Linda McLaughlin: Notes from Studio B: Experiments with Solar Fast

I spent the majority of my weekend painting the bathroom remodel. I wanted to get it done before the vanities, mirrors, toilet and closet were put in because I didn't want to have to paint around everything. The project is getting very close to done, we do have to get the plumber to come back to do the final installs and hook ups.

I knew my past week would be busy so I planned ahead and did some experimenting with Jacquard's Solar Fast. Solar fast works with the sun to give a negative print. The solar fast is painted onto fabric, an image or in my case leaves are placed on the wet fabric and it is placed in the sun for about twelve minutes. Solar fast comes in fourteen different colors, I used avocado and I painted it on muslin and two different hand dyed fabrics.

From the left is a strawberry leaf on muslin, a grape leaf on a pale gold hand dyed and a drawing of a leaf on a transparency sheet on muslin.

This is Honeysuckle on a green hand dye.

This is how they looked after twelve minutes in the sun and a good rinse to get out any excess Solar fast.

The top left is the one done with a drawing on a transparency sheet, it's the only one I'm not real happy with, but I now know that If I'm going to use a drawing it should be done with broader darker lines. The dark spots on the grape leaf are where there were holes in the leaf, I almost wish I'd used one with more holes.

The Weekly Leaf #30

I chose the grape leaf to work with, the others may get used in the future.