Shouki by John Marshall, natural dyes on silk
I went about dyeing this image by first sketching the whole image on the silk
with aobana (blueflower 青花). Aobana is a very useful, fugitive dye. It disappears on contact with water making it
great for this kind of designing. Satisfied with the overall movement of the
sketch, I added soymilk to my indigo and began to paint, much as I would if
doing sumi-e (墨絵) painting. Since I sized the silk before hand with soymilk, I wasn't worried
about the dye wicking along the weave. In the detail above, are you able to see
what should appear to be the shadows of the folds in the cloth? And the darker
lines, too? These were painted on with a fude-style brush.
Detail of Garment Patterning
Once all of my shadows and outlines are thoroughly dried and cured, a process
requiring a couple of weeks, I'm ready for the challenging part. My goal is to
create the impression of a luxurious kinran garment. To accomplish this I will need highly detailed, figurative patterning
and the control to blend and shade colors creating a sense of luster in the
folds. Stencils are perfect for just this purpose.
By blocking out most of the background–all of the non-garment portions of my banner–I am able to lay my stencil on the silk and apply the rice paste resist with
precision. Over this I apply my dyes blending them as I progress. Additional
shadows are layered over the new colors to echo the shadows painted along the
silk folds beneath. After a proper curing period the paste is washed off
exposing the patterning as you see it in the detail above right. I went through
similar steps to mimic a
ro (gauze/leno 絽織) weave for Shouki's head gear, above left.
Headdress Dyed to Imitate a Ro Weave (絽織)
Headdress Dyed to Imitate a Ro Weave (絽織)
The last step is the most dramatic in which layers upon layers of dyes are built
up as Shouki's personality is expressed in his bulging eyes, pronounced veins,
and bristled hair.
Where are the oni?
I've included two. The first is not quite aware of Shouki's presence as he peeks
out from the clouds, and the other is at Shouki's feet, hiding in my signature.
Oni Disguised as Signature Stamp
Full Image of Shouki Banner
