We are coming to the end of a month of culling, cleaning and sorting in our household - we have been at it for all of January, working our way through every box in every drawer in every cupboard in every room. It has been quite the marathon, but oh so rewarding.
The house is now looking happy; and the studio spaces are well underway. They of course prove almost more problematic than the house as there is so much interesting stuff to think about hanging on to - just in case!
However, I have at least tidied my studio - not cleaned and culled yet, but tidied enough so that the disaster that was before; is no longer. The things on the floor and the seats and the tables are gone and I have surfaces upon which to work and play - hurray!
And play I did.
I had been thinking about bleach and black fabric; and decided to do a few trials with bleach and black paper to see if that lovely rusty under-colour would appear.
Using a syring filled with bleach I wrote a few words...
Trailed off a few letters with dots...
And just enjoyed photographing those sensuous lines and lumps!
Therefore I deduce that it is good to have a clean work surface so that one can play.
Sadly the bleach did nothing to the paper so I'd best go experiment with the fabric now.
The house is now looking happy; and the studio spaces are well underway. They of course prove almost more problematic than the house as there is so much interesting stuff to think about hanging on to - just in case!
However, I have at least tidied my studio - not cleaned and culled yet, but tidied enough so that the disaster that was before; is no longer. The things on the floor and the seats and the tables are gone and I have surfaces upon which to work and play - hurray!
And play I did.
I had been thinking about bleach and black fabric; and decided to do a few trials with bleach and black paper to see if that lovely rusty under-colour would appear.
Using a syring filled with bleach I wrote a few words...
Trailed off a few letters with dots...
Played around with some swirls and doodles...
And just enjoyed photographing those sensuous lines and lumps!
Therefore I deduce that it is good to have a clean work surface so that one can play.
Sadly the bleach did nothing to the paper so I'd best go experiment with the fabric now.
You could try a wash of fountain pen ink on watercolour paper to give the black surface, bleach does interesting things on Quink ink
ReplyDeleteThanks Jac - Quink ink is such fun to watch as it changes colours - I haven't tried it with bleach yet, so iff I shall go!
Deletelove the liquidity
ReplyDeleteMe too Mo - I almost didn't care if it worked I just loved what it did on the way through!
DeleteYou should try a variety of black papers. Canson mi-teintes usually reacts as do many other papers. It is not always easy to predict what colour will emerge, but experimenting is fun.
ReplyDeleteThanks Wendy - this was Canson, so I can only assume my bleach was old and not working too well. It does need a whole range to papers to really practice with so I shall dig into the paper pile and find some more scraps!
DeleteYour studio looks great, Fiona! Hmmm, inspirational to me, who can barely get into my studio it's so full of stuff. This has to be the year I turn that around. Your bleach curves and curls are very beautiful.
ReplyDeleteThanks Carol - it feel better that is for sure! I loved the blobs and curves - just such a delight.
DeleteWendy and Jac took the words out of my mouth! Definitely try other black papers (cheaper the better) as they react the same as fabric i.e not all black fabrics will bleach in the same way either. That's why it's such a serendipitous technique. Also, if the bleach is not fresh it will not work as well and yours looks a bit thick so it might take a while to seep into the fibres. Thinner bleach.... and an open door or a mask for fumes! Painting in Quink on paper and then bleaching is a joy. You must do that. You'd love the colour separations.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much Lesley - I shall dilute the bleach a bit (just bough ta new bottle) and shall try again. Quick is fun with other inks too - so now I must do it with bleach!
DeleteLove the bleach ink setting atop the paper! Do your grocers sell bleach pens in the laundry aisle? If so, buy a few and experiment. Over here, it's Clorox bleach markers/pens (not really sure what their official title is) and they are great to work with. Don't forget your stop bath with fabric though or the bleach will eat on through, leaving holes...which might not be so horrible... Enjoy!
ReplyDeleteI know J - the images are gorgeous; I was a bit mesmerised and besotted by what they did, almost forgot to worry about the bleach part. My Clorox pen from the US is probably a few years old now so may have lost its zing - and I shall need to work out that stop bath thing too!
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