Iris Garden

Greetings and happy Friday!

I was just reminded today of a question that comes up fairly often: How does one protect the ink paintings once they are complete?

My short answer: I usually mat and frame them under glass or acrylic glazing.

I generally avoid spraying them with fixative or clear coat as I don’t want to risk accidentally dissolving the painting.  Here’s what the Ranger Ink site says about Sealing Inks:

Although Alcohol Inks are designed for non-porous surfaces, if this surface is going to be handled frequently or subjected to other solvents from skin or other chemicals, it is necessary to seal them. The important thing to remember: DO NOT USE A SOLVENT-BASED SEALER (like a spray). Instead, use a water-based and waterproof sealer (like mod podge or any other brush-on sealer from the craft store. Page Link

While Mod Podge is great for craft projects, I am reluctant to brush it over my ink paintings…luckily a painting under glass is safe from handling!

Cheers and have a great weekend!

This one minute video features a technique that I use to add a smooth, vibrant passage of ink in a controlled manner. This is a fairly safe way to add ink to a painting in progress and still maintain a loose, inky feel.

Essentially, we drop ink from the bottle and use the brush to guide the ink where we want it to go (that would be the plan, of course, odds are the ink is going to go where it wants to go!)

For maximum control, we could dispense the ink into the welled palette and brush it on, but the result is a lighter color that often shows brush strokes. By using the drop and guide technique, we give up a little of the control (I don’t recommend trying this on too small of an area, as the ink will spread) but end up with a more spontaneous look!

In general, I try to do most of the loose, free-flowing ink work early in the painting process so I don’t accidentally ruin the detail work. However, there are times when I need to add a loose passage late in the game – error correction or if the painting is overworked. This is a great way to freshen up the painting and add a punch of color.

Working negatively is one of my favorite approaches to ink painting. Starting with a rich layer of ink over the whole paper, one can lift out the subject using cotton swabs, cotton balls, felt etc. Details can be drawn in with alcohol and either the small brush or the cotton swab.

The resulting paintings are soft, generally limited in palette, more abstract and created without a drawing.

In the Floral Arrangement shown above, a small amount of additional color (pink) is added to the flowers; however, most of the color comes from the staining of the initial inking. The detail at right shows a wispy effect of lifting just a bit of ink to suggest the tall flowers in the back. Other examples of this technique are Big Ben and the Grazing Sheep, both shown on the painting page.

In other news this week, I finished the Zebra demonstration video and it is available on a new lesson platform. More details are on the on-line demonstration page. I’ll be adding the Blue Iris and the Train soon. Happy Painting!

While I adore the vibrant color of the alcohol inks, there are occasions when softer, lighter tones are desirable. I frequently paint landscape scenes and there is the issue of the sky. I have not always been successful in creating a smooth, airy sky. My usual solution is to opt for horizon-less compositions, such as the Wisteria.

However, pale sky tones are beautiful and worth pursuing. One option is through staining, where a darker color is placed on the paper and then removed entirely. Another approach is to simply use the light colors straight from the bottle. A third possibility is to use a light color and selectively lighten it through cotton balls, etc.

The most common technique to create this type of wash, though, is probably dropping alcohol into the ink. One can cover the paper with alcohol and then drop the ink, but sometimes the ink doesn’t adhere at all – if you have a chance, I suggest experimenting with all of these options.

In the video, I demonstrate painting the sky by applying ink – alcohol – ink and so on. For me it is important that the sky remain consistent behind the subject building, so I masked the building first. This allows the sky to wash over the building.  Happy Painting!

Here masking was used to preserve the initial drawing. As the train, in reality, is black, there weren’t any white areas that needed to be preserved. However, I wanted the help in knowing where various engine components were located.

I have found that paintings of certain subjects, like trains and boats, often appeal to folks (like my dear husband) who love those subjects and notice when lines are off or pieces are missing. So, it is worth a little extra effort even in a fairly impressionist piece.

Note: This is Old Steam Locomotive No. 12 built in 1919 and currently located in Depot Park in Sanford, North Carolina. It  is one of my favorite subjects to paint, probably because my husband loves trains.

Butterfly by Tecohe

Coming from an impressionist painting background, I’ve always preferred deep purples and browns for the darks in my paintings. In my ink paintings, black was reserved for the details using a fine tip ink pen.

But for one of my masking projects, I decided to try a black background. I am excited about the results and possibilities for future paintings.

I actually did two layers of masking (one for the whites and the other for the blues) on the flower before covering the entire painting with black ink. The black was surprisingly thick and offered nice, even coverage. A great technique to try!

Note: Ink Painting: Masking offered March 19 at the Artists League of the Sandhills in Aberdeen, NC…On-line version anticipated mid-February

In preparation for a class I’m teaching in March on Masking, I’ve been working on a series of paintings highlighting various uses for masking (and associated techniques).

This painting is intended to illustrate using masking to preserve the whites in a composition that has a complex pattern of whites and darks. I masked the white areas of “Zebra” before dropping in the colorful background. This allowed the background colors to form the basis of the “black” stripes, which were later darkened in.

This painting features a lot of work with the black pen to define the features (and some of the stripes). At this point I can’t decide if it is overly drawn or whether I should leave it alone. For the moment, I’ll leave it…any thoughts?

Poinsettias by Lisa Marsing

This beautiful poinsettia painting was created by Lisa Marsing from Green River, WY.

I thought it would be nice to start sharing some ink works by students – I am always amazed by the variety of painting styles and what artists can create with the inks.

There are several wonderful aspects about this painting that I wanted to point out:

1. Control, detail, and contrast in the focal flower – from the darks in the center to the highlights in the petals, Lisa has brought eye catching contrast to the painting. There is impressive detail and control in the rendering of the flower – very lovely and very much a poinsettia!
2. The background – the background is a stunning mix of blossoms, leaves, and abstract elements. The fluidity of the background serves as a great counterpoint to the focal flower.
3. Use of color – Lisa has successfully used complementary reds and greens. With free-flowing ink, there is a risk of the reds and greens becoming lost in a sea of brown. In this piece, the reds and greens are clean, clear, and complementary.

About the painting, Lisa said she likes to pour the leaves and while still wet, drag a fine brush through the leaves to make some of the veins. Later, she would come back with the alcohol and make the highlights. She does the background leaves first and then works her way forward letting the ink cut through the bottom layers to create shadow and depth.

Thanks Lisa for sharing your works!

I’ve also had the chance to make a short video showing the masking process for ink painting. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask in the comments!