Having worked with batik for many years, Betty Fraser began to work with silk dyes in the late 1980's and produced many silk paintings through to the late1990's.

She worked directly from a still-life arrangement with seasonal flowers from her garden, fruit and vegetables, as well as vases and kitchenware.

Having stretched the silk on an adjustable wooden frame she then drew directly onto the silk with pencil.

She developed a distinctive style in the later works, using a strong sense of outline achieved through the use of product called gutta. This is a liquid resist product which is drawn onto the silk with a small bottle. Once dry it acts as a boundary for the very liquid silk dyes in a similar way to the wax outlines used in hot wax batik. The gutta can be coloured with a range of metallics and Betty often used gold outlines.

The textured effects in the backgrounds of some of the works are achieved by sprinkling course rock salt over the area while it is still wet. Each grain of salt absorbs the dye and leaves a pattern which is quite distinctive.

Angela Fraser, POI Research Team, 2002