For my artist date this month, I decided to paint my ottoman. I had previously covered it with some fabric but over the past year the fabric had gotten sun-bleached, dingy and dirty.
I bought this piece from a charity shop (thrift store) in England. I love it. It’s a chair. A footstool. A coffee table. A laptop desk. The only downside was this very ugly outdated 90s style floral upholstery. Although, it’s bland in color, I have always found it too aesthetically unappealing to just leave it.
This week I finally decided to try painting/staining the fabric. I had no idea if painting would work, but I figured–if nothing, it couldn’t make it worse?
• I used the pink/magenta wash base color to lightly stain the and dampen all the fabric –acrylic inks mixed with water. (However, Rit dye would have probably been more practical, cheaper, and just as effective as my art inks)
• . Once the fabric was damp, I was able to use the dropper lids for the blue, teal, and darker magenta. The dropper was ideal to add color detailing on the folds and seams. The fact that the fabric was damp helped the color spread more uniformly, and the color then changed more gradually from darker pigment to lighter.
Anyway, I think it worked fine. The lame pattern is still visible, but the funky bright colors match my living room better and I really like it now. So that was fun.
I mixed art inks with water to make a base color wash.
Painting in progress–
Colorful and finished.
Like this:
Like Loading...
Related
Published by Carly Swenson, Visual Artist
Carly Swenson is an intuitive painter originally from northern Montana. She spent more than a decade working primarily as a mixed media artist before shifting to acrylics. Swenson received a BFA in Visual Arts with an Art History Minor from Bemidji State University. During and after university, she traveled and lived abroad, this included studying in China, traveling throughout Europe and living both in England and the Azores.Swenson’s work has been shown in solo and group exhibitions throughout the US and internationally. Her freelance writing and mixed media journals have been published in nationally distributed art magazines. She has facilitated art workshops for various age groups. Swenson’s work is also included in the permanent art collections of Angra do Heroismo Museum and Bemidji State University (Bemidji, MN). Currently, she lives in St. Paul, MN with a smart little dog and a weird little cat. They’re nice.
Copyright Notice:
All images (artwork and photography) protected by copyright and belong to Carly Swenson, unless otherwise noted. Any images not owned by Carly Swenson have been used with the consent of the copyright holder. Please do not reuse/publish/edit/copy/etc. any images from this blog without consent of the copyright holder. Thank you for your understanding and respect of artistic integrity.
View all posts by Carly Swenson, Visual Artist
Carly Swenson • Intuitive Artist 
What a fun idea, brilliant!
LikeLike
That is pretty awesome, Carly!!
LikeLike
beautiful colour choices, love it!
LikeLike
Great color selection! It would be great to have a before-after shot.
Lovely! Congrats!
LikeLike