Something Different

A little something different from me. I dreamed this one up...literally. The composition and the colors. I just wish I could get the colors to show true. For those that are familiar with Adirondack's 'Willow' alcohol ink that's the color in the sky, not Pesto green. I hate when these things happen. It's the funky 'Willow' green that makes the painting work IMO. Ah well....

This is another small work...5" x 7" on Yupo. I added some cut paper collage and flexible modeling paste. For the patterns in the white and red areas I painted over the alcohol ink when it was dry with black acrylic paint, then used an old credit card I had notched and dragged that through the wet paint until I was satisfied with the results. Voila! 

Varnish Day

It finally warmed up here at long last, warm enough to spray varnish outdoors. I sprayed my latest ink paintings including my bug series in batches and they are now curing before they will be mounted, matted and slipped into acetate envelopes. I belong to an inking group on Facebook and there seemed to be some confusion as to what varnishes work best on alcohol ink. Up until just lately I was using Krylon Gallery Series UV Archival gloss spray but I've found that Krylon's UV-Resistant Clear gloss works just as well and cost much less. One member of the ink group had heard that the gloss spray would disturb the ink but I found that it's simply not true.

A B. C?

Here is the repaired painting. I stenciled a honeycomb pattern on the background to finish the piece.

Hopefully this image will allow you to see the area of damaged Yupo I circled. When I'm working on certain insects I will cut away only a few sections of frisket at a time. In this case I saved the bee's wings until last so the Pitch Black and Yellow Sunshine ink wouldn't get on them. When I attempted to remove the frisket from the left wing I accidently dug into the surface of the Yupo and peeled off a thin layer leaving a rough area. I managed to solve the problem by cutting a piece of the glossy backing paper from the frisket into the shape of the damaged wing and gluing it in place with gel medium. Another solution could've been another piece of Yupo but I decided the backing paper would work best for this purpose.

Sorry, I couldn't help myself. I think I'm losing it and if winter doesn't end here soon in northern Michigan I'm going to completely lose my mind. Anyhoo, this is my latest bug, the wonderful bumblebee. I love to hear their deep throaty buzz in the garden on a hot summer afternoon.

Which Came First?

The cocoon or the bug? Well, in this case, the chrysalis. I used Adirondack Copper mixative on the bark of the branch. It has great texture that works well for this type of application. When the inks were dry and the frisket film was removed I went over everything with a wash of Da Vinci green gold fluid acrylic thinned with a little water and let it puddle and dry. That produced some nice texture in the background.

More Bugs

Here's the latest efforts, hot off the easel. I may have to redo the yellow moth. If you look closely I forgot my own advice and cut into the Yupo too far. It's easy to do. I should have another update tomorrow but there may be a very short break while I wait for more frisket film and liquid frisket to arrive from Blick. I was surprised how quickly I ran out!

FYI, if you want perfection don't work with these inks, at least not in this manner. There will invariably be imperfections here and there. As Vivi at the gallery says, "it's the hand of the artist". Much like watercolor, these inks work best if left to go their own way to some extent.

More Inky Things

I've added a little white Gelli pen to this one.

This one reminds of reef diving. Lots of lovely little organic shapes.

It's always fun to simply play with alcohol inks and see what comes of it. I work with Adirondack inks exclusively. The colors are vibrant and clean and I like how they react with one another. Most all the colors spread quickly when they hit the surface of the Yupo. Without the use of the blending solution, one color will push aside another color creating a ring or bloom. One exception is the Pitch Black. Aside from the mixatives, Pitch Black is slightly thicker or more viscous and a bit easier to control. It can act as a dam to stop the other colors from running wild and getting into places I'd rather not have them go. The mixatives can be used in the same way.  

Alcohol Ink & Collage

I created a background with alcohol ink on Yupo, then added a small stacked paper collage of amate and Lokta paper with a photo image on top much like the cherry on top a parfait. I selected a photo I took of my Spring anemones, cropped a single blossom from the bunch, greyscaled it and printed it out on photo paper. Then I went over the image with more alcohol ink to tone it. I would've gotten more daring if my format wasn't so small (3 1/2" x 5 1/2") but I didn't want to cover the background completely. I wish the scanner would've captured the colors better but photos turned out much worse. This is really more of a color story than anything else.   

Revisiting Alcohol Ink on Copper Leaf

I tried the same method on copper Simple Leaf (see prior post)and was very happy with my results. The gel gloss medium works perfectly as a buffer between the leafing and the alcohol ink. I can also chose to add some texture if I wish while applying the gel medium. Various brush strokes, the edge of a credit card...anything that will create some added interest. I still have to take care not to get too rough but things are much more workable now. Waiting for the gel medium to dry before applying the inks...well, with the humidity we have right now, it's a wait but well worth it. 

Alcohol Ink on Silver Leaf

With gel medium, 2014. I wish I could capture the colors in the sky better. It looks like sheet metal that has been treated with a torch. 

Without gel medium, 2013. The shooting star was added to conceal all the scratches.

I do believe I've solved the problem of working on silver leaf with alcohol ink. Last summer I created an ink painting on silver Simple Leaf applied to Yupo but it scratched so easily I was forced to toss it in the bin. I did get one scan of that painting I don't think I shared on my blog so I will today. Yesterday I gave it another go but this time I applied a coat of Liquitex gloss gel medium and allowed it to dry before adding any ink. I was thrilled the leaf now withstood quite a beating which included multiple layers of ink and blending solution plus some manipulation with a tool. The gel medium formed a protective buffer 'tween me and it with nary a scratch in sight. FYI, I don't recommend using Pearl mixative on silver leaf, though. It produced a rather flat, 'dirty' look I don't like at all.  

Bloomin' Inky Things

Need I say more?

Back to the Inks

Last night I cut myself a few 5" x 7" pieces of Yupo and played with my Adirondack alcohol inks. Here are some of my results. They are simple little abstracts and it felt so good to let the inks loose and let them do what they do. No plan, just play. Seems I usually wind up with a lot of tree shapes emerging or maybe I see trees in almost every abstract. I do like to add inks that have more open time like Pitch Black or one of the mixatives. Then I can manipulate them with a bamboo skewer or some other tool before they are too dry.

First Collage & Impression Lifting (How To)

I've been busy making paste papers these days. Not only does black Artagain work but Stonehenge kraft paper as well. I coated a piece of