Most of my silk paintings use the following technique that
hides the resist lines so that in the finished painting adjacent areas of colour are not
separated by a white line left when the resist is removed. It is called sequential gutta work
with layered painting and I explain the technique in more detail in my booklet
Silk Painting using "Hidden" Gutta Lines.
I have found that the best results are obtained using iron-fixed silk
paints. When a layer of paint is dried with a hair dryer it is fixed and will not run when the
next layer of paint is applied. Iron-fixed paints are also slightly opaque which helps
hide
the under-painting.
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1. I drew my chosen design on a sheet of paper the same size as my silk
painting frame. I planned a sequence of gutta lines so that as far
as possible I would only paint to one side of each gutta line
unless I wanted the line to be seen as part of the design.
I colour coded the lines on the drawing to remind me of the sequence
that I had worked out. I fastened the finished drawing onto the back of the
frame so that it did not touch the silk and with the aid of a
light placed beneath the drawing I was able to trace the lines.
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2. Because this design has a white background,
the outlines (shown in red on the drawing) were the first resist lines
I drew on the silk with clear gutta.
Next I drew in the anthers (shown in green on the drawing) with
gold metallic gutta.
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3. I created the desired pale pink by mixing my colours with water.
I dampened the silk and painted wet into wet to soften the edges of the painted areas. I
painted the petals but most importantly I also allowed the colour to flow beyond the petal
shapes.
Next I drew the outlines of the petals in clear gutta on top of the
pale pink.
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4. I started to shade the petals deeper pink and paint the leaves a pale green.
Next I drew the veins of the leaves in clear gutta on top of the
pale green.
As I added darker shades of green the underlying pink was hidden so
that in the finished
painting the pink and green areas are not separated by a white gutta line.
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5. I continued to add shading and shadows to the petals and leaves
and painted the stem to complete the painting.
Then I removed the silk from the frame and ironed on the reverse with
a warm iron for two minutes to fix the paints.
I washed the silk in lukewarm water to remove the clear gutta.
Then I rolled the silk in a towel to remove
most of the water and ironed the damp silk to remove all creases.
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Some Aspects of Design
An
Article I wrote for the Journal of the Guild of Silk Painters
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Flower paintings are often be dismissed as commonplace therefore I want my silk paintings of flowers
to be special and entertain the spectator. The design is the most important and
in some ways the most difficult part of the process. Consequently I always
spend a considerable time working it out.
I take lots of photographs and I make sketches. Photographs provide a
good record of colour but observational sketches are invaluable in recording shape
and form.
Sometimes the elements of design come together naturally to produce a
composition that is interesting and aesthetically pleasing to the eye. At other
times I find it useful to employ certain design principles to realize the
latent potential of the visual resources I have brought together.
For me the essential aspect of any design is unity
of composition. All the sections should be related in some way. This is often
achieved by using related lines and shapes. Although my silk painting
“Daylilies” illustrates several design principles, when I looked at my initial
sketches I decided to develop what I considered to be the dominant feature, the
related smooth curving lines, shapes and texture of the petals, to give unity
to the design. I placed the flower heads close together so that they overlapped
giving extra depth to the composition.
Balance is another very important element. It brings stability to a design and can be symmetrical or
asymmetrical. I usually use an asymmetrical balance because of its informality.
Small shapes placed further out near the edge balance large shapes placed near
the centre of the picture. Although the composition is balanced it appears
active and dynamic.
Repetition and alternation
(what occurs between the repeats) also give life to a design. My silk painting
“Dancing Ladies Orchid” illustrates these last three aspects. Asymmetry plus
repetition with variety creates an exciting visual rhythm. My silk painting
“Pinks” has repeated and alternated shapes and colours, asymmetrically counterbalanced.
My silk painting “Fireweed” shows how a picture can be brought to life by introducing
conflict into the design. This conflict is between juxtaposed versions of the design
elements, straight lines against curved; lightness against darkness; hard edges
against soft, curved shapes against angular and large objects against small.
The introduction of conflict risks destroying the unity of a design but by
making one element dominant the conflict is resolved, balance is restored and
unity regained. In this example the flower spike of the Rosebay Willowherb
restores balance to the design.
