Angel Fish-Blue & Purple on Navy

Batik is a lengthy process of applying melted wax to cloth fabric made of natural fibers, and dying it multiple times. For this batik, the wax was first applied to the white cloth and then dyed blue; next it was applied to the dry blue fabric and dyed red (since the dye is transparent, the blue shows through the red and creates a purple); finally, wax was applied to the dry purple cloth and then dyed navy blue. As you can see, the colors progressed from lightest to darkest, and, since dyes are transparent, often the colors show through and affect the ones dyed over them. At this point, the fabric is pretty much covered in wax, and to remove it, I iron it between layers of newsprint to absorb and remove the wax. To remove it completely, the fabric needs to be boiled in water. I don't always do that . . . only if the fabric will be used as clothing. You will notice fine lines across the lighter colors; this is due to the wax cracking and the darker colors seeping through the cracks. That is how you can tell if it is a true batik work of art.  This Batik is unframed.