A new adventure

Although I usually make no excuses for not posting on a regular basis, I actually do have a good one for this latest hiatus. I began a Textile Design program and it has consumed my free time in a wonderful way. We just finished the first course of seven. It's a 2.5 year long program and at the end of it I'll have a portfolio that consists of original textile designs that have been both hand painted and computer generated. In addition to classes every Tuesday evening we also have daylong workshops on most Saturdays. I'm on my holiday break now but we were assigned tons of homework due in January when I will start my second course. Then I will also add another evening class learning how to use Photoshop with textile designs. So I hope to do some posting about what I've learned so far before January when I'll get buried under classes and homework and my part-time work again.

This design is called a scribble flower and I hand painted it using gouache which is a water-based paint that is very opaque and has a flat matt surface so it simulates fabric better than other water-based media. It differs from acrylic paint which is also water-based but is less opaque and has a shinier surface. The mixed media art that I have posted in the past was all done using acrylics. We will be learning water color techniques for more transparent designs later. Although I have used gouache before, it was about 20 years ago in my undergraduate art program. It is a persnickety medium to work with but is also very beautiful. So I have been re-learning how to work with it. It is also hard to photograph but you get the idea (above). Another difference is the painting style I am learning is very "tight-handed" rather than "loose-handed" which is what most of the art I have done for the past 10 years has been. We will be working on looser designs later but it is important to know how to do both for the textile industry. I'll post more about how this design came into being and what I've learned in the weekend workshops soon.