The mood of a painting can be accentuated by the use of harmony and gradation of
colour and texture. In my silk painting “Hibiscus - Bluebird” a tranquil mood is created by the use
of a harmonious gradation of colours and a soft gradation
of background texture.
In each of these examples I have singled out certain aspects of design that are to a
greater or lesser degree common to them all. We may not knowingly employ design
principles in our work but when a painting is not successful it is usually down
to poor design however skilfully it is painted. When we produce a successful
design it is useful to use these principles to analyse the painting. By doing
so we become more aware of the importance of good design.
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Daylilies
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Dancing Ladies Orchid
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Pinks
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Fireweed
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Hibiscus Bluebird
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Backgrounds
An
Article I wrote for the Journal of the Guild of Silk Painters
One of the questions I
am frequently asked is how to deal with backgrounds. Many painters are often
unsure of the type of background to use to complete a painting. Although the
objects in the painting really matter, all the elements, including the
background, should work together. This means considering how you will treat
the background when planning your painting.
The problem is neatly
solved if your design is such that it leaves no background visible. By
zooming in very close and cropping the subject it can be made to fill the
painting area.
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There
is little or no background in these two examples. |
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Too much salt?
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However
most designs require a background so here are a few ideas you may find
helpful.
A plain
background shows up the shape and form of the subject but do not paint it
flat. Keep the background colours in tune with the overall colour scheme of
the painting and try to employ several of the colours and tones used for the
subject. This will help to tie all the elements of the picture together.
Adding
texture to a background gives it depth, movement and drama. There are
several ways to do this. One of the simplest is the salt technique but be
careful how much salt you use. Too much and the effect, although attractive,
can over power the objects in the foreground. Another texturing technique is
to use brush strokes. Paint onto damp silk and let the colours blend to give
a mottled effect. Brush strokes can produce a random or directional effect.
A more sophisticated technique is to use a batik wax crackle. This can also
be random or directional. If the texture is directional, think carefully how
this links with the objects in the foreground. If the objects themselves are
highly patterned or textured beware of adding too much texture to the
background.
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Mottled brush strokes |
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Random
batik wax crackle
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Directional wax crackle
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Gutta lines
can also be used to add textural effects to the background. Paint the
background base colours and any shadows. Draw and shade the gutta lines one
at a time, starting from the direction of light source. Draw the lines
freehand on the silk or plan them on your working drawing. Vary the distance
between the lines to give a naturalistic effect.
The choice
of viewpoint can influence the background. If you choose a low viewpoint
then the background can be a graded wash to represent the sky. An
interesting background can be introduced if the viewpoint is above the
subject.
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Shaded gutta lines |
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A low viewpoint
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Viewpoint above the subject
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If when
painting a background you find it difficult to paint a large area of silk
without getting unsightly brush marks then divide it into sections by
bringing parts of your design to touch the edges of your painting. The
resulting smaller areas can be painted and dried one at a time.
Using the
“hidden” gutta line technique it is essential to plan before you start
painting whether the background will be lighter or darker than the subject
of the painting. A light background must be painted before the subject
whereas a dark background will be the last area of the silk to be painted.
Once made I
usually find it is best to stick to my initial plan. However there are no
binding rules. Sometimes my planned scheme does not work out and a
better solution for dealing with the background can be found. Always be
prepared to experiment and try out new ideas. Experiment with unusual colour
combinations, patterned drapes and decorative objects.
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Experimental choice of colour |
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Brightly patterned drapes
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The folds of a decorated fan
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How to Make a Simple Stand
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This stand was made from a 25cm x 30cm piece of thin hardboard, but smaller stands to
display greetings cards could be made from strong cardboard.
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1. Draw a diagonal line on the board.
2. Then from points A and B (5cm from the opposite corners)
draw lines at right angles to the diagonal (as shown on the diagram).
3. Use a craft knife and
a steel rule to cut along the three straight lines from A to B.
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4. This makes two identical shapes
that are joined along their longest edges with strong fabric adhesive tape to form a hinge.
It makes a perfect picture stand. Not only can it be stored flat but by adjusting the inside
angle, pictures of both landscape and portrait formats can be displayed.
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Copyright ©2000 Leonard Thompson
Last revised: February 15, 2008
