Inktense and Aloe

I needed an appliqué for a journal quilt I was doing and someone mentioned Inktense pencils, so I got mine out and drew this crane.

I stabilized the fabric by ironing it to a piece of freezer paper.

 The last time I wet my Inktense pencil drawing, I got it too wet and the color ran off the edge, so this time I used some clear aloe vera gel and tiny brushes.  I got tired of all the little brush strokes (and I was in a hurry) so I got out a bigger brush and really wet it down with the gel.  Then I placed it gel/pencil side down on a clean paper towel, placed a piece of parchment paper on top and ironed it with a hot iron until it was dry.  Then I rinsed it with cool water and pressed it again.

There is just a tiny bit of bleeding off the edges, but it's much better than it was with the water.  And I had a lot more control with the gel.  The color is still really vibrant after the rinse.

An old post and a new one

Here is a link to a post that Laura already posted about using inktense pencils.  I love her work and think her post along with the post from Rosalita do a good job of showing you the possibility of colored pencils.  In my own experiments with colored pencils I used both inktense and regular water-soluble pencils.

Frankly the only difference  I have noticed in the two types of pencils is that the inktense pencils only blend the first time they get wet.  Regular water-soluble pencils will bleed/blend each time they get wet.  I will use both types on a fabric because the colors are different and it expands my possibilities.

Hello Everyone,

I have been entirely crazy with my business this Summer. I taught two classes at Schoodic Art Festival in Winter Harbor, Maine and had three major shows in August. (I received best in show at Bangor Sidewalk Art Festival, Bangor, Maine. I am still in shock.)

Judith DeMilo Brown asked if I might post some of the work I have been doing with my new love - Derwent Inktense Pencils. I am looking forward to Winter (first time in my life) so I can spend more time using them.

The first quilt I will show you is one called "Bamboo Moon". It started with the dark blue batik. I then cut a thin "o" shaped circle of freezer paper and ironed it to the batik . I then used decolourant to make the moon and the halo around it. The next process was an embroidery (machine) of sashiko bamboo. Finally I used my Inktense pencils and colored in the bamboo.

Next I would like to show you some of my fish done with intense pencils. The first piece is two Orange Striped Trigger Fish.

These are two Clown Triggerfish.

They are both the same size and are first finished with binding and all. Then sewn to black fabric and stretched over a pre-stretched canvas.

Lastly, I would like to show you one of my more recent uses of the pencils. This is called "Peaceful Flight".

This is a fairly large piece (24"x 44"). The lighter Japanese branch and leaves are done with inktense pencils. The darker leaves and branches were cut out of some fabric that I hand dyed and raw edged appliqued on. The cranes I embroidered on (again by machine not by hand). (This piece is in a private collection.)

A close-up look.

I hope you have enjoyed seeing what can be done with Inktense pencils and a little bit of my Summer's work. I have another show this weekend and then I will have a month to get ready for the next one. Whew!!

Hope all of you had a great summer. I look forward to seeing your projects on this blog.

Rosalita