Detail: Fabric

Thomas Waterman Wood, Not and Egg 1887

(Wood)

Robert Henri, Jessica Penn in Black with White Plumes 1908

Alfred Henry Maurer, Jeanne 1904

(Maurer)

Maxfield Parrish, The Lantern Bearers 1908

(Parrish)

Painted fabric has always been fascinating to me. I love painting it and I love looking at how others paint it. The wilder the patterns, the better. The silk taffeta in the white and black examples above are amazing---can you not hear the rustle when you look?

This is the most "calm" fabric I have noted in person from Parrish---and still he skillfully carries the dimension even though it's white and plain. One cannot simply squeeze the color white onto the palate, paint the "white" costume and have it come out with any dimension. There are a bazillion shades of white in costumes like these, not to mention the glowing lanterns which changes every surface on the painting. I do think its interesting that Susan's pom-pons are all one putty gray color and show little dimension. If they were any other color, the viewer might only see random dots of pom-pons and loose the solid effect of the moon/lanterns. This (surely intentional?) discrepancy in detail makes the real detail (magic or surreality) in the painting "pop". 

Here are two wild fabrics I've seen painted by Parrish: Gulnare of the Sea and Reader in Polka Dots. Reader was definitely about the costume---and must have taken a sense of humor to paint.