Warhol Inspired Cat Prints

One of my favorite artists- certainly in the PopArt genre, is Andy Warhol! He played around a lot with icons both human and not, Marilyn Monroe and Campbell's Soup being examples- using printing techniques and exploring with color!
This month I've done my own version, using my lovely cat Leia as a model.

First I printed out a black and white photo of her in the size that I wanted to make my prints. Since she is a black and white cat, it makes it even easier for this technique. I then used a light board to trace around the main areas of color I wanted to separate out.

Then I used a clear plastic with a sticky back (freezer paper would also worked) and traced and cut out my stencils- the black parts, the white parts and her eyes and nose. I stuck these onto blank screens. I used three, but you can also use one and just switch out the stencil after you've printed one. I made sure to have an inch of uncut plastic around my image.

I then marked a registration mark on my fabric in pencil- where I will place the lower left hand corner of the plastic stencil when I'm printing.

I then laid the screen into place, mixed up some Eco Acrylic Paint with fabric medium and pulled it through my screen. I blended various colors because I didn't want to use super pure shades.

I mixed different colors and printed all the "white" portions of Leia. Let those dry and then printed the "black" portions (using the registration mark as a guide as to where to place the next screen), and finally doing the "eyes and nose".

The result looked like this:

Pretty cool! I like how they aren't perfect- but I wanted to add more detail to bring her to life. I used paint pens, but it also could have been fun to put these on some wadding and backing and quilt the details!

My prints all have their own individual character- which is something I quite like. 

I hope you enjoyed this technique and give it a try with your own photos!

See you next time!!
-Tamara

Eco Acrylic Paint

Aztec Fabric Medium

Pouring with Colourcraft Acrylics

Paint Paint Paint! This month a lot of the blogs will be focusing on yet another thing that Colourcraft is fabulous with...PAINT! What better way to celebrate paint than to show some Acrylic Pouring techniques?

Paint pouring is a method where one adds a medium (or more) to acrylic paint and then enough water to make it run nicely. The idea is that the medium slows down the drying time as well as making your acrylics flow- this allows you to make multiple cool effects.

For this session I used Eco Acrylic Paint combined with Flow Medium as well as Floetrol (an acrylic "conditioner" that can be found in some hardware shops).

You can see all the action on the video 

HERE

I might have to embellish this one by drawing in a peacock!

 This one I think I will add lines to give it a quilt block effect.

 I really hope you enjoyed this! If you want to see more pouring techniques check out a couple of my previous blogs here and here as well as a super cute idea for pendants by Karen, another blogger, here!!

Eco Acrylic Paint

Botanical Textile Art

I'm so excited to be part of the Colourcraft Design Team. As a textile and mixed media artist, fabric and/or thread are involved in most of my projects, but not always. My first blog shows how I have coloured fabric to create a Botanical fabric picture.

I just love seeing all the flowers in my garden right now. On a sunny day, I’m even tempted to take my sewing machine outdoors, but usually, our climate is such it’s safer to just take hand sewing outside so you can quickly move inside in if it clouds over. This piece involves both machine stitch and hand stitch for the flowers, so we are good whatever the weather.

The first stage is to prepare the canvas.

For a vintage feel, I took three floral pieces from my fabric stash and joined them together.
It is worth remembering the golden ratio. This rule of thirds states that if you divide any composition into thirds, vertically and horizontally, then place the key elements of your image either along these lines or at the junctions of them, you’ll achieve a more pleasing arrangement and more interesting and dynamic compositions.
So I didn’t have any of my patchwork divisions in the centre (vertically or horizontally) and the botanical focus of my final composition is in the is about two thirds up and left. I include a pattern to print and use if you wish.

Once I had my fabric patchwork piece, I wanted a more subtle floral vintage background so painted on white gesso.

To avoid brush marks, and for speedy application, I used a foam brush

Gesso is an excellent base coat primer and is non-yellowing and non-cracking. One coat is enough and dries quickly. Previously I have tried building up the effect I wanted with diluted leftover white matt emulsion paint, but this wasn’t as quick to apply or to dry.

The bonus of the primer is that it stiffens the patchwork too so you don’t need to use an embroidery hoop when sewing. As long as you haven’t got a fine needle in your sewing machine, it works just fine.

If you want a distressed look you can scratch away some of the dry primer with either a piece of sandpaper or a metal pot scourer.

For the flower petals I used some old cotton lining. (just wash new cotton fabric well if you are using new) and after laying it on a plastic sheet I sprayed it with water and then sprinkled on my chosen Brusho colours. Spraying with some more water created the mottled hydrangea petal effect I was wanting. Hydrangeas are more blue or pink depending on the soil but with art, you can choose to have both.
You could use the BrushoMist Sprays instead in violet, rose red, ultramarine for example.

I dried and ironed my cloth ready for the later stage of creating the flower head.

Draw out your composition or print my design. The final design will be a mirror image.
I traced the design onto Stitch N Tear, although because of the primer, you don’t really need the stabilising properties and could use paper. I find it easier to tear away than paper though. 

Having the design on the wrong side, I did my first machine stitching along the outline of the vase on the wrong side. I chose to do this with grey thread (top and bobbin) and without the feed dogs. I love the freedom of this free machine embroidery but it is worth practising if you are new to this technique. I do run workshops in South Yorkshire if you are interested.

I then turned the canvas over and repeated stitching the vase, using my first stitching as a guide.

I chose to add a couple of light highlights to the vase to create the reflection on the glass. I used a light variegated blue, white yellow thread and a satin stitch.

You could use paint to create these instead.

I used a watered down blue Brusho to fill the bottom of my vase with water.

The next stage was to add flower stems and leaves.
These can be made from fabric (trace onto Bondaweb and apply to the wrong side), by stitching the outline (as I did for the vase), or by printing the leaf onto the canvas (with a stamp).

More free machine stitching adds vein details to the leaves.

The hydrangea flower head was next. I poked a few pins through from the wrong side, using the pattern to guide where the flower head would be.

Having applied some Bondaweb to the reverse of my petal fabric and removed the paper, I cut 1.5cm squares.

These were placed face up (Bondaweb down) on the right side of the canvas in the marked flower head area. I left areas of canvas showing through my overlapped square arrangement. Placing baking parchment over, I ironed these in place with my mini iron.

On the wrong side of my canvas, I stitched around the hydrangea heads. This is easiest done as two figure of eights returning to the centre. I used a variegated thread ( top and bobbin) in hydrangea colours. The idea of this bottom layer is to give the impression of depth of the flower head, and you will find that the flowers don’t match up with the squares, but that is fine because there is a top layer to add.

For the top layer, I cut 2cm squares from my fabric (no Bondaweb this time). I folded each square in four and then held the smaller square at the point where each fold meets, to cut away either side making a curved petal shape. When you let go, you have a four-pointed flower shape. I saved my offcuts as I think they will be great for a future buddleia botanical project!

Using my cut out flowers and my variegated (purple, blue, pink) thread, I sewed the top layer of flowers on by hand with a cross in the centre and further stitches in between. I added beads too for further dimension. There are some lovely hydrangea Indian beads for this. I also used the white beads and green embroidery thread for the gypsophila stem. It’s great when the weather obliges and I can sit and hand stitch in the garden, but whatever the weather, I can get a flower fix by botanical textile art. A great feel good kick!

I tried out several frames for the hydrangea and used this silvery Ikea frame. You can use a frame you have and add a metallic finish as I did recently for a recent felted project.

I would love to see any floral projects you have been doing, please share them.

Here’s to time in the garden

Helen x

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