This is my favorite time of year. I love the colors, the smells, the chill in the air, and the spicier comfort foods —the essence of what makes autumn. As an artist, I find it difficult to ignore the glory that surrounds me whether I’m looking out my kitchen window, or on the way to work—reds, oranges, golds, and bronzes abound.
I had ordered a dozen oblong chiffon scarves to paint on and decided to use the autumn colors as my theme for several of them. There are pots of mums and pansies just outside my door which also helped to inspire. I felt that no resist (or lines) were needed for these, just the free flow of color and letting the inks blend and mix where they may. There’s a sense of freedom to painting without any borders. It allows one to focus more on the colors and less on the forms. After a day at work it’s also a way of letting go. I’m no longer focusing on a computer, but something beautiful and tangible. But I digress. Back to the title.
As I am painting seasonal colors, the primary color used is red or at least some closely related cousin. Red, at least in western culture, probably ignites more response than any other color. Men find women who wear red are more attractive than those wearing other colors. It evokes passion, danger, delight, and for some, holiday memories. As a silk painter, it is also one of the most problematic colors to work with. Red is one of the brightest, has high staining power (as anyone who has accidentally washed whites with one red item can attest) and also runs the most. Of all my scarves, the ones with red I need to wash and dry twice, blotting them before hanging them to avoid pink drips. After steaming my scarves in muslin (for 3 hours) to set the colors, I can almost guarantee that at least one of the predominantly red ones will leave red speckles on the muslin, thus causing me to wash it before steam setting another scarf. And yet, despite the problems that I encounter with red, the results are still worth the extra effort.