Butterfly Reactive Dye Print

This design began as a few small gouache studies of the shapes that make up a butterfly wing. With each painting I stylized and abstracted the pattern a bit more to find the final design. I arranged the forms to fit a silk scarf design and recolored them to match the color that surrounded me as spring arrived on the coast.

I used reactive dye and screen-printing methods to print the design on raw silk. I love the way the texture of the raw silk pairs with the flat design to create a worn in look.