First Screen Print

A few years ago I bought a screen printing kit by Daler Rowney. I finally found the courage to use it. However I did get a little help from a video I watched on DMTV by Linda and Laura Kemshall. Instead of using the acrylic paints that came with the set I took Laura's advise and used procion dyes.  I only made two prints as I was short on the thickening  ingredients.          Design Matters TV

 

This picture shows the colour being added to the flower, using markel paint sticks and some cheap tooth brushes. You also need to know how to use paint sticks, as they are not applied directly onto the fabric. I applied my freezer paper stencil back on top of the flower shape and applied the paint to the freezer paper and used  the brushes to pull the paint onto the fabric. A good stencil brush is also needed.

Here is is red one, its amazing how easy it is to achieve shading.  

You can see how different they look using different colours on the same image. 

I have added more background colour by adding a trellis and then stamping on top with a flower motif. Using fabric paint and fabric felt tips I coloured in the flowers and stems. A fine pen is also a good idea to outline the flower which helps to  add definition. I also refer to the Kemshalls book for technics.
The Painted Quilt: Paint and Print Techniques for Color on Quilts

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Workshop with Linda

Here is my bag I made at a workshop at the IPS in Galway on Saturday. Linda McMulkin gave a great talk and workshop in the afternoon. I used  some fat quarters I bought  last month when Linda brought her shop to our meeting. http://www.ragsforlinda.com/

Sketch Book

I am always taking photo's of birds in my garden to try and capture an interesting pose. Waiting for them to fly off, so I can get them in flight. So far the best poses are when they are still. I would love to do a sketch book page using the bird images. As I have never taken a class in drawing or painting I can always trace the shape first. I love the strength in his beak, unfortunately his eye is not clear.

Here is a page I created using a photo copy of a piece of fabric I have with some cows in a field of poppies. On the left I have cut out the head of a poppy and painted the leaves and painted some more poppies to the bottom of the cow page. I have not done many sketch book pages so I hope these will improve with practice