The Silk Painting Workshop: Painting, Marbling and Batik for Beginners [Paperback]

Jane Venables (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1999

Explaining the basic techniques of silk painting, which can be surprisingly simple, this book shows how even the complete beginner can soon be producing attractive designs for items such as scarves, cushions and pictures. There are step-by-step explanations of gutta, wax and marbling, detailed advice on choosing between the various types of dyes, and coverage of steaming and fixing, using colour, and designing and developing your own ideas. Throughout the book there are projects to follow, and suggestions to help beginners to develop their own creative skills.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

An excellent primer on many variants of silk painting, The Silk Painting Workshop provides in-depth coverage of materials, techniques, color principles, and design sources. Beyond explaining the methods extremely well and supplying a beautiful and diverse selection of projects, author Jane Venables is skilled at expounding upon the nebulous doctrines of successful color combinations and good design. The typical painted silk piece displays flowers or abstracts; Venables also has a way with feathers, fish, birds, geometrics, and landscapes, and she helps us believe we can learn too. Her marvelous sense of design and glorious ability with color pervade every page, making even a quick glance through the pages an irresistible enticement to trying out this art form. --Amy Handy

From Booklist

It's refreshing to peruse a how-to book geared strictly to beginners that reassures them at every step. Is the painted background blotchy? Use a bit of alcohol to dilute, and you will achieve a more even effect. Does the dye continue to seep after steaming the silk? There was probably too much color added initially. British designer Venables demystifies batik, marbling, and just plain painting on silk through plenty of color photographs, black-and-white illustrations, and a jargon-free narrative. Included, of course, are the conventional chapters on equipment, techniques, and the color wheel, punctuated by more than 25 sample projects. Barbara Jacobs --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: David & Charles (August 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0715309331
• ISBN-13: 978-0715309339
• Product Dimensions: 10.7 x 8.1 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,363,776 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars very comprehensive for an absolute beginner, October 22, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Silk Painting Workshop: Painting, Marbling and Batik for Beginners (Paperback)

I used this book to do my very first silk painting project and was very pleased with both the information in the book and the results of my project. I have used other books but find this to be the best all around on the subject

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very thorough introduction to silk painting., April 3, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Silk Painting Workshop: Painting, Marbling and Batik for Beginners (Hardcover)

This is one of the best introductory books on silk painting. The projects are very good and many of them are appropriate for someone starting in the art.