Canvas painting

 

I really enjoyed my recent canvas painting of Cara Delevingne and felt it improved my skill at painting and mark making, so therefore I've decided to do another canvas painting with acrylic paints of my Nannan and my niece and it'll be interesting to see how this piece turns out as I have never painted a side on portrait, I have always painted people in portrait position so I have set myself a challenge to complete this canvas and improve my skills even more in painting with acrylics. I also want to bring oil paints into this painting like focus on one side of the face or on a really shadowed part of the painting and apply oil paints to make it really textured and contrasting to the rest of the canvas. 

Dying Cotton Velvet fabric

When it came to dying my various Cotton Velvet fabrics I found I got a very different effect to when dying my Cotton fabric this way. So therefore I masked my fabric to the shelf above the sink and created 3 procion dyes that went in plastic cups and one was half a teaspoon of Blue Procion dye and then filling the rest of the cup with water, then the 2nd was half a teaspoon of Red Procion dye then the rest of the cup with water then the final dye was half a teaspoon of Yellow Procion Dye with the rest of the cup filled with water to create three light but bright Procion Dyes to use when dying. Besides these colours I also used a Turquoise and Purple Procion dye and felt all these colours together will really contrast and and make a bright background. So therefore I began applying the Procion dye with a paintbrush but I found that with the thick texture of the Velvet it wasnt a flat surface unlike the Cotton fabric so therefore it didnt flow down the velvet and became more Bold and quite difficult because at times the Velvet Cotton was resisiting the Procion Dye in a waterproof dye effect and I had to keep adding water so that the Velvet Cotton accepted the dye and let it run down the fabric. Dying the Velvet Cotton was very different to the Cotton fabric because when I added water to blend the colours it appeared as if it made them fade and become one colour so I had to keep adding Turquoise which was my Darkest and boldest procion dye on this sample to keep a contrast of colours instead of the faded Orange, Yellow and Pink background because this is what it transformed into when I added water as if the material wasnt absorbing the colour. But the advantage with Cotton Velvet was that when I didnt want to add much colour I could just add some small lines of colours and they didnt run down the Cotton Velvet in vast and bold amounts, they just created significant lines of colours which I felt worked really well.

Fabric pens on Cotton Fabric appliqued onto Knitting

For this sample I wanted to bring a different technique into the knitting panels instead of the previous Puff binder on my other knitting panel. So therefore I decided to use the fabric pens and create an eye on Cotton fabric because it is strong and would work well with the fabric pens and applique technique. So on the Cotton fabric I got the idea of an eye from a portrait of myself where I look slightly shocked so my eyes are more open that usual to reveal all the detail so I got the eye from this, I tried to include shading in the eye but it were difficult as the pens are very bold and texture based but the texture also related to my artist research and style so I began to use this within the eye to create more shadowing.
I felt this worked well with the vibrant knitting panel because in this knitting panel there was also patches of Blue so it worked well with the Blue in the eye, so therefore I need to yet go on the sewing machine and applique my eye design onto my knitting and I will do this by using the computer design sewing machine which involves a variety of different sewing designs and something sketchy instead of a straight stitch would look interesting around the eye or I could hand stitch with thick embroidery wool to bring the cotton fabric and knitting together, but I will be most likely using the machine and this isnt time consuming and will look more precise and delicate.

