Dyes on Silk! Chuppah Design, Part 6

Yesterday, I painted all day long into the wee hours. Silk dyes are intense, concentrated and permanent. My style of painting is to work fast. I have to open up all my (Jacquard Dye-na-flow) dye jars, set out brushes next to them and have lots of clean water on hand. There is very little time to deliberate once I commit to painting a large area like the background of the center panel Peace Angel. I have to dive into painting completely....no slow "getting my toes wet" first. Once a line is painted in a large field it has to be followed up immediately with another and another and another. Any time spent between brushing will result in a "dry line" (my term for the concentration of dye that accumulates at the edge of each brush stroke, drying darker than the rest of the line). Sometimes I use these lines as a design element. This time I wanted a solid but translucent field in the background so I worked fast to avoid the dry lines. I had to make sure I had enough dye mixed (cerulean, midnight blue, periwinkle and black) because I couldn't stop to remix more. At the right and left lower edges of the background I decided to leave three"glow lines" (my term for saving the white of the silk as a highlight, or glow) by not painting the white, and letting the dye spread into it naturally.


Painting the Angel's body and wings was done with diluted washes of teal, violet and cerulean. I sprinkled salt on the wet areas to create a random patterning that changes every time. Salt finds its own way.

The four side panels were also painted with the diluted washes, and the calligraphy then overpainted with Lumiere "Light Body Metalic Acrylic" fabric paint, burnt orange. Salt was sprinkled on these panels.

The four corner pieces have an indigo background using the same mix as the center background, and the knot line work is painted with the burnt orange metalic Lumiere.

Today, I will be heat setting all nine panels, done with an iron, then washing in cold water, then ironing dry...then the sewing will begin.