2008 International Balloon Fiesta

Great news!!

This morning I received an email to say I've been accepted into the silk painting exhibition for the:

2008 International Balloon Fiesta

When: Beginning of August 2008 until October 2008

Where: Anderson-Abruzzo International Balloon Museum, Albuquerque, New Mexico USA

As a member of SPIN, I was invited to send in an application and sample silk painting

http://www.silkpainters.org/silk-balloon-festival.html

You can read more about the Balloon Fiesta on the main website:

http://www.balloonfiesta.com

I'll be receiving my package soon with the silk enclosed - 2m x 1m - 6'x3' - and will start planning the design I am going to paint.

Woohoo! How exciting!

Teena


Click COMMENTS below to send a message : View the SILK PAINTING VIDEOS shown below.

Read more...

Print on canvas versus original painting

Above: my Kevin Koala sketch is always so cute!
Very soon he'll be available as paintings for you to buy.

Over the past year or so I've been considering creating giclee prints of some of my canvases and handpainted silk paintings, as a way to provide my artwork to more people. To differentiate between the giclee reproductions onto canvas, and the original artwork I have gathered some information to show you the difference between them.

Prints on canvas versus an original painting on canvas

Original painting on canvas

• Obviously an original painting is an investment that appreciates each year
• Originals are more collectable which means that they would give the best return for your money, especially if the artist goes on to become one of the great future art 'masters' of their time
• Resale value of original artwork is much higher
  
• Buying an artist's originals before they become really famous has been likened to gambling on the stock market :-) ... you never know if YOUR canvas will do well, but of course you hope it will increase in value over the years.
  

Prints on canvas

• Great option for a collector who isn’t a serious art investor.
  
• Giclee prints on canvas are archival for about a hundred years and luckily for me they are color corrected so as to be as bright and colourful as the original.
• Prints are on stretcher bars so they look just like an original painting on canvas.
• Looks exactly like the original, but the cost is more affordable.
• If you like my artwork for example, you can collect a few of my paintings and have a group of them.

Can you tell the difference between them?

To be absolutely honest, the process is so great that I cannot tell the difference from 8-10' away.

What's 'remarquing'?

Remarquing is a technique which increases the 'look' and value of a giclee. The artist actually hand-embellishes (hand-finishes) the print by painting on it. This adds originality, makes the giclee a one-off (because it is finished by hand), and also helps make the painting more collectible. Think of it like this - when the artist hand-finishes a painting, it's like putting their own DNA on the painting.

The bottom line is it's up to you as the collector - it depends on what you like and what your budget it. I do hope this information has been helpful! I'll have some of my paintings available on my website very soon!

Cheers
Teena


Click COMMENTS below to send a message : View the SILK PAINTING VIDEOS shown below.

Read more...

Textile Events in Sydney April 2008

What a gorgeous summer's morning it is in Sydney today!

I've just received an email asking if I know of any textile events in Sydney in April - and I didn't - so I did a quick search and found some links.

Above: Silk tumble - handpainted silk chiffon scarves by Teena Hughes

The Australian TextiLE Arts & Surface Design Association
http://www.atasda.org.au/exhibitions.html


Arts & Crafts NSW

1st April to 30th April -'High Fibre Content'
GALLERY - CRAFT NSW, 104 GEORGE STREET, THE ROCKS

http://www.artsandcraftsnsw.com.au/Exhibitions.htm


Australia Council for the Arts
http://www.australiacouncil.gov.au/events


Australian Centre for Craft & Design
not textiles per se, but very interesting
http://www.object.com.au/index.html


Handweavers & Spinners NSW
http://www.nsweave.org.au


the Australian Forum for Textile Arts:
http://www.ggcreations.com.au/tafta/news-eventsNSW.html


Sydney Vintage Clothing, Jewellery & Textiles Show April 2008
http://www.lovevintage.com.au/show.htm



Here's a general link of what's on in Sydney:
http://www.about-australia.com/events/new-south-wales/sydney/


I'm sure there are lots more and you can find them by going to a search engine and typing:

textile event sydney april 2008

or

textile exhibit sydney april 2008

If you find MORE links please do let me know and I'll post them here.

