What is Wool Painting?

​

    Long ago, when humans were nomadic, someone took fur from an animal, placed it in their footwear to stay warm and the combination of the perspiration and pressure from constant walking created a fabric called felt. Felt is the oldest fabric known to man. There are pieces of felt art in the Hermitage Museaum that date back to the Bronze Age, so it does stand the test of time. 

 

 My artwork is created on a wool canvas. It is placed on a artist's tilt table covered with special brushes. My paint is a large collection of pure wool yarns and rovings. Using a special barbed needle, I paint my picture using traditional painter's composition techniques and push my "paint " into the canvas. 

 

How does it stay? Wool has barbs that are like the split ends of human hair but thousands of them, When the wool fiber connects with the wool canvas, it is locked into place until someone pulls it apart. It will stay connected forever. 

 

Will the painting hold up? There is feltwork in famous museum collections that date back to the Rennaissance and even the Bronze Age. Wool is naturally antibiotic and fire resistant. My paintings are placed under glass to protect them from dust and moths. These paintings should be kept out of direct sunlight and overly humid places such as bathrooms. With proper care, these paintings will be heirlooms to pass down to future generations.