Fred Stasek

I have painted in many mediums, including oil, watercolor, and pastel. When I saw the supreme richness of color in dyed silk scarves at a fair, I absolutely knew that I needed to make paintings using those materials. I also wanted to take advantage of the translucent quality of silk.

So it is, that I make translucent paintings on silk, stretched in hardwood frames, and hinged together to make multi-panel folding RoomScreens. Because these paintings are freestanding, they can be backlit, allowing the painting to glow like stained glass. I paint on the heaviest weight Habotai silk, using Jacquard brand silk dyes. I use Jacquard gutta and Jacquard water based resist. I guess I like Jacquard products!

In addition to the gutta serti technique, I am experimenting with various wet-on-wet dyeing techniques to achieve more subtle painting effects, including varying degrees of soft edges. I pre-dilute the dyes with water in specific proportions to control the value (tint) of the dye. I do that for color control, as it is so difficult to gauge the dilution of a dye in the palette (ice tray) and its value on the silk before it dries.

I steam and launder the silk painting before mounting it in the frame.

Dharma has been an invaluable resource for all my silk painting materials, and also for their good advice and instructions. (And good neighbors, too!)