This is my outlined iris. I kinda like the way this looks and would love to try other colors of ink in this way as well.
This is an example of some textures I've been playing with. I dropped white India ink into a wet wash, then sprinkled shavings from a purple watercolor pencil into the mix.That's right...I'm still playing around. The images above are just a sample of the things I've been trying out. Some worked, some didn't. Have you ever thought, "I wonder what would happen if I did(or didn't)do this, or added that or just dribbled on some ink and swirled it around in a sea of wet watercolor." I love the idea of breaking the 'rules' in my artwork and I'm searching for something unique. Who wrote the so-called rules anyway? And who enforces those rules? I'm not looking to do something different just for the sake of being different and some rules are necessary because they just work...period. Instead I'm trying to find my own voice in my own artwork.
Right now one of the areas I'm exploring is watercolor texture, primarily for background work. At one point in my artistic journey I absolutely dreaded backgrounds. I focused all my attention on my subject, then wondered what the heck to do to fill the rest of the paper. Why not make the background just as interesting as the subject while at the same time making sure they both relate to one another?
Another idea that captured my interest was an article in the June 2009 issue of Watercolor Magic featuring the work of Jonathan Frank. Mr. Frank outlines (yes, you read it right...outlines)areas of his paintings with a Kohinoor Rapidograph pen filled with various colors of India ink. Talk about breaking rules and his work is nothing short of amazing! I gave this a go on a hastily painted bearded iris. All I had handy at the time was a Micron 03 pen with black ink but I liked the effect.
2 comments:
Mornin' Billie !
Great results with the experiments.
My best color intensities are on pieces of doodle paper! I feel so "smart". I found Jonathan DeFrank one day last year while I was "trolling" the net. His technique was just what was needed on a piece I was doing at the time. I had a huge area that had little interest compared to the rest of the painting and it tied things together nicely.Or at least it made things work. Great to see him in Watercolor Magic. Oh, to find ones own voice!
Isn't Frank's work amazing? So unconventional and so beautiful. He calls it heightened reality but admits the lines just make him feel better. He recommends following your own intuition.
Ahh..finding one's own voice. Not always easy, is it? I'm drawn to so many interesting techniques and feel compelled to try them all. I figure the more I have in my artistic 'arsonal'(sp?), the more options I'll have. Still waiting for the lightbulb to go on, tho. I'm not sure where my intuition went.
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