Painting with Dyes on Fabrics

Leonardo, Vol. 7, pp. 247-248. Pergamon Press 1974. Printed in Great Britain PAINTING WITH DYES ON FABRICS John C. Stenhouse* Fig. I . ‘The Yellow Painting’, dyes on cotton cnnvns, 8 ‘< 12ft., 1971. There has been little use of dyes in painting in Europe, neither in the past nor at present. Nevertheless , dyes can be purchased whose consistency can be altered by dilution with water to a paste (similar to the consistency of gouache) that is suitable for painting on fabrics. When a painting is completed, the colour is fixed by treating in a steamer of the kind employed by commercial textile dyers or by baking in the presence of a pan of boiling water in an ordinary kitchen oven. Then the fabric is rinsed thoroughly in cold water, then in warm water, in soapy water and, finally, in cold water again until it runs clear. The resulting painting is colour-fast and can be washed and pressed whenever necessary. The dyes 1 employ are sold under the trade name of Procion and they may be obtained from the Imperial Chemical Industries Ltd. (I.C.I.), Organics Div., P.O. Box 42, Hexagon House, Blackley, Manchester, England. They can be used on cotton of any grade, silk, wool and even wool carpets. Other dyes are available for synthetic fibres but I have not had much experience with them. I prefer natural fibres, particularly silk, as it has a smooth twill weave and its pure translucent whiteness gives vibrancy to an applied colour. ~~ * English artist at No. 2, Multipurpose Flat Bldg., Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi 5, Uttar Pradesh, India. (Received 28 November 1972.) One of my paintings, done on cotton canvas, is shown in Fig. 1. Its design is based on the Indian yoga idea of energy. Energy, some of which is potential, is thought to be dispersed in the human body but with breathing exercises and meditation it can be made to move and flow around the body. The result is a gentle clearing of the mind and a strengthening of feelings, leading to psychological equilibrium. In Indian terms, this painting is a yantra (a Sanskrit word meaning machine: yan means to rule or to control; tra denotes an instrument or tool). The painting is intended primarily as an object to help meditation. The flatness of colour and the feeling of softness in the painting result from the use of dye on the canvas. Because the dye penetrates the fibre, the image becomes part of the material. The painting entitled ‘Magician in the Tree’ (Fig. 2) is based on the old playing cards called Tarot. The four trees in the corners of the picture represent the suits in a pack of cards and also the four elements: earth, air, fire and water. The tree at the centre has its branches in Heaven and its roots embedded in the Earth. It stands for the balance of opposites, positive and negative, night and day, male and female, and the magician is Fig, 2. ‘The Magician in the Tree’,dyes on cotton, 9 X 8 ft., 1972. 247 248 John C. Stenhouse located between the two. He is the Magician of the Tarot, the symbol of space (SPACE), the Hebrew letter aleph, God, the controller (continuous roller) of the four elements. At the base of the tree is a gate at the start of a path that leads down to a chalice. Figure 3 shows a large painting on silk. It is a portrait of a gypsy guru who, like the magician, is placed between Heaven and Earth. The guru sits on the Earth with his head reaching up to Heaven, a heaven full of friendly animals. Roots come out of his feet tying him to the Earth. His hands are red hot and his head is surrounded by colours. Many of my paintings are often larger than my ‘Gypsy Guru’. Here silk offers the advantage not only of the colour vibrancy mentioned above but also of portability-it is easily rolled up and put in one’s pocket. An aspect of a dyed painting that particularly appeals to me is that, like a blade of grass, when torn it is green all the way through. ...