once I was done with the Shiva paint sticks I moved on to Lumiere fabric paints. I needed the finesse of a thinner brush and thinner paint and the both are made permanent by heat seting so they are both used on this project.
I took the tape out of the lid and used it for the palette for the Lumiere dyes. The white you see in the lid is textile medium.
Here's the completed flap. It will dry for a week before being heat set with an iron. It has that
Jorge Guttierez look which pleases me. I love his work and he has really been inspiring me lately. We will see how the final project looks.
ETA: Here is a
link from Dharma Trading with more info on the paint sticks.
Right now I am waiting for the frames to insert into the Boy Bags which are complete otherwise. The diaper bag is off to its recipient and I thank all of you for the lovely comments. I will leave you with a few pics around the yard of our lovely Fall colors:
It is really a gorgeous time of year.........
. Most of the furniture has been put away till next year but I am still holding on to my underdeck porch, my favorite place for a quiet moment.............Bunny
How creative you are, Bunny. Thanks for sharing the use of Shiva sticks and the fabric medium tips. Very helpful. I'm wondering how much heat you will need to both preserve the fabric and set the paints.
ReplyDeleteI usually just hold the iron down, no steam, for about 5-10 seconds, just like interfacing. I've used these Shiva sticks for years and they hold up beautifully. I had not touched some of the sticks for about 8-10 years. I shaved them with the peeler last year and they were like new. It's really interesting how the skin preserves them. They are a really fun product.
DeleteBeautiful project Bunny and your trees are gorgeous.
ReplyDeleteOh, how I miss the Fall colors as I now live in Texas (formerly lived in Missouri). Thanks for sharing and I love your fabric painting. Karen
ReplyDeleteFun painting project! I've used irons to set paint sticks and lumiere, but never on puffy fabric. How do you do that and preserve the puffiness?
ReplyDeleteGorgeous trees and sitting area.
I think I may do it by tossing in the hot dryer. I have already washed this fabric and it came out fine, even though the bolt said not to wash. I'll keep you posted.
ReplyDeleteBunny,
ReplyDeleteAlways a bonus to see you waiting patiently in my in-box. What a wonderful Sunday treat.
What a fascinating read this has been. I love your constant inspiration and wonderful to learn about the application of these paint sticks. I guess you could use them on any fabric that will take the heat of an iron?
My mind is now wondering about painting designs to all sorts of clothing projects to make them unique. What are your thoughts Bunny and have you ever used them on items of clothing that you have made?
Happy Sunday and thank you for sharing the beautiful pictures of fall with us.
I've used them on a couple of pieces of clothing, one being a denim jacket that gets washed. They hold up well. I don't just heat set them with an iron. I like to soak a press cloth in a solution of half white vinegar and half water. I put that on the painted area and iron away with a dry iron until the press cloth is dry. I have found this sets the paints really well and they hold up wonderfully. At one time I used to do a fair amount of "theorem" type fabric paintings and I used regular oil paints and the vinegar heat set. The held up really well, even with washing.
ReplyDeleteThere are many types of paints one can use on fabrics. I've tried most but have always found oil based paints to have a luminosity and opacity that I really like. None of that shows on this black fabric but that's OK.
Great to hear from you, Marysia.
Wow...it is the start of something wonderful yet again, Bunny! Wish I had your courage to paint on fabrics! Fall is such a beautiful season and you are so lucky to have the best of colorful shows in the country!
ReplyDeleteSo fun!
ReplyDeleteAnd boy do I love fall. Beautiful photos.
I too love the colors of fall. It is certainly a treat here in the Northeast. I love what you are doing with that quilted rayon piece. It is coming along beautifully. You are so creative!
ReplyDeleteDrove through the Berkshires yesterday and it was the most beautiful I've ever seen it. I hear people saying it's due to the drought. But, whatever reason, New England sure has done it up right this year! XO
ReplyDeleteI've heard the same. The colors are so vivid this year like I haven't seen in some time. We are also in a drought up here so there may be some connection.
DeleteBeautiful trees. I love your fabric work. These paints are new to me. Keep it for yourself!
ReplyDeleteThey've been around for a while. I started using them about 20 years ago when I was painting theorems. I forgot to mention that I cut off the skin with a vegetable peeler. It takes of very little and doesn't muck up like a pencil sharpener.
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