Introductory project: Stage 2: Observing qualities: Green leafy design fabric

When reading the details of this Introductory project, when I read the title of the first brief, Tropical Tourist, this fabric came immediately to mind as one which would be suitable for this theme. It is a cotton print fabric, which seems to have been based on a batik design, as the white space created by a resist dye method are clearly visible. I imagine it would have been dyed green twice, with a second layer of wax resist added to created the lighter and darker green areas.

To start my study of this fabric, I started with a pencil sketch, trying to capture an impression of the vibrant and bold leaf pattern, as well as the different depths of colour, indicated by the darkness of the shading. I took my time with this drawing, getting the detail of the darker and lighter patterns on the fabric:

This examination of the pattern led to thoughts about the batik process behind it, and so I decided to use a white wax crayon to create a resist pattern and paint over it to try to recreate this:

This was partially effective, but when it dried, the watercolour paint I had used was a little too faint to provide enough contrast between the resist and the painted area. I tried the same technique with green paint, to try to capture the vibrancy of the fabric in front of me, with similar results:

So I then tried the wax resist technique again, but this time using a wash of black ink, which worked a bit better as there was more contrast between the painted and resist areas:

I then decided to return to drawing, but to try a different medium: graphite sticks, as I felt that the 2B pencil I had used before was too fine a point and I wanted to try to create something a little freer, like the charcoal sketches I had seen online the night before by Katie Sollohub, http://www.katiesollohub.co.uk/gallery/2016-2/2017-2/, and the sketch I had seen by Kiley Mead on page 30 of the Textiles 1 Course Book.

Here, I tried to draw quite quickly using a 4B graphite stick on A4 cartridge paper, getting an impression of the lush leaf pattern of the fabric:

Encouraged by this result, I did the same again, concentrating on a slightly different area of the pattern, as well as looking at the spaces between the leaf motifs in more detail:

A further sketch; here, I tried to keep looking at the fabric and draw with free-flowing movements, again with the 4B graphite stick on A4 paper:

Finally, I decided I needed the freedom of a larger sheet of paper, in order to be able to magnify the scale of the design and to let my drawing arm move more freely, so I used an A2 sheet from my sketchbook:

I think this is a medium that I will come back to later, as I like the results I have produced here.