Painted Batik

Janis Zroback, 3 months ago

Batik has been both an art and a craft for centuries. In Java, Indonesia, batik is part of an ancient tradition, and some of the finest batik cloth in the world is still made there.
Contemporary batik, while owing much to the past, is markedly different from the more traditional and formal styles. For example, the artist may use etching, discharge dyeing, stencils, different tools for waxing and dyeing, wax recipes with different resist values and work with silk, cotton, wool, leather, paper or even wood and ceramics…

In true Batik melted wax (Javanese: malam) is applied to cloth before being dipped in dye. It is common for people to use a mixture of beeswax and paraffin wax. The beeswax will hold to the fabric and the paraffin wax will allow cracking, which is a characteristic of batik. Wherever the wax has seeped through the fabric, the dye will not penetrate. Sometimes several colours are used, with a series of dyeing, drying and waxing steps…Wiki

Mark Peterson, 3 months ago

Excellent work Janis…love the colors too..

Racheli, 3 months ago

Really ancient traditional art work, for long time it was drowsy.
This is a very nice elegant example, colours are great Janis.

Alison Cornfor..., 3 months ago

Gorgeous work Janis!

Janis Zroback in reply to Mark Peterson’s comment, 3 months ago

Thank you Mark…I’m really pleased you like this piece…

Janis Zroback in reply to Racheli’s comment, 3 months ago

I have done it the traditional way on Fabric, which is very time consuming and you can get burnt with the hot wax…so a painting was a nice and restful change…glad you like it Rachel…I thought it would be nice for the Patterns group…

Janis Zroback in reply to Alison Cornford-Matheson’s comment, 3 months ago

Thank you Alison…I’m so glad you like it…

kjgordon, 3 months ago

Ok you are not the Guru…You are the Guruette of the art world.,...
beautuiful…..I can see this hanging as a tapestry….

Holly Werner, 3 months ago

Very beautiful Janis.

Janis Zroback in reply to kjgordon’s comment, 3 months ago

Thanks KJ…the real batiks I did were wall hangings, cushions and other home furnishings for a feature in House and Home magazine…after that experience I thought never again…but this painting was so much more relaxing… no hot wax boiling on a hot plate, no bathtubs full of dye, no arms purple to the elbow…glad you love it…hope the Patterns group accept it.

Janis Zroback in reply to Holly Werner’s comment, 3 months ago

Thank you so much Holly…

jansnow, 3 months ago

Janis I have always loved batik fabrics, now I’m opened to a whole new realm of options to view:)

Janis Zroback in reply to jansnow’s comment, 3 months ago

Thank you Jan…I’m thinking of doing more of these as I had fun doing this one even though it was in oils….not my favourite medium because of fumes….I am in the Pattern group and don’t do many repeat patterns, but I thought it was time….

kjgordon, 3 months ago

If it isn’t something is Wrong in Denmark!
I was rejected in the Arizona group for a piece that is named after a location in Phoenix…

Go figure…The host is from New Zealand….

Sylvia Tax, 3 months ago

Beautiful work !!

Janis Zroback in reply to kjgordon’s comment, 3 months ago

Maybe you should ask them why….they may have made a mistake?

Janis Zroback in reply to Sylvia Tax’s comment, 3 months ago

Thank you so much Sylvia…I’m so glad you like this series…

Joanne A. Bradley, 2 months ago

Lovely warm color and very interesting pattern! Is this a pattern you developed? What insipired you tho use these forms?

Janis Zroback in reply to Joanne A. Bradley’s comment, 2 months ago

My home studio has an enormous pattern library, that I have collected over a period of 20 years, most of them I have created myself, for use in clients’ homes, some of them patterns from history, in architecture, clothing and so on..this is a design developed from the days of knights and heralds…it seemed to fit…glad you like it.

Joanne A. Bradley, 2 months ago

I just knew it was really old, I guess some type of instinct! Lovely colors to use with it….

Alison Pearce, 2 months ago

Gorgeous!

GloriaDK, 2 months ago

This is lovely and we have a lot of batiks here in Australia as we are so close to Indonesia and other countries. I love the orange and gold. Janis you would probably be very good at research!

Jim Phillips, 2 months ago

Finally something I know about. I was required in art school to design and produce an 8 foot square traditional Batik wax dyed cloth using a minium of 4 dyes. 40 years later I don’t have a clue where it is, but I do remember the process.

Janis Zroback in reply to Joanne A. Bradley’s comment, 2 months ago

I really love earth colours and so do a lot of others…this painting has just been chosen as a feature in All Things Orange…. I’m very pleased…

Janis Zroback in reply to Alison Pearce’s comment, 2 months ago

Thank you Alison…

Janis Zroback in reply to GloriaDK’s comment, 2 months ago

Thank you Gloria…I believe that I should be by now, as I have been gobbling up books since I was very young.

Janis Zroback in reply to Jim Phillips’s comment, 2 months ago

I am smiling as I read your comment Jim….you sound so relieved…..batik is such a messy process, but I must say I loved the results of the pieces I worked on for the magazine…you should look for yours..maybe it’s in that cupboard.

sparklehen, 2 months ago

I love Batik, this is beautiful!

betha, 2 months ago

Nice work, you have captured the batik look well with alternative media.

Janis Zroback in reply to sparklehen’s comment, 2 months ago

Thank you so much…

Janis Zroback in reply to betha’s comment, 2 months ago

Thank you Betha…glad you like it.

Karin Taylor, 2 months ago

o superb Janis, i think it’s stunnin on the mounted gatorboard, wow!

Janis Zroback in reply to Karin Taylor’s comment, 2 months ago

Thank you so much Karin…I’m so happy you like this series…is gatorboard masonite?

Karin Taylor, 2 months ago

um no it’s sorta like foamcore, you know the mounted prints on here on RB.. the ones tht look like this…

they are mounted on this stuff…it’s very very lightweight, and has a glossy surface. That’s what my Madonna & Child is mounted on here…it just has a little light string on the back for hanging purposes. Think it would look stunning printed on this!

Janis Zroback, 2 months ago

This is painted on Masonite which is hardboard made out of woodchips…many artists now and in the past paint on it as it’s so sturdy…I have foamcore but I can’t really paint directly on it…however this as a print can be mounted on it…I agree it would look great…