January, a month for new explorations! I have been sewing on my paper batiks, sketching and adding charcoal to my batik-like process.
Sewing on my paper batiks
I have been admiring the work of some amazing thread painters and wanted to try combining stitching with my batiks. My first project involved creating a number of papers of coloured batiks, cutting them up and sewing them back together. I had had a lovely bouquet of daisies and as they were nearing their end I cut the blossoms off and put them in a bowl of water. This really perked them up. I loved the look and used it as inspiration for this mini-paper batik quilt!

Daisy Bowl ©Paige Mortensen Mixed Media 12×12″
Then I had done a batik of a lovely little outdoor cafe we saw in Sarlat, France and I decided to see what some stitching would do for it. I didn’t cut it apart, just added details with various colours of threads. My goal was to keep it about the batik, just enhance the look. It was a lot of fun!

Sarlat Cafe ©Paige Mortensen Mixed Media 12×18″
Here is some of the detail:

Sarlat Cafe Detail ©Paige Mortensen
Sketching
January has become an annual month of daily sketching and this year I have been working on people and fabric. There have been some great tips and exercises in this book “Drawing Realistic Clothing & People” by Lee Hammond. Exploring and learning!
Adding Charcoal
It was back to our weekly painting day with the Artists’ Workshop group and time to explore something new! Rather than just work from light to dark I decided to start with the darks by using charcoal for the initial design and then build the colours onto that. These landscapes are the result of this week’s experimentation. They are both inspired by spots at Emma Lake close to our cabin. Awesome to think about warm summer days!

Evening at Emma ©Paige Mortensen Mixed Media 16×16″

Emma Mystery ©Paige Mortensen Mixed Media 16×16″
I wonder where this exploration will take me? What about you? What are you exploring these days?