Inks produce brilliant color. Here are some examples of liquid color painted on silk hoops.

Liquid Color

No colors are quite as brilliant as inks in bottles with an eyedropper in the lid. Some are designed for airbrushing, some to replace watercolors in tubes, and some can be used to dye clothes of various fibres. They are so brilliant because they do not have any filler to make them opaque, so there is nothing in the mixture to cloud the pure color.

Be sure to read the label carefully to make sure that you buy the right ones for the project. These bottles are expensive, but they go a long way when you only use drops at a time.

Silk Painting

I love painting watercolors on Chinese rice paper. The color flows so easily, just the way I want watercolors to behave. I have also seens Chinese watercolors done on silk, but had never seen how it is done.

On November 15, 2003, I had a chance to participate in a free workshop painting on silk with one of the new liquid paints. We were supposed to sketch a floral design on the silk hoop, tracing the sketch with wax resist, and then use a brush to apply the ink into the outlined spaces. Those who did not feel confident at drawing flowers were given pen and ink sketches to place under the silk to trace them.

I have drawn the flowers around me since I was little, and I decided to sketch one of the most colorful ones, a pansy. Everyone liked my picture, but it was too fussy for me. It took too long to finish, over two hours. A real pansy would have wilted in that time.

I am giving you two views of the picture, because it is just a bit too wide to fit into the scanner at 11 inches.

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Free-style

After finishing the pansies, I bought a set of three hoops and painted them free-hand in the remaining hour, with no sketch, no wax resist. Just two brushes, one for the dye and one for water, and here is the first one, "Sunrise with Tree."

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Landscape

This one is the teacher's favorite, "Sunrise."

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My Favorite

And here is my favorite, "Dawn." As you can see, I am an early bird and love the brilliant colors which nature displays for those of us to enjoy who are out and about with the birds.

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How about You?

Have you tried something new lately? That is a great way to stimulate your imagination and creativity.

© Traute Klein, biogardener