What is Silk Painting and do I need to be able to draw and paint?

“I can’t draw so will I be any good at Silk Painting?” This is a question I am frequently asked and the answer is “Yes give it a go!  Have a look at the Japanese lady in the picture. This was a first attempt by someone who did not think they could draw or paint. […]

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What is Silk Painting and do I need to be able to draw and paint?

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“I can’t draw so will I be any good at Silk Painting?” This is a question I am frequently asked and the answer is “Yes give it a go!  Have a look at the Japanese lady in the picture. This was a first attempt by someone who did not think they could draw or paint. The first thing to remember with silk painting is that it offers something for everyone. For the talented artist there is the opportunity to come up with innovative, unique and original design drawn freehand then transferred onto the silk. However whatever you artistic ability you can still paint on silk by tracing a design onto the silk to use as your outline. The name silk painting is a slightly misleading term. What we are actually doing is dying the silk. Once the design is transferred to the silk it is outlined in Gutta. The Gutta creates a resist which contains the colours you add to the silk. The colours are applied to the silk with a brush and different results are achieved by varying the amount of colour used and the wetness of the brush. Layers of colour are built up and various techniques are applied to the surface of the silk to achieve the vibrancy and intensity of colours that makes silk painting unique. As the paint is applied to the silk it starts to spread out through the fibres of the silk becoming part of the silk. Watching it is both relaxing and mesmerising and a different result is produced every time. The numerous techniques provide freedom to truly personalize any design, but most of all silk painting is fun. Whether you are a serious artist or just want to have a go you can produce a piece of work to be proud of. To try Silk Painting book on a Silk Painting Class at Crafts Bee....

“I can’t draw so will I be any good at Silk Painting?” This is a question I am frequently asked and the answer is “Yes give it a go!  Have a look at the Japanese lady in the picture. This was a first attempt by someone who did not think they could draw or paint.

The first thing to remember with silk painting is that it offers something for everyone. For the talented artist there is the opportunity to come up with innovative, unique and original design drawn freehand then transferred onto the silk. However whatever you artistic ability you can still paint on silk by tracing a design onto the silk to use as your outline.

The name silk painting is a slightly misleading term. What we are actually doing is dying the silk. Once the design is transferred to the silk it is outlined in Gutta. The Gutta creates a resist which contains the colours you add to the silk. The colours are applied to the silk with a brush and different results are achieved by varying the amount of colour used and the wetness of the brush. Layers of colour are built up and various techniques are applied to the surface of the silk to achieve the vibrancy and intensity of colours that makes silk painting unique.

As the paint is applied to the silk it starts to spread out through the fibres of the silk becoming part of the silk. Watching it is both relaxing and mesmerising and a different result is produced every time. The numerous techniques provide freedom to truly personalize any design, but most of all silk painting is fun. Whether you are a serious artist or just want to have a go you can produce a piece of work to be proud of.

To try Silk Painting book on a Silk Painting Class at Crafts Bee.