painting fabric Pat

 this is my  quilting friend Pat from Washington state that has taken my class several times , the  orchids, hibiscus, anthuriums, gingers, and will be back again this July.  in the hibiscus class Pat paints up a storm. she is very enthusiastic and driven and organized and makes beautiful quilts , some with the pieces she paints. we  just   might see the hibiscus  quilt  one this summer. i for one can hardly wait!

                                    below is some of her painting afternoon  2007.

so this morning i get a call and it's Pat getting excited about putting this quilt together from her painted pieces  and seeing plant forms and colors she had not noticed before in her fabric  and making me happy  that we paint. and together it is really fun. she was trying to describe what i call atmosphere and that is almost impossible to paint with words but cloth and paint ,YES.   congratulations Pat, i can hardly wait to see what you do with your fabric painted art once you get to designing, cutting and sewing and piecing and quilting!

ps
 this quilt went on to be born and win best machine  ribbon at quilt hawaii 2012!

painting fabric

Aloha,

Yesterday  i started to paint up fabric  as the weather was good and i needed more colors for  my projects. and shows.  theses are a few of the pieces i did  outside on my 4x8 plywood table top.   i like to paint one yard to  half yard pieces as they are manageable. For larger i like to use the lawn as a surface.

I love the way two colors merge, it is the magic the cloth and paint make together  when cloth is damp and a spray of water makes it even more so. I am not interested in control, 

rather than that letting gravity and sun have the freedom to play out. 

the one just  below i call "underwater garden "

and was done on the lawn.

                          

The one just above is another example of what i call atmosphere painting. done very wet and left to make its own migration. yummy possibilities here.

After pieces dry, i  heat treat with iron and wash and iron again.

This would be boring but for the fact the fabric is interesting as i iron and gives way to design time. i like to let the fabric drape from old wooden hangers  to inspire new work or finish a  project started.
i have been happily painting with Versatex screen printing inks since  1983,
 both making yardage for my quilts and for painting figuratively and florals more deliberately.
My choice of these products from Dharma Trading Company have been a pleasure to use, making my artistic life colorful and creative.