First thoughts
I like to work with fabric besides painting. For a long time I have been exploring different ways to combine my favorite things. These include painting, sewing, and simple woodworking. And this time I want to try fabric surface design on linen canvas with fabric dye. Then paint with oil on it.
The foundation for oil painting is mostly fabric, either linen or cotton, and hardboard or wood panel. So for linen or cotton, it can also be dyed and stitched as any fabric. You can also paint on fabric directly with fabric paint or marker. But here I want my canvas to stay as background for the oil painting part.
Materials
It takes sometime to gather all things I need for this experiment.
- Raw linen canvas. I bought the fabric for artist, not for apparel making just to be safe.
- Fabric dye (Rit)
- Acrylic paint
- Stretcher bars
- Clear gesso
Some other tools I used are stapler gun, cardboard, sewing machine, containers and brushes.
References
<Fabric Surface Design> I found this book very useful and have variety of techniques that I can try. A lot of amazing examples too!
Process
A. The size I choose for this experiment is 11″ by 14″. I want something that easy to manage but big enough to paint some details. So the first step is to measure and cut out the fabric I need. Because the fabric will contact water in dyeing stage. I preshrink the raw linen canvas before cutting. And secure all edges with sewing machine.
B. The topic I choose is an orange cat with woods background. I decide to use the flour paste batik method to create tree branches feeling.
You can check out this technique here–>
C. After the flour paste batik I use the fabric dye to give the canvas a yellowish green color entirely.
D. Now it can be fixed on stretcher bars.
This is actually my first time doing this. I don’t think I used all my strength to pull the canvas. Next time I will pull it harder. 🤣
E. Finally it is the painting time! But don’t forget to apply gesso first.
Summary
First of all, this is definitely doable.
Second, everything has to be designed from the very beginning. That means you need to know what effect, topic and color range you are looking for before hands on.
Next, linen has natural darker color than cotton. So if dyeing with light and vibrant color like lemon yellow or pale pink, cotton is better than linen.
And drying takes time. Be patient and let it dry during each step.
Last but not least, keep some void space and don’t paint too solid. The key point for this method is to let the canvas shows through and be part of the painting. That is why some area of the orange cat is not 100% painted. You can see the dyed canvas through the cat’s fur.
Overall, it is fun! I am planning to make a stitched canvas in future experiment. ❤
I hope you enjoy this post~
PS: Happy Birthday to myself~😉