Sunday, June 26, 2011

This Week's Daily Paintworks Challenge

Double the pleasure, double the fun, I did this week's challenge on the Daily Paintworks site [Daily Paintworks Weekly Challenge],The Old Mill, in watercolor batik, and a new [to me] medium.  After reading the most recent "Watercolor Artist" Magazine, with a how to article on watercolor batiking by Kathie George, I have been doing a handful of practice batiks, with a modicum of success.  I sketched the mill on tracing paper, then traced the mill onto rice paper, then heated some wax and started laying in some wax, followed by layers of watercolor on the pen and ink tracing.  The fun part is crumpling the whole thing in a ball at the end [before one last waxing], then covered the whole thing with one last watercolor wash, and the final wax job. 

Then, I used what has become almost a relic, an antique, my IRON, to press the wax out with my painting stuck between several layers of newspaper until there was no more wax coming through.

A while ago, I wrote on my blog about feeling like a sketcher-phrenic, not knowing who I was as an artist.  I still don't know, but am having a lot of fun trying to find my place in the world of art making!





5 comments:

SYLVIANE said...

It's an interesting technique, it's lovely!

Dee Doyle said...

Sylviane, Thanks for stopping by. Yes, I am enjoying doing watercolor batik. I hope to be putting a few more pieces on the blog soon.

StilinStudio said...

I'm so intrigued by this process and am waiting for my paper to arrive so I can give it a try myself. You've done a wonderful job here - especially if it's your first attempt! It looks like fun (and it looks unforgiving, which I *really* like!). Thanks for the inspiration!

Anonymous said...

Beautiful work Dee...

Dee Doyle said...

Thanks, George. Thanks for stopping by!