Batik on rice paper, using watercolors instead of dyes, can result in some really cool artwork. This batik, finished earlier this month, will hang in the gallery at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, during their summer courses. The detail of the painting is shown here, with the whole painting below. Sue B, one of my special artist friends from North Carolina, told me how to mount a batik painted on rice paper onto a wrapped canvas. She'd learned the batik process years ago during one of my workshops on the North Carolina coast and is now selling her beautifully designed batiks in a gallery near her hometown:-) This painting wraps around the sides of the canvas and looks finished as is - no framing needed. Several layers of special varnish are applied to protect the surface to be as durable as an oil painting.
At the end of June, I'll be teaching another Batik Workshop at Miami, and there only a couple of openings left in the class, in case you're interested. Artists in my weekly classes have also been creating exquisite batiks for the past six weeks. It's messy, fun, intriguing, unpredictable, and requires some serious planning sometimes.... but so worth the results.
To see the first "CAWS" painting in this series, called CAWS FOR ALARM, go here. Sue bought that painting several years ago, and I loved getting to visit it. This series started as a message about East Nile Virus, which was killing birds in our area, as well as infecting people through mosquito bites. Since I loved the shapes the birds created, I began a series springing off of that first, large YUPO painting. More to come in the future.
"A CAWS FOR CONCERN" Transparent Watercolor & Sumi Ink on Kinwashi - 28 x 22" Wrapped Canvas COLLECTED
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21 comments:
Sandy,
This Batik is really nice... Shapes, Color, Texture. It really looks good in my Google Reader with a white background. IMHO you might want to try a white
background for a while. I think your site would look very clean and sharp.
Nice work once again, I love the fact that you update your website so often with great art.
I LOVE this painting! I love crows and missed them when they disappeared (almost) from West Nile. It always makes me smile to hear their caw caw caw. This is super - the batik is great and the design is fabulous. Uh, can you tell I love this painting?? :) Would have much rather been in class today than going through the CTA scan - yuck...
This is just too cool, Sandy!! I love the painting. Wish I lived near enough to take the workshop.
So very nice Sandy!! Love those black birds ;)
I like how you used sumi ink with transparent watercolors! --beautiful painting. and thanks also for the tip of mounting rice paper. did you use glue?
I love this one Sandy, I need to go to a batik seminar somewhere. I really like the effect you get but my first attempt was somewhat feeble LOL
sandy wow!!! this is really nice..dont know much about rice paper.. do you scrunch it like masa paper and then use yes glue to attach to the board?? i have done some masa paper wc.. but never tried rice paper.. love the not framing, idea.. i think i have some rice paper in my few(ha ha) art supplies!! thank you for sharing!!
Wow! This is wonderful. The composition is great and the technique is fascinating. Another beautiful painting.
Hey, Bill, I appreciate your suggestion to ditch the black background in my blog. Thanks for the compliment, too. DONE!
Paul, good to hear from you again.
Rhonda, Chris, and Dawn, Thanks to each of you for your comments. Hope you're ALL going to be painting tomorrow, too.
Meera, after painting a generous amount of Matte Medium (by Golden) on the canvas, I carefully placed the batik onto it, then smooothed out any wrinkles or bubbles. I trimmed the underside after it was dry. Drying took about 24 hours.
Lori, Got your check for Nick's workshop:-) This kind of batik is well worth learning, too. So many surprises.
Cindi, the process is more complicated than the way I've worked on MASA paper. Before the ink is applied, the entire rice paper is covered with hot wax, then scrunched and cracked. After the ink is applied, I iron off the wax. Soon I'll post detailed info about the whole process, with step by step instructions.
Hope you try this, Barbara. With your teaching background, I think you'd love the whole process. Let me know.
This is stunning!
Okay, I admit it. I've come back to view this one again - and again. Since you are working in a series of these, I'd love to see you isolate the circle motif and the flying bird alone (which came up first when I clicked on it to enlarge it and it was a powerful image). It is so beautiful what the human hand and heart can do!
Sandy...I am looking forward to having access to the instructions...yes- I will definitely try this process.
Thanks.
Barb
Rhonda, I like your idea. Thanks. And Barbara, be sure to let us know when you finish your first batik.
It is so interresting to watch how it slowly grows from pale to the finished painting. And it is so beautiful.
After the ink is applied, I iron off the wax. Soon I'll post detailed info about the whole process, with step by step instructions.
I am anxiously awaiting this instruction because I can't find it on Wet Canvas anywhere...spent another half an hour this morning searching for it. I am much more interested in working on Masa paper than on fabric.
Thanks SO much for sharing this with us!!!
Ginny, Go to this site on wet canvas, under 'watercolor' and then 'the learning zone' for Oct.'07 ------
http://www.wetcanvas.com/forums/showthread.php?t=453532&highlight=Batik
The instructions are very wordy and full of detail, and I've changed some things since then. Use what you can and adapt it to your own processes. Good luck.
Oh Thank you thank you. With your help I went right to the site on Wet Canvas. I hard copied all 5 pages! That was a wonderful post...wow...a LOT of typing. I need to go shopping for the paraffin now. (Not as easy to find this time of year.) I will keep hunting. Since you mention hot wax needs to be handled correctly...I have always seen demonstrations with water in the fry pan and metal tins with the wax sitting in the hot water. You never mention water. One advantage of the hot water is that the artist can clean off the brushes in the hot water from time to time.
You mention in the final "cracking" that "some pieces of wax may fall off". Yikes. What if a big chunk falls off and you are left with a large exposed area? What glue do you use if you choose the wrap around canvas? Again, thanks.
Ginny,
One of the best ways to learn is to take workshops or from teachers you really like. I also teach online to a few people if you're interested. It's so helpful to see first hand what goes on, how to do and fix things as they happen. I'd enmcourage you to sign up for at least two workshops a year to further your expertise in art. I know you'd gain a lot from them.
Sandy...the online instruction sounds kind of interesting. Can you email me more on how that might work and what you charge?
I have purchased Gulf paraffin and freezer paper in the hopes of trying some of the batik on rice paper. I have Masa paper but you don't mention that in your WetCanvas instructions...you mention others. I probably need to order some Sumi ink (I left mine in FL) too. There are no art stores close to me in the northwoods of WI so I have to get an order together. And I need to find something to melt the wax in. There is a lot of prep for this. Meanwhile I am looking at my photo references think about subject matter.
this is great work. i found this other article online about David Kibuuka, who is a prominent Batik artist in Canada. also you can buy and even sell your own work.
check it out:
http://www.artmole.com/index/module/company/pId/246/id/20
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