Plein Air (on fabric) using Inktense pencils and blocks

I love to wander our great outdoors and usually have my camera at my side to capture the colors, the landscape or moments that I can enjoy later, or use for inspiration in my textile art. For a while I've wondered what it would be like to try a little plein air painting using fabric instead of canvas or paper. With the encouragement and companionship of one of my artistic friends, we decided that the time was neigh for an attempt!

This past weekend we decided to do our inaugural plein air play-date in my back yard (as the swan river offers lots of great composition ideas) and the fall colors are still offering some wonderful contrast to play with. 

We wandered the property for a few moments and then decided on the hillside location that offered up some good views and began to play. 

As this is a new endeavor for me, I don't yet have many of the tools that can be useful for this type of work, so I decided to get creative and use what I have on hand. Acting as my hand-held easel, I used a wrapped canvas larger than the fabric I was going to work on. I used blue tape (painter's tape) to stretch the fabric tightly onto the canvas so that it wouldn't move while I was working. 

My medium of choice was Inktense watercolor pencils and blocks as they are permanent on fabric even with just water--this makes them unique for coloring on fabric and they are one of my favorite tools in my toolbox when it comes to my fiber art. I used the Outliner pencil from my box set and did a brief sketch of the different sections of my chosen view. I then took my plant mister to spray a fine mist over the entire fabric to get it nice and saturated with water. 

Working on the wet fabric I started adding colors to the water and the sky. I sometimes would test a color off to the side of the piece, but as I was committed to exploring and playing without expectation of any finished result, I allowed myself to experiment freely. I used dry sponge brushes and small paint brushes to spread and blend the colors as I worked and played with using the tip and/or sides of my pencils to achieve different textures and lines as I layered the colors. I focused mainly putting down a base layer of colors for each section, knowing that I would focus on finer details in my later passes. 

Working outside in a (somewhat brisk) autumn breeze, my fabric would dry fairly quickly which meant that I was able to work a bit quicker than I normally would inside. Once the colors dry, they are set in the fibers and I can then work on top of them and am able to wet the fabric again without the colors bleeding or running. 

I was thrilled to see the scene begin to appear on my fabric and remarked on the significant difference in working on a landscape out in the field vs re-creating a scene from a photo. We see so much more immersed in a landscape than we'll ever be able to see looking at picture. It was so helpful to watch the movement of the water as I attempted to capture it on my fabric. The changing nature of the current encouraged me to work the area a bit more than I would have done with a static photo. I watched the light change across the landscape as I worked, highlighting details that I might have missed at first glance. 

I had so much fun with the first view, (and it seemed to come together a bit easier than I had expected) I decided to try a second composition to see if maybe the first round was just beginner's luck. I moved my chair to a new location and started the process again. 

In some ways the second piece was easier than the first, as I had the joy of a first success to fuel my curiosity, along with a palette of colors that I already knew I was enjoying, so there was less time needed to pick which pencils I wanted to use. I loved seeing how the light was playing differently across this view from the first composition and how the scene included a lot more depth and distance to play with. As I worked I could also start imagining what it would be like to add the texture of some stitching to my fabric once dry (for a as thread 'enthusiast' that is bound to happen.) In fact, both of my compositions are now pressed with stabilizer and ready for some time with some threads.  More to come!

Sitting in the open air, taking in the fall colors, exploring and experiementing with coloring with no firm expectations of an end product...it was a blissful, creative time, and I look forward to scheduling more opportunities soon!

If you'd like to see more of my work using inktense pencils on fabric, you can visit my website: www.ladybugscabin.com or follow me on facebook and instagram where I like to post photos of my work and inspirations. 

Happy Playing!