Fabric painting - batik

2024 Author: Sierra Becker | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-26 03:46

Fabric painting is an ancient art that allows you to create unique works. This type of artistic processing of fabrics has its roots in the countries of Southeast Asia - Japan, China, Indonesia. Ancient masters most often painted silk, on which outlandish birds and flowers came to life. The hand-painted fabrics brought to Europe were highly valued, only representatives of the aristocracy could afford them. The technique of painting on fabric began to develop in Europe only in the 20s of the last century. All types of handmade fabric dyeing are called "batik". This word came from Indonesia, it literally means "a drop on the cloth." There are various techniques for creating designs on fabrics.

Hot batik

This is the most difficult way of painting and one of the most ancient. To create a multi-color pattern, the desired areas are waxed and dipped in hot dye. Under wax drops, the fabric does not change its color, therefore, having painted part of the pattern in one tone, wax lines are applied again and painted in the next color. And so repeatedly, until you get a complex pattern. Such painstaking work on one canvas can last for weeks. The finished fabric is stretched to dry and finallyremove the wax.

Cold batik

In this technique, a pattern outline is applied with a special composition (reserve), inside which the fabric is painted in different colors. Only after applying all the colors, the fixing composition is removed and the contour is drawn. To get a high-quality painting on fabric, it is usually painted over on both sides.

Knotted batik

This method is available to everyone. It is very simple - knots are tied on the fabric before dyeing. You can do this in a chaotic manner, or you can think of a special pattern. The tissue prepared in this way is subjected to boiling in a dye solution. This method is only suitable for fabrics that can withstand high temperatures.

Painting on fabric with airbrush or acrylic paints

This is a modern technique, it requires special acrylic paints for fabrics. They can be applied with a regular brush or with an airbrush. When making drawings in this way, you can use various stencils or

stamps, you can apply plants and small objects instead. Working with an airbrush requires certain skills. It allows you to get a very delicate, translucent layer of paint and therefore it is often used by professionals to create original works. Having finished painting on the fabric with acrylic paints, a fixative is applied and the canvas is dried properly. These paints are best used for densefabrics, as well as for leather and suede.

Painting on wet cloth

Such works are very unusual - the colors smoothly flow from one tone to another, the effect of the airiness of the picture is obtained. The canvas can first be soaked in a saline solution to prevent ugly smudges.

Modern designers to create unique clothing models are turning to new technologies that allow you to create a printed painting on fabric. A photo transferred to a silk canvas has become a fashionable technique for leading couturiers.