Puff binder on Cotton Fabric

For this sample I wanted to do a puff binder print but instead of the faces repeated on top of each other I wanted to try making it look like faces that were looking at each other and my design of my brother was a perfect example to use because I created a side on portrait of him, so I used my front portrait and decided to bring them together in a puff binder print and this would help with showing texture and detail.
So therefore I dyed my fabric using only very faded light colours, I didnt want to use a plain white background as I wanted a sample full of colours but I didnt want it too bright and vibrant and to take the attention away from the puff binder prints, so therefore I created 3 Procion dyes, the first one was a plastic cup with half a teaspoon of Pink Procion dye in then I filled the rest of the cup with water to create a faded Pink, then the next one was half a teaspoon of Turquoise then the rest of the plastic cup filled with water then my final colour was half a teaspoon of Yellow Procion dye then the rest was water. I created these 3 colours because not only do they contrast againist each other very well, they also arnt too heavy and bold for a background and add some lines of colour, so using a paintbrush i create strokes of colour throughout the fabric and then left it to dry on the drying rack. Once I felt my fabric was dry I then placed it under the heat press at 180 degrees at 18 seconds to press the dye into the fibres and then put the fabric under the cold tap to discard of any loose fibres.
After my fabric was dry I then created my first Puff binder which was puff binder and a teaspoon of Blue pigment ink because I wanted a dark Blue for this screen print that would stand out againist the faded background, then for my second puff binder I used puff binder and quartre of a teaspoon of red pigment ink. So for these two screen prints I placed the substance at top of my design for Jake and using a squeegee I spread the puff binder over the design and then very quickly moved my screen so that my design of me was to the right of Jake and adjusted it so that we were still within each others print but so that it looked as if he were looking at me, then I placed the red pigment ink at the top of my design of myself and used the squeegee to spread the substance over it.
I quickly then washed my screen and squeegee as I didnt want the thick Puff binder to stick within my screen and ruine my design. I like this design because it has resulted in it looking like Jake was looking in my direction which I thought gave it a twist to it usual been the overlapping of a face, but the only disadvantage is that once you apply the heat gun to puff up the puff binder it makes the puff binder naturally turn lighter and my Red puff binder print blends in within the faded background which ruines the detail, so if i were to do this screen print again I would add more Red to the puff binder to increase the boldness of the red and maybe flip the image of me so me & jake were coming in from different directions of the fabric.

Repeated screen print on Cotton fabric

For this sample I firstly dyed my fabric which I decided to use a different technique to the usual masking it to a shelf and then creating lines of blending and bright colour, I wanted to use less colour. So therefore I layed my cotton fabric flat on a table and then splashed the colours on to it, I used Pink, Yellow and Turquoise Procion Dye, I used a paintbrush and dropped the Procion dye from a height or flicked the brush to create small but effective dots of colour. I then awaited for my fabric to dry on the drying rack and then placed it under the heat press at 180 degrees for 18 seconds to press the dye into the fibres and then afterwards I placed the fabric under the cold tap to discard of any loose fibres. Afterwards I then decided to use Jacks design again and do two screen prints to see if they had a better effect againist a partly coloured background and using two colours that contrast aganist each other but still fit within my colour scheme, so therefore I chose Blue and Black because I wanted to see how they worked within been transparent and I felt these two colours would work well againist the background.
So therefore I did my first screen print in Blue pigment paint and aimed for the center of my fabric, then followed with my second Black pigment paint screen print and aimed slightly right but I wanted the detail of the eye in the Blue screen print to be within the Black screen to see how it became transparent with two bold colours. Afterwards I washed my screen and my squeegee with the hose pipe, then placed my screen in the drying cupboard.
I like this design because it has a lot of sketchy detail to it and the background comes through the design and gives it colour and detail and a form of transparentness, and I admire the effect the eye at the top of the design has created, with them been next to each other they have create such a difference when one has an underneath layer of Black pigment paint then the opposing one has a white background, they look so different againist each other but yet so full of detail and I think it just makes the piece look interesting. I will work back into the rest of the piece with free hand embroidery and try create some more sketchy detail with various face parts.

Repeated screen print on Cotton Fabric

With this sample I decided to keep a plain background because like the previous print I wanted the detail to stand out more than the background because on other samples I have been presenting a vibrant and contrasting background for a screen print to kind to show detail by the bright background coming through.
So therefore I decided to use Jacks design for this which is the design of a face cut up then recreated with shadowing and texture, and I used this because it has a lot of sketchy detail and I wanted to use dark colors and make this detail really stand out against the white background, so therefore my first screen print was with Brown Pigment paint and I place a small even amount at the top of my screen above my design of Jack with the opposing design masked off, and then used my squeegee to do 2-3 strokes over the design up and down to press the pigment paint into my design. I then quickly took off the remanding Brown pigment paint off the screen and replaced it with the Orange Pigment paint by spreading an even amount across the top of the design then repeating the process by using the squeegee to spread the amount over my design and onto my fabric. For the second Orange Pigment paint print I moved my screen slightly to the right so that the design wasn't precisely on top of the other because this would ruine the detail and this is what effect Pakayla Beihn created with his own work.
I like this screen print for that face that it represents my sketchy detail I've used throughout my sheetwork and artist research and it represents looking closer to reveal a face but also I dont appreciate the two colours I chose because I feel they dont compliment each other at all and that they dont contrast againist each other and seem bold and boring, if I did this screen print again I would use colours that contrasted againist each other and the background and I would repeat the screen print of Jack more times then worked back into it with Acrylic paints.

