Meynell, Barbara

Barbara Meynell

Painting / Craft

Barbara is a Wirral -based artist and craftsperson. She was introduced to the technique of batik during her training as a teacher in Liverpool in the 1970’s. She continued working in this medium, selling through the Bluecoat Display Centre initially and then exhibiting more widely in the North -West.

Now working almost fully as an artist she has developed her love for painting on silk into a business, selling her scarves and ties at fairs, galleries and through the internet. Commissions for her exclusive ‘wearable art’ are wide-ranging and extend nation-wide and abroad. Her work has been featured in ’Crafts Beautiful’ and ‘Popular Crafts’ magazines.

Barbara has won several awards for her batik pictures including ‘highly commended’ in the Wirral Open Exhibition in 2001. She draws inspiration from her travels in Britain and France, exploring the essence of a place and aiming to capture space and light in her work.

‘The challenges of the batik process are quite compelling and have kept me as interested and excited now as I was all those years ago. I hand -paint silk in subtle, translucent layers, sometimes finishing with a final dip in a bath of the darkest dye. At each stage I draw with the ‘canting’, a pen-like tool for the hot wax, to recreate the sensation of light in the landscape. Larger areas such as skies are often painted like a watercolour and ‘blocked’ by the wax to resist further dyeing. At the end of the process there is always an element of surprise as the picture emerges during the ironing out of the wax. Then the fabric is steamed and the colours gain even more vibrancy.’

Please contact Barbara by email if you have any questions about her work, or would like to commission a batik, scarf or tie. Her collections are available to buy online.

I am exploring doing some batik on mulberry paper.

I am working on a long term commission by a gallery in Plockton, Scottish Highlands for silk-paintings, batiks and ties.  

I currently have scarves displayed in the Domino Galllery, Liverpool

M&SFS Gallery, Chester Gateway (Solo) -2002

Dee Fine Arts, Heswall -2005

‘Iris’ Opticians & Gallery (Solo) -2006

Batik Guild touring exhibition (Williamson) -2007

Domino Gallery 24 November 2008 – mid February 2009 – scarves and batiks