My name is Colombe. I have a wearable and fine art business called Colombe's Silk Designs. Using silk and silk dyes I paint fine art paintings to be hung in the home, and I also paint capes, scarves, and shawls, (wearable art). The colors of the dyes on the soft shine of the silk create a lovely and intense effect.

Living at an elevation of 7000 feet near Tahoe in California I find myself painting lots of mountain scenery with rocks, trees, sky. and snow. This was extremely challenging at first but over time has become a wonderful subject. I also love to paint pets, flowers, trout, and I have a fine arts line with a mainly musical theme, cellists in particular because I play the cello. Silk painting is an extremely versatile medium.

I started silk painting after my daughter was born in an attempt to work at home. I bought Susan Moyer's first two silk painting books and a Jacquard Starter Set and got hooked! I took classes from Susan Moyer and Natasha Foucault which were very fun and extremely helpful and inspirational. On their advice I have used a variety of dies which include Jacquard, Dupont, Sennelier and Pebeo Soie. I use Jacquard clear gutta almost exclusively. If I want to stamp designs on scarves I sometimes use Cerulean Blue's Presist. For my paintings I almost always use crepe de chine 14mm silk. For wearable art I use both crepe de chine and chiffon silks. I use Synthrapol and Milsoft to wash my wearable art in the washing machine!

Since I started painting on silk, twelve years ago, it has become an absolute passion! I love the versatility of the medium, the constant element of surprise, and the way it almost always rewards you for letting go and not always needing to be in control.

You can see my work at
http://www.colombetresansilkdesigns.com