Repeated Puff binder print on Cotton fabric

For this sample I decided to not apply a background as in my previous samples I applied a vibrant and contrasting background so that the design was black and bold against it but for this sample I wanted a vibrant and contrasting design against a plain background so that my detail contrasts more. So therefore I chose Cotton fabric again because I feel its the perfect strong fabric to withstand a repeated puff binder print as its thick and textured and needs a fabric that can withstand this and present it to a high standard.
So therefore I firstly did the first Puff binder screen print which I added quartre of a teaspoons worth Orange pigment ink to, then followed by my second screen print of my myself which I moved down so that the eyes were in the line with the hair to see the transparent effect and this was Puff binder with quartre of a teaspoons worth of Red pigment ink to it and then finished with moving my screen down so that again the 3rd screen print was in line with the seconds eyes, and I added another quartre of a teaspoons worth to the previous screen print so that the 3rd screen print had half a teaspoon in total of the Red pigment ink. I then had to quickly wash my screen and squeegee's with the hose pipe as Puff binder is a thick substance and can stick within your screen and ruine any further screen prints as it blocks the design printing on the fabric properly.
I appreciate this design because I think the use of colours for my prints works well with the background and makes the prints contrast and become center of attention, my only disadvantage for this sample is that I wish I'd used more contasting colours againist each other like pratically pink, Vibrant red and then brown because I feel sometimes my detail doesent contrast well againist the other screen prints because all the colours and quite warm and light and at some points of my sample they blend into one another, so if I could change anything it would be more clashing colours for the Puff binder.

Repeated screen print on Cotton Fabric

For this sample I chose to experiment on Cotton fabric because I wanted something that had thickness to it and that I could produce various techniques on it as this fabric is strong and can withstand it. So therefore I dyed my fabric first which was a case of masking my fabric to a shelf over the sink and I used the Procion Dyes Orange, Pink, Purple, Turquoise and Yellow and I added small amounts of the Procion Dye along the top of the fabric then added a full cup of water along that top of the fabric to result in the dyes blending into each other and not appearing so bold and separate, I wanted the colours to fade into each other but still appear vibrant. After I was happy with the result of the Procion Dyes and water I then awaited for the fabric to dry by placing it on the drying rack then once it was dry I placed it in the heat press at 180 degrees for !* seconds to ensure the Dye is within the fibres then I washed it under the cold tap afterwards to discard of any loose fibres within the fabric.
After my Fabric was dry it was then pressed and ready to be printed on, so I wanted to work on repeating my portrait after I did the repeated Puff binder of my screen print of rachael because I felt even though the puff binder worked well in making the prints transparent I wanted an even more transparent effect and I wanted them of not just one face because I felt the same face repeated didnt represent a face within a face because it was the same face and the same expression and I wanted different faces and different expressions like Pakayla Beihn, so therefore I did my first screen print in Black Pigment paint of Jake which is the side portrait and then followed by my second screen print of Rachael in Black pigment paint again then finished off with the screen print design of myself in Black pigment paint, I did these screen prints by each time masking the opposing faces because all three faces were on one screen so I had to mask the others to ensure their design didnt go on my fabric but it appears some of the marks have gone on my fabric which ruines the detail and attention a bit, so therefore next time I do this screen print I will ensure to be more precise so my piece looks more proffessional. I like this sample because it was sucessfull in been more transparent than the Puff binder print and the 3 faces made it more interesting and meaningful than just one face.