Sunday, June 15, 2014

Painting with Dyes Workshop, Gibson's, BC on Day 1

The 'Painting with Dyes' workshop in Gibson's, BC was a lot of fun. This group of participants seemed dedicated to getting a lot of painting done and that was also my goal for them so they would have lots of fabulous pieces of fabric to sew with after the class. Even though there were a dozen of us, at times the room could get silent from everyone concentrating. Who said painting is easy? Fun yes, but not always easy.

Below are some photos from Day 1. There were several comments of being tired after that first day and I could see why as the amount of fabric that got painted was staggering. Watching what the participants created was joyous for me as I love to think of the true originality of fabric being created by each person. This is one of the main reasons I teach, to facilitate people in creating their own personal art work. It was an impressive first day! (Watch for day 2 in the the next post.)

Getting started on Day 1 of the workshop. We had a lovely setting to work in at Carola's Quilt Shop in Gibsons, BC. http://www.carola.ca/


Those that had previous painting skills dove right in. What a rich red!

We can use anything for inspiration. Even the table cloth. Some people had a knack for pleasing compositions such as with these grapes.


Look at the rich variety of greens. This makes all the difference in creating an interesting and lively piece.

A photo of hostas was the inspiration for this piece. All greens should not be the same shade and this piece demonstrates just what a variety of greens can be achieved when mixing dye colours. The primary colours of fuchsia, turquoise, lemon yellow and the neutral black were the only colours provided. All colours were mixed. Great job!

Sunflowers had been painted by H before and she was able to draw on that knowledge from memory. This is a skill to treasure.

Learning here how to make a graduated background. Painting with dyes is not like watercolour with it's gently blending with water. Which thickened dyes, each value needs to be mixed separately. Leaving those whites is a winner.

Love, love, love G's abilities to create wildly exciting backgrounds. She has a style already. Artists can work years to develop their own style.

How nice is that. This will be a perfect piece of fabric for working into quilting later. Rich blues in the flowers and a loose style for the foliage create this endearing bouquet.

Chartreuse! Excellent colour mixing. Those petals have such variety. Try to remember that when painting flowers. Gorgeous!

Leaving those whites between the leaves allows the viewer's eye to move around the piece. Such rich complementary colours make this a strong piece. It is perfect for a quilted project.

Ah, nice to see some buildings. C successfully used a dry brush technique to create the weathered look of the grain elevators. This will show perfectly when washed. The addition of some greenery and foreground later completed this piece

3 comments:

Win Dinn, Artist said...

What a fabulous variety in these painted dyed pieces. I can hardly wait to see your post about day 2!

Laura Leeder said...

This look's like so much fun, and I love the brilliant colour that you can achieve.

Laura Leeder said...

This look's like so much fun, and I love the brilliant colour that you can achieve.