More Previews for Upcoming Show

Here are selected detail shots from new work for my upcoming exhibit. This was juried in by the Colorado Springs Public Arts Commission, to hang from June through August in the lobby of the City Administration building. Come to the reception during the June First Friday Downtown Art Walk!

Faces On Fabric

I like to start with the lightest color first in water soluble colored pencil; warm golds - then work my way up to deeper browns. The hair and eyes will need some fine point dark waterproof pen like a Micron 002. Add more c.p., then spritz with water. See how the colors deepen and soften? This is starting to look like a warm human being!

Prep for Upcoming Exhibit

In June, there'll be a display of my work in the lobby of the Colorado Springs city administration building. This will be part of the Downtown Art Walk; dates to be announced soon. Here, I've dyed some background fabric with liquid Rit dyes (cheap, easy to find, great results). Then, I ironed some plain white fabric onto freezer paper to stabilize it and prevent leaks underneath. Next, I drew a tree shape with sharpies, and painted it with liquid acrylics. (Three colors). Last, you see the piece with the dyed fabric in the background and the tree along with other appliqued elements drawn on fabric - all sewn down. I'll add a couple more leaves, but you get the idea!

Monoprinting a Butterfly on Fabric

I first cut out a butterfly shape (based on a photo I was looking at), then I rolled acrylic paint in a thin layer of blue on a sheet of plexiglass. I laid down the paper butterfly over that, then quickly, before the paint dried, put my white cotton fabric over paper, paint layer,etc. I let the fabric dry, heat set it with an iron, and sprayed the fabric with water to moisten. After that I dropped some liquid dye in yellow (Rit) over the butterfly outline and some of the blue painted areas. Let dry, heat set, then some fun! I drew the details from the butterfly photo with a Micron pen and colored pencil. The softer areas are drawn with water soluble colored pencil, then misted. This is a great way to keep the color from spreading too much, which it has a tendency to do on fabric.