Do let me know if you attend any event, and I'll post your review here on the blog.

Have a gorgeous day!!

Cheers
Teena

Click COMMENTS below to send a message : View the SILK PAINTING VIDEOS shown below.

Read more...

Painting a crocodile on silk

A lot of my paintings are influenced by Aboriginal themes and colours, and the simplicity of painting with two colours.

If you look closely at this Crocodiliac handpainted silk scarf I did a few years ago, you can see squiggles in the orange background where I've gone back with water on my brush for the wet-on-wet technique.

I used French silk dyes, and white water-based gutta to draw all of the design, as it suited my purposes for this painting.

My happy little Dancing Crocodiliac

:-)

Click COMMENTS below to send a message : View the SILK PAINTING VIDEOS shown below.

Read more...

My favourite island painted on silk

This is a little silk painting I did of one of my favourite places in the world - tropical far north Queensland at the top of Australia. I've lived there twice now, when I needed a total break from the rest of the crazy world, and before it was turned into a piece of the city in the tropics, it was a stunning sleepy area to visit, far from the madding crowds.

It inspired me greatly from the little islands off the coast to the never-ending expanse of sea and sky, turquoise and shades thereof most days of the year. The tropical fish were unbelievable in their amazing array of colours, and unless you've seen them at the Great Barrier Reef, it's hard to describe their beauty and the luminous quality of the colours.

The painting of Double Island above is quite small, about 8"x8" / 20x20cm, and is freehand, with a little black gutta for the island. The sky I painted with two blues and lots of water, then when the silk was dry I went over it with a black texta pen, to see how it would look.

Turned out fine, I think - don't you?

Cheers
Teena

Click COMMENTS below to send a message : View the SILK PAINTING VIDEOS shown below.

Read more...

Handpainted silk wearable art designs

My brain is overflowing with ideas for new clothing designs, whirling swirling delicious silk colours, and I wish my sewing machine wasn't on holidays :-(

I've been sketching all weekend, and if I can, I will upload some of my sketches by taking photos of them, or sketching using a drawing program. It's been such a long time since I designed my Teena Tops :-)



Click COMMENTS below to send a message : View the SILK PAINTING VIDEOS shown below.

Read more...

Using wallpaper paste in silk painting

I've stayed away from gutta for so many years with my free-form creating painting styles, but more and more I'm thinking of - indeed dreaming of - designs which need OUTLINES.

I vaguely remembered reading somewhere about wallpaper paste as a way to make an anti-fuse - a product to paint onto silk then allow it to dry before painting with dyes. The idea is that the dried silk will become like paper so the design could in fact be freehand and the dyes wouldn't flow or spread on the silk.

So - I went out and bought some wallpaper paste, mixed it up, and then did something bizarre. I put small amounts of the gluggy substance into a white icecube tray and added drops of dye to each one. I then tried to paint with this gloopy substance and found it was not easy - in fact it was a pain in the butt haha. I persevered. I got splotchy colours, and the painting looked awful, but I didn't give in.

When the silk was dry, I outlined the painting in black texta pen [of the permanent persuasion] and it started to take on the semblance of something almost acceptable :-) Well, in the eyes of its mother - me.

Photos will be uploaded shortly - a story-board of fascinating proportions - stay tuned!

Teena


Click COMMENTS below to send a message : View the SILK PAINTING VIDEOS shown below.

Read more...

Handpainted silk plus size top

Silk chiffon is sooooo beautiful and the fact that it's see-through means that I can paint the brightest colours and if the silk is worn over white clothing, it stands out in a crowd ...

Wearing the silk over other complementary/similar colours works just as well.

This handpainted silk chiffon Teena Top at right in hot pink and lime green looks gorgeous with my hot pink silky satin tank top and matching pants, and yes, you guessed it - I DO have a lime green top and pants too!

The extra wide extra long scarf wrapped around the model's head is great for added effect, and perfect for cooler weather to keep the little earsies warm.

You can read more about this Teena Top on my website under Wearable Art:

http://abfab-australia.com

Talk soon!
Teena


Click COMMENTS below to send a message : or View the SILK PAINTING VIDEOS shown below.

Read more...