Tuesday, April 28, 2009

From paint rag to fiber art

Instead of wasting acrylic paint when cleaning brushes or palettes, why not recycle it into fodder for fabric collage? I came across this idea months ago somewhere in the blogosphere... can’t recall where now (sorry!) Since that day I stopped using paper towels and instead use rectangles of white cotton fabric to sop up excess paint in whatever form. In addition to wiping brushes, unused paint left on the palette at the end of a painting session can be stroked on either randomly... ...or in a more purposeful arrangement (below left.) The resulting fabric has interesting marks and color combinations that are great to work with. Depending on the colors, the rag could be transformed into fallen leaves, swirls of water, tree bark, stones... the possibilities are endless!
Happy painting and collaging!

11 comments:

Quilt Rat said...

Thanks for passing on such a great idea. Better for the environment as well....this way we can all produce more art and less waste. Excellent!

Nikki said...

I love paint rags! They are some of my favorite fabrics.

JJ said...

This is such a great idea!!! When I think of all the paint rags I threw away!

Barbara Strobel Lardon said...

Great idea!

Unknown said...

Great idea! I clean off my brushes in my journal but I'm going to try the rag technique too!

Beena said...

This is a great idea! thanks!

Judy Alexander said...

I also love paint rags. Sometimes they come out better than what I an trying to paint.....

Anonymous said...

Great Idea, Loreen! And oh, so GREEN! I have used old terry cloth towels in the past, but now I'll start using cotton rags so I can pass them on to you!

Unknown said...

Hey Joyce, this is a great way we can collaborate... you supply the paint rags and I’ll use them in an art quilt! Seriously, if we fiber artists know any painters who use acrylics or other appropriate paint (not oils), we can supply them with cotton fabric for them to “decorate” for us.

Diane J. Evans said...

I never thought to stroke the leftover paint onto a piece of black fabric -- great idea! I plan to use it next time I paint. I've found that some of my mistakes have turned into gems, if I let them percolate long enough . .

Diane

tlchang said...

What a lovely arty blog you have (and thank you for visiting mine).

I suspect white gesso (matt) would have a similar effect, but I don't know if the watercolor would handle the same way on it's surface. Maybe if used very thinly? I haven't used gesso in ages.