Friday, March 08, 2013

I am home for a couple of weeks

before I am off to the southern part of the state to do a workshop for a guild in Stuart. 
I enjoyed vending at the quilt show put on by the Feather Princesses of Tampa last weekend and seeing so many familiar faces. 
I am amazed at how many people ask to buy my class samples.  I guess they are small and those asking figure they are more reasonably priced then some of my larger works.  I am really reluctant to sell them though, because I don't like repeating myself.  However, for three shows in a row I have sold the sample for my small painting on silk workshop that I promote while vending.  And for two shows I have made one to replace it.
Both my daughter Lyn and my grandson Josh suggested that I make a few to sell.   I thought about it for a day (last Sunday) and got up on Monday to prepare some small cuts of silk that I had on hand.  Eight pieces in total.  Although the weather here was cold (high 50's) the silk dried pretty quick because it was also quite windy.
  I was able to paint 5 pieces on Monday and to break up the monotony of painting the same thing again and again, I changed up the paint colors, which I told myself was a learning experience.  On Tuesday I finished painting the other three and started to quilt. 
It is time for dinner and I have all eight painted.  I am waiting for a new product by Daniel Smith that allows you to use watercolor paints on any surface to dry.  It is called Water color ground and adheres to all surfaces, glass, wood, cloth, metal etc.    It is thick and holds a peak.  I am using this at the ends of the stamen.  For now they are all white but will be painted a color that looks best with each flower's color once they all have aged for 24 hours as the instructions on the product suggests.
     They all need facings, sleeves and labels, but I'll get to that later,  now that I am in a painting  mood, I think I'll start on something larger and simple tomorrow.  I have a 36" x 45" piece of silk ready and waiting.