After a very productive fabric painting session this week, I stopped for a break and to give the fabric a chance to dry. I only straightened up enough to be sure that paint jars all had lids screwed down tight and paint brushes were soaking in water. Then I left.

A delightful chaos of fabric lessons awaited me when I returned.

I spent time walking around the studio, picking up what I had created and looking at it, putting the pieces in piles defining what I thought I might do with each one next. This was a chance to see what worked and what didn’t, and to receive the lessons the paint was telling me.

Lesson 1 – The value of a unified palette.

These fabric pieces are not at all alike. But, as I see them here on the table, I am confident they will work well together. They were all created from the same paint hues, mixed in varying amounts. So, they will harmonize well in the finished piece.

Lesson 2 – The versatility of a good stencil pattern

Here is a tree shape cut from a manila file folder.

The brown section shows what I had just painted with a medium brown paint. When I was done I thought it looked good.

Then I thought of how I could make it better.

I flipped the stencil ninety degrees from the position I used for the first print and mixed up a slightly different brown. I painted this over the first layer.

Then, to add one more layer, I created energetic lines in black printing with a thin cardboard edge. The result is far more complex and interesting than the simple first layer I created with this stencil.

Lesson 3 -  A color does not have to be solid

This piece was printed with a foam roller and another favorite stencil. (A stencil cut from a card stock like a folder can have a long and productive life. I’ve had some of my favorites for years.)

I had a mix of reds and oranges on my mixing surface. I used the roller medium wet and rolled it to pick up bits of each color. So, with a single pass when I applied the roller to fabric, I got a subtle mix of oranges and reds. Allowing this to happen spontaneously created a much more interesting result than a single flat color would have been.

Lesson 4 – Going back and forth to the big project

While I am interested in the results of the individual parts I created, I need to remember that they are not the final product. The final product is the artwork in which these pieces will be used.

I have been keeping it pinned up on my easel as I work on other things.

I want to envision these pieces in the final composition.

Beyond that … is why I am creating these images with these colors in the first place. How do these patterns and colors make me feel? What story do I hope to tell?

Getting that right will be the most important lesson.

. . . . . . .

For all the artmakers: Happy creating
For all the art lovers: Happy appreciating

Thank you for reading. I always enjoy questions and comments.
--Bobbi

bobbi@bobbibaughstudio.com

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