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For several years, I attended a figure drawing group in an artist's studio. As a challenge to myself, I began drawing all of the evening's poses on a single large canvas in charcoal. My husband called these pieces my "Orgy Series" because each finished composition included from seven to fifteen figures.

One night, the man sitting next to me, an instructor at a local community college, made an interesting suggestion. He asked why I was using canvas. I explained that I enjoyed being able to erase or wash off the lines I did not need. He shook his head impatiently and explained that he understood why I wasn't using paper. He just wanted to know why I wasn't using a different kind of cloth.

Hmmm. That hadn't occurred to me, and it was a terrific idea.

At the time, my daughter was designing Renaissance costumes for a high school drama production. The two of us were making frequent trips to the garment district, a section of downtown Los Angeles bursting with small shops that sell fabric, buttons, lace, and clothing.
On one of our junkets, I looked for cloth to use instead of canvas. In a large outlet shop, I spotted bolts of silky, cream-colored polyester lining fabric. It was light. It was smooth. It was sturdy, and it was cheap.

Back at home, I stretched it on bars, just as I did my canvas. With great enthusiasm, and a little trepidation, I slathered the taut fabric with my favorite acrylic gesso. The white paint soaked right through to the back of the cloth, but dried to a terrific toothy surface.

I took my lining cloth what-cha-ma-call-its (not canvases) to the next drawing session, and they worked very well. When I took the completed and fixed pieces to my dealer, he suggested that I add glazes to develop the relationships among the figures. After that, I started to add paint to the fabric. I usually used glazes consisting of gloss medium and transparent Golden colors, but sometimes I added thicker, more opaque paints. The effect was much different on the smoother surface than on canvas.

I offer my experience as a jumping-off place for other artists who might want to experiment with acrylic on cloth.

Learn more about this author, Linda Armstrong.
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