Circle study for The Sketchbook Challenge

I’m one of the host artists for The Sketchbook Challenge this year. One of my primary goals for working in a sketchbook is to get what I draw out of my sketchbook and onto my medium of choice: fabric. For me, a sketchbook is a way to collect and try out ideas, but it is not the finished art. I usually work very realistically, but I decided to try just doodling some circles in my sketchbook, using a black ink pen. Here is one of the results I liked:

  

I photocopied my doodle, and taped it under a piece of Pimatex PFD (prepared for dyeing) fabric. I can see my lines through this fabric, so it’s easy to paint the circles. I used PROfab Transparent Textile Paints and PRObrite Pearlescent Paints from Pro Chemical & Dye. After heat-setting the painted circles, I mixed up a little bit of Liquitex Acrylic Ink with water (to dilute it and tone it down) and painted the background.

After it was dry, it was time to stitch! What motif? Circles, of course! Lots and lots of circles. Here it is after my free-motion machine quilting. I’m thinking about adding some hand stitching. Maybe some little Xs in hand-dyed thread, kind of like my original sketch.

It rather reminds me of algae, or frog spawn.

There is more information about how I created this piece on The Sketchbook Challenge blog.