Beginner's Guide to Silk Painting (Search Press Classics)

I cannot recommend this book enough. Easy to follow instructions with bright pictures. I can't wait to get started. I just have to decide on what to make. This is the second book I have got from this publisher and so impressed with the content of both books I will happily buy more books.

Silk Painting was something I wanted to try and I am pleased to say using this book gave me the confidence to have I go! I am delighted with the three different projects I have completed. I would certainly recommend this book to others looking for a starter book.

My daughter had this and found it was really good book even for a beginner, step by step guide and was easy for her to follow

I recently used the book to encourage a relative to take up Silk painting, the technical support was great in clear understandable instructions. The book it very eye catching with great illustration, great selection of ideas throughtout the book, nice way to learn silk painting

A very visual & colourful beginners guide that I found full of information from products needed, colour wheel guide & step by step on creating your own piece & was amazed at what objects you can use to create texture in your silk painting. What I loved & found very inspiring were the projects featured which includes scarfs, pillows, pictures & a wall hanging. The projects are set out by step by step numbers & are very easy to follow and there are tips to help too.

I'm starting on painting a colour blended silk scarf as my very first attempt as reading this book as given me the confidence to attempt this creation.

I find some 'beginners' guide so hard to understand & that I need to have Art A level to even follow the descriptions so I'm very pleased to say this isn't one of these guides!

Great step by step book..could be simplified for real beginners and practice pages would be great :) i recieved this for free to review but if u was serious about silk painting as a hobby paying would not be an issue. I recommened silk painting as a great relaxing and fun hobby

October 2016

If you feel like being creative and don't know where to start, this is just the book for you. Mandy Southan, the president of the Guild of Silk Painters, explains you don't have to be able to draw or paint to produce beautiful work in this medium. She takes you through colour mixing and any information on the materials needed is explained in an excellent glossary. Many of the projects have quick tips and an outline of her design that can be enlarged and traced onto the silk; all the beginner then has to do is follow her clear instructions.

October 2016

Twelve easy achievable projects are demonstrated in Mandy Southan's Beginner's Guide to Silk Painting, from scarves and cushions to wall hangings and pictures. Mandy gives clear advice on the materials and techniques necessary, including how to create textured effects using salt, resist and gutta. Primarily aimed at the beginner the book is also suitable for those more experienced silk painters who wish to learn new techniques.

This is truly a beautiful book! More importantly it is an excellent beginners guide to this art form. It very clearly explains/shows what materials you will require and takes you step-by-step through the 12 projects - using beautiful detailed photographs. Each of these is numbered and has a small amount of information written alongside. Art/craft books laid out in this manner are (in my opinion) so much better.
I would strongly recommend this book to anyone wishing to give silk painting a go. It very straightforwardly covers such a vast variety of techniques - using salt, gutta, wax, outliner and much, much more. Before you know it you will be creating your very own beautiful silk masterpieces.

I've always liked the idea of silk painting but hadn't a clue where to start - What materials, paints and dyes would I use? How would I stop paints bleeding? How do I 'fix' the paints? This book answers all these questions and more.

There is a very visual aspect to the book, the photos of the finished projects are lovely and inspiring. There is also good use of instructional photos accompanied by well-written and informative text that is clear and easy to understand. The materials used are also well presented with good explanations as to their purpose and value, an excellent, more in-depth description of these is contained in the glossary.

The use of colour is often overwhelming for beginners and I like that this book uses just six colours, based on the primary colours, for all twelve projects. The large colour wheel shows what great variety you can get from these.

The book explains how to work with 'resists' in order to contain the paints and to prevent bleeding, as well as creating ordered patterns or random effects. It also shows how to produce unique and unpredictable textured effects, such as using a variety of salts, creating lovely flecking and streaking.

All in all I would highly recommend this lovely book written by the very talented and knowledgeable Mandy Southan, I'm delighted to own a copy.

