Hand painted silk makes a beautiful, luxurious and stunning gift for anyone's home or wardrobe. Silk breathes making it perfect for hot summer weather, it produces vibrant colours rarely seen on other fabrics. In sunlight the colours are even more intensified.

Silk painting is our favourite medium, the dyes flow from the brush in a magical way. We paint only on the finest quality silks, using water based iron fix paints which give the best most vibrant and permanent results.

Method:

The silk is first stretched out onto a wooden frame and fastened with silk pins, then the design is applied freehand using one of two varying techniques. Firsty there's gutta serti, (a French technique) a gum substance which once dried acts as a barrier to the dye ensuring the sharpness and definition of the design & secondly we use the Roketsu-Zome technique, an ancient Japanese method using fine melted beeswax. Then using a Chinese brush the dye is skillfully applied, with a few extra special techniques, leaving an untainted, clear finish.

Caring for silk:

Hand wash silk on it's own in warm water (not too hot). Wash the silk using pure colourless soap with no added chlorine. Once washed lay it flat on a towel then roll it up to absorb any excess water, then unroll and lay flat. Ten minutes later, iron on the reverse side to the gutta, on a medium heat setting. When storing the silk, beware of moths as they are attracted to it, Lavender scented pouches can be used to repel them.

Framing:

For the best possible results we recommend that you consult a framing service. However you can achieve very good results yourself.

We recommend that the silk is ironed first (see above). Use an acid free foam mount to attach the silk to (ideally) an acid free foam board. (Easily available from local art stores)

It is inadvisable to hang silk for very long periods of time in direct sunlight.

With simple care your fine hand painted silks will continue to give you pleasure for a great many years to come.

We welcome any commissions and can customise scarves, sarongs and handbags to any size & colour.

Silk Paints and Dyes

There are special-purpose paints and dyes for use in silk painting with some basic differences between the two mediums. The dyes have a unique transparent quality but the colours are not so durable. Once dyed the fabric has to be steamed in order to set the design. Silk paints, once set with heat (steaming is not necessary) are colourfast, resistant to light damage and can be used to practise many of the traditional silk painting techniques. They are non-toxic water based emulsions made of synthetic resins.

Silk painting techniques

Fluidity is the hallmark of silk painting, there is a free flow of hand movement seen in the colours and designs used. However there are a range of options and techniques with which to enhance the beauty of a painting. The most common silk painting techniques are gutta resist, watercolour, blending, hard edge, shading, salting, spotting with water and alcohol. A brief description of these methods follows.

Gutta resist technique

Gutta is a thick substance obtained from the Indonesian Pallaquium trees (rubber trees). This is also extensively used in the French Serti technique of silk painting. Gutta comes in black, gold metallic and silver metallic hues. It gives a rubbery feel, a contrast to the smooth drape of silk. The gutta resist method gives artists a precise way to draw and paint on the fabric.

Serti technique

This technique is also known as cloning or fence method and is popular in France. It is a kind of silk painting technique where the designs are framed with gutta or water-based resist barriers. The colour in the outlined areas is kept from flowing into the designs by means of these barriers. Other wise the paints would flow into the design creating an abstract and undefined pattern. The space between the designs is coloured using thin paint or dye. Colours are applied to pre-washed, dried and stretched white silk fabric. Once the paint is set, the gutta or resist is removed. The defining line of colours in the original fabric remains.

Shibori technique

This is an ancient Japanese textile technique. Colourfast dyes and resists are used. It is a quick, easy, multi-coloured process of painting which is interesting and attractive.

Roketsu-Zome technique

Another ancient Japanese technique often mistaken for batik involving thinly melted beeswax to created fine detail dye barrier lines and borders. Used traditionally in the decorating/production of fine silk Kimono's.

Special effects

There are some special effects that can be created in silk painting using certain techniques. Water-like effects can be achieved by applying dyes or paints using a mist sprayer, pipette or other tools. Sprinkling salt on wet silk and brushing it off when dry produces an interesting textural effect (different sizes and quantities of salt grains yield different effects). Applying alcohol to the painted silk can create some beautiful effects and can help to create contrasting lighter and darker spots.

Some of the favoured silks for painting

Habotai: This is a smooth lightweight silk.

Crepe de chine: Silk with a slightly crinkled texture with graceful drape.

Chiffon: This is sheer silk with crepe-like texture.

Flat crepe: This has slight crepe texture with lustrous shine.

Raw silk: A natural coloured and textured silk.

A brief history of silk painting:

Silk is one of the oldest fabrics and the secret to its production was a well kept secret for many centuries. According to Chinese legend, around 2640 BC a cocoon fell from a mulberry tree into the tea of 14-year-old Lady Hsi Ling Shih, wife of the Yellow Emperor. She noticed that a fine delicate thread started to unravel from the cocoon. Lady Hsi Ling sponsored the beginning of silk production with the development of the loom and silkworm rearing. This unique fabric was regarded as magical and was to be used only by the royal family and special members of the royal court. As improvements in the cultivation of silkworms developed, silk became more available. Eventually silk was worn by common people, and put to industrial uses. Silk was used for musical instruments, fishing lines, and of course for writing and painting on.

By the 3rd Century BC, demand for the luxurious fabric created a trade route from China to Persia and Japan known as “The Silk Road.” Silk soon became the currency of traders, linking the remote Greek and Persian cultures. It promoted commercial exchanges and enhanced the friendship amongst many countries. By the height of the Roman Empire, silk had made its way to Europe. The Chinese had guarded the secrets of silk production for over 3000 years by searching travellers at the borders. Smugglers caught with silkworm eggs or cocoons were executed.

The earliest examples of painting on silk can be traced back to the 4th century BC. Long before paper was invented, the art of silk painting had been developing. The earliest silk painting was excavated from the Mawangdui Tomb in central China dating from(476-221 BC). Silk painting reached its artistic peak in the Western Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 25), following the introduction of Buddhism to China during the first century from India.

The Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD) witnessed the popular emergence of figure painting. The greatest painters of the period were Zhang Xuan and Zhou Fang. Their paintings, depicting the life of noble women and court ladies, exerted a lasting influence on the development of shi nu hua (painting of beauties), which are still an important part of traditional Chinese painting today.

In the 2nd century AD India was using the 'wax resist' technique for embellishing. Silk painting in India became very popular during Moghul rule in the 17 - 19th centuries. Portraits and paintings on silk for wall hangings and articles of decor became popular. Special processes known to silk craftsmen and women of India helped to 'hold' the paint in vibrant detail on silk canvas.

In countries like Java, the batik industry in silk flourished about 200 years later. The 'gutta resist' technique can be traced to the Indonesian islands. Silk painting spread to France and Europe from Russian Czar family members. It was in the 1920s that hand painted silk designs began to appear in France where the "gutta serti" technique was developed. After the American Civil War, the tariffs on silk were lifted. This allowed silk trade to flourish setting a new trend in American arts, but it wasn't until the 1970s that silk painting became really popular in the U.S.

Nowadays painting on silk has become a very popular media for artists all around the world. Silk painting can be done on a multitude of silk products such as scarves, sarongs and ties, paintings, wall hangings and home decor furnishings.

The eternal appeal, elegance and beauty of silk speaks volumes about this exquisite art.