Handmade Handbags and Purses from "The Painted Purse" - Each bag is a unique fabric design.

Unique Handbags and Purses - Making the Fabric

Creating the one of a kind fabric. Below is a brief description of Bill Brown's step by step process involved in making the design for each bag. He starts out by preparing his canvas for painting just as most artists do.

Creating Unique Fabric - The Painting Process

Bill starts out with a piece of 100% cotton duck fabric. He then cut the material into 30" x 30" pieces.

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It is then coated with Gesso (This is a sealer which artists use to coat material so that paint will not be absorbed by the cloth and helps the fabric hold its shape). A background color is then painted on the material.

Next comes the fun part, the canvas is now ready to be painted ( Bill uses water based acrylic paint to create each abstract pattern which will become the main fabric for each purse or handbag ). He uses acrylic paint for several reasons.

Brightness
Colorfast
Flexible
Amazingly Durable

The painting is then set aside to air dry. Even thought the painting is dry to the touch it must now cure (completing the drying process which takes several weeks).

This is the most important part of making each handbag unique and one of a kind, the painted fabric. Below are some examples of close ups from different paintings (fabric close-ups) ready to be cut and handmade into a handbag or purse.

I know what you're thinking. Why cut up a painting to make a purse?

As handbags and purses they are seen by more people than hanging on a wall in one home.
They are also usually viewed closer than they are on a wall which draws attention to the incredible color and detail.
We have spent a great deal of our lives as artist craftsmen, when art performs a function as a useful object, we feel it is even more beautiful.

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