Batik is one of the oldest ways to create patterned fabric besides weaving. It uses a fluid pigment or dye and a “resist” - hot wax – to slowly build designs. The dye is applied in layers, from lightest to darkest, and the hot wax is selectively applied to areas the artist wishes to remain that color or value. The wax “resists” subsequent layers of pigment. By layering pigment and wax one gradually can increase color and value range. Each layer of wax protects what is underneath it. This way a complex image can be created. The brush strokes visible in these batiks are not strokes of pigment but are strokes of wax. Batik uses transparent pigments. Each layer of color is modified by the colors beneath it – a light blue wash over yellow becomes green. I work on Kinwashi, a very fiber-rich Japanese paper, delicate looking but strong enough to withstand the repeated applications of paint and wax. I use both watercolor and Dye-Na-Flow for my pigment layers, and paraffin for the resist.

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Morning Mist, 25x21, watercolor batik on Kinwashi paper, $1650

Leaving the Refuge, 17x21, watercolor batik on Kinwashi paper, $995

River Channels, 20x33, watercolor batik on Kinwashi paper, $2450