In a recent post I showed a way of adding colour to an already quilted piece using colour pencils and crayons and a comment from Rosalind at Down by the River asked if I had ever used ( or heard of) Inktense pencils by Derwent.
Well no, I have not seen those yet but I do have watercolour pencils by Derwent.
I have not used them on fabric much because here is what happens......I pencil on the colour which is a little labour intensive as you really have to work to get lots of colour onto the fabric, then when you
use a damp brush the water is supposed to blend the colour as it acts like a watercolour paint.....................well I never have a good result with this because what almost always happens is what you see in this photo. No matter how careful I am the water always spreads a little more and causes the colour to migrate to areas that were not meant to be coloured.
But this got me to thinking "what if"
What if I wet the fabric first and then apply the pencil?
What happens is, that since the water has stopped "moving" before you use the pencil the colour stays where you put it and because the fabric is damp the pencil goes on so much
easi
er and smoother and it also allows for terrific shading possibilities.After the quilting was complete, I used a spray bottle to spritz the water on, let it sit for a minute or so because the fabric should only be damp and not wet and then began applying the pencils.
Of course, you will still have to put a thin layer of textile medium on top to "seal" the colour to prevent it from bleeding should come in contact with moisture. ( I did spritz the finished piece with more water and it appears the textile medium did it's the job) not real sure you could wash this though.
12 comments:
They say the best thing an artist can do is ask, "What if?" You did just that, and look at the beautiful result! I would have cried when the original piece bled with the addition of the water, but you forged ahead and made a success out of it! I can't wait to try this, Jill! Excellent job! (And thanks for running interference for the rest of us . . .)
Diane
Actually, I even liked the one on which the color ran a bit! I think this is a very good idea. Thanks for sharing it.
Very nice! I regularly use Prismacolors on fabric, usually hit them with the iron to heat set them. They have a lot of wax, so naturally they do well.
I started working with them due to a *what if...* when I was working on a portrait quilt that was taking wrong turns......and now they are a regular in the arsenal!
Beautiful work! I like what happened!
XXOO!!
Anne
so awesome! the colours are brilliant!
I tell you.....just one block framed....Gorgeous! I just love coming to your blog to see a true artist at work!
You have some really neat techniques - I love how the colouring turned out, but I have a question. What is "Textile Medium" and where do you get it? I wonder if it would work on computer printed labels. I have made a few and when it's washed the label runs. I asked at the computer store and they said that all ink is water soluble and that there wasn't any that wasn't beside the laser ink. But if I got some of that texture medium, maybe it would stop the bleeding.
Awesome. So fun to experiment. I don't object to the piece that ran... if you added color on the outside of the run line, and let it run back in - it could make a nice look. maybe? worth the experiment? :)
I have used watercolour pencils or crayons on fabric and had the same trouble with the colours running. To prevent that I paint the fabric first with a 50/50 mix of gesso and water, let dry and then use the pencils or crayons. Of course this gives the fabric a stiffer hand so not always suitable if you need the finished piece to drape.
Nancy Proctor
Now you have tried the watercolour ones you must try Inktense as they are a completely different animal and are very much fabric orientated.
I could be seen as being biased as they are made just a few miles from me but they really are fun to use and very little water is needed. I use a water brushpen on mine.
Not sure if a URL will work but here goes:
http://www.pencils.co.uk/products/derwent.aspx?sid=17
Have fun
!
:o)
Hi,
Thank you for visiting my blog :o)
If you have any problem getting the pencils let me know and if I can help I will.
I went to the Derwent website for more info and was delighted to find that they now have something called an outliner for Inktense pencils that seems to act like gutta, in silk painting-----only in a pencil way?
I have ordered one to try!
Ros
You have taken a new step forward, one that I probably would have tried down the line, and I thank you for that! My question is one already asked above - what textile medium are you using in this process? Thanks!
You have taken a new step forward, one that I probably would have tried down the line, and I thank you for that! My question is one already asked above - what textile medium are you using in this process? Thanks!
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