Little Luxuries

Last night was a luxury. No blog to write. No food to cook. No F around.... 2 hours of not having anything to do until i had to pick F and his pasty delivery up. I had been thinking about this time all day at work. How to use it, what i really wanted to do with it, how to savour it...

I decided to continue with the painting og my scarf which will go on my shrine upstairs on the landing. The scarf was looking a little sad, all white with occasional black or silver lines. I had no idea what silk paints would be like to use and so knew that my scarf would probably be best if I didn't have a fixed idea in my head.

I had four colours of paint, purple, light blue, dark blue and emerald green. I decided to do the Goddess three moon symbol in the middle in the emerald green and azure blue. As I dabbed the colours on I created a blotchy effect and this has resulted in the symbol looking like planet earth from space. This symbolism pleased me and I shall have to think on this further.

I did the edges in dark blue and outlined the symbol in the dark blue as well. I then filled in the rest with the purple. I discovered that the drying paints form tidemarks if wet paint encounters dry paint. I discovered that flicking water causes an interesting splotchy effect on wet paint. I discovered flicking water at dry paint does nothing. Any proper silk painter would be able to look at my scarf and know instantly that I had no idea what I was doing... I think this adds to the scarf and it's look somehow... The colours are so lovely that what you do with them seems almost immaterial...

I have another scarf and a design in mind. I imagine that the things I have learnt will show on my next one. The design is more complicated. There will be more lines for the paint to sit between. This should take away some of the blotchiness as it means you have more time to paint the scarf as a whole. The scarf itself soaks up the paint and it spreads slowly across. Without the lines of gutta you could not make any sort of design with ease.... Of course in some places I may want the tidemarks and blotches, but it will be my choice...

I would love if I ever have kids of my own to find a frame a stretch a piece of silk across it like a canvas. I would then give them a tube of gutta to draw on a design or a doodle or a swiggle. I would then give them a handful of bright silk paints and a brush. These bright colours would react so well to a childs most impressionistic efforts. The way the paint spreads and fills space is forgiving of poor coordination and inability to paint close to the lines. What a lovely present this would be for a granny... Just make sure they are wearing black first...

I shall post a photo at the weekend (or thereabouts) so you can have a look...