Sketchbook Project VIII

In the last sketckbook post I suggested that you could also stencil directly onto the white page.

Which is what I've done here using Markals and a toothbrush again.

I then added a wash of water based colour which gives a more subtle shadowy effect than when you stencil onto a ready coloured page.

And if you use different colours, it looks different again.

The point here is don't just try each technique once and think that's it... try it it with different colours, different media, different images etc. As always it is about exploring and playing to see how far you can take each idea. By starting with one of your initial drawings and developing it in this way you are exploring design ideas such as shape, colour and line, which in turn will help develop your design ideas when translating them into textiles. This in turn will make your finished work much stronger... trust me!

An example of this type of playing occured when I wondered what would happen if I stencilled onto this piece of recycled wrapping paper (I never throw wrapping away!)

I chose a stencil colour to blend with the glitzy foiling on the paper and then stuck it down in my sketchbook.

Then I washed over the whole image with toning colours.

I love the way the resulting image shimmers and shines, catching the light... like a precious piece of Indian textile. I'm not sure where I will take this idea but I have visions of shimmering brocades!

I'll be back tomorrow with some stitching that has resulted from this exploration of the poppy seedhead shapes. (I'm not sure why it still says Saturday at the top of this post... I've changed the post options three times now but it keeps reverting back!)