I received this book only a few days ago and have been pouring over it since I got it. I've been wanting to do some projects made out of silk for quite a while and this book has certainly given me the confidence and inspiration to try it. I like the simplicity and clarity of it, taking you through the basic materials you will need to using colour to mixing colour through to many projects and the different effects that you can create. It's also useful to have the section on common mistakes to help you in future projects. So to recap, it's a clear book that is not overwhelming for beginners with stunning photos that have certainly got my creative juices flowing! Now what shall I make first :-)

Search Press Classics is a series of reissues making bestselling art and craft books available again. All have been picked because they stood the test of time and are still among the best books around to learn from. Here is a reissue of a 1997 title which tells the beginner how to get started in silk painting.

I remember learning this craft round about that time but I didn't have a book as good as this and thus more trial and error was involved. This book is comprised of a number of short chapters showing you simply how to achieve the various effects, taking the guesswork out of it all. These are arranged in three groups from using color to using resists and then moving on with some more advanced techniques. Before that is a section on what you need, unfortunately rather a long one for beginners which encompasses just about everything you could ever need for silk painting. This is handy for those with existing skills who want to branch out, but at least to begin there is a note about what comprises a basic kit and turning to the back you can find out more about the items. In addition there are tips on using color, a large color wheel for mixing and advice on common mistakes. The projects hit the ground running with a scarf showing how to paint on damp silk so you can make the use of precious fabric right away without any need for practising and binning expensive resources. Learn how to use salt, gutta, wax, various pastes and mediums and make some home and wardrobe staples like scarves, pillows, wallhangings and pictures. Each project demonstrates how to do a particular technique and all are in the successful Search Press style of captioned photographic steps for a foolproof crafting experience. All in all this is a most useful addition to the fabric artist's keeper shelf and no surprise that it is on the classics list.

This is a new update on an old classic, first published in 1997, that was reprinted at least three times. It takes you through just about everything you need to know about silk painting. This reference book is aimed at beginner's but others may also find it useful. It is a satisfy craft and easy to produce reasonable results from your first try. It shows you the techniques, how to make projects and more. You'll find out how to use gutta, wax and salt and wet and dry methods. It is a creative book that will inspire many ideas, I love the sea spray scarf and the velvet cushion not to mention the sunflower scarf. It teaches you about colour and the effects of different types of salt and how to use them. It has clear illustrations with straightforward instructions and is the kind of book you will use time and time again. Recommended if you don't already have the original.

August 2016

Renowned silk painter Mandy Southan's is a must. With 12 beautifully illustrated projects, it takes you through a rangeof techniques from simply painting onto wet or dry silk, to using gutta, wax or salt granules. The projects given are not only an introduction to basic silk painting skills, but they also provide a good point for being creative and developing your own ideas- a pefect book for beginners, but also ideal for those who want to improve their skills.

May 06

Featured on Crafts Clinic page.

Autumn 2016 Issue 87

There are small changes to the original issue but the essential informative guides to silk painting techniques remain the same. I know many silk painters own this book, I often refer to my own copy which is now well thumbed. Mandy Southan is President of the Guild of Silk Painters, a visit to her website illustrates she is a master of the art. Twelve innovative step-by-step projects illustrate clearly Mandy Southan's fresh and original approach to silk painting. Each on teaches a new technique, so you build skills while producing beautiful silk paintings.

*Clear instructions wiht step-by-step photographs

*Glossary of terns and guide to common mistakes

This is undoubtedly the best book available to anyone whether a beginner or experienced silk painter, all the techniques are clearly illustrated and explained. A perfect opportunity to add to your bookshelf. Many of you have this whihc is great, apply and give to a friend, encourage them to share your enthusiasm for silk painting.

Mandy Southan trained at Ravensbourne College Of Art And Design and has a BA Hons. in Fashion/Textile design. She is president of the Guild of Silk Painters and a member of The Sussex Guild. She has painted on silk for many years and is particularly interested in traditional Japanese resist techniques. She experiments continually to find new ways of using old methods and her work on silk often combines different resist processes. Mandy teaches silk painting, rozome (Japanese wax resist) and Shibori at West Dean College and at her home studio in Hastings.
You can see Mandy's work on her website: www.mandysouthan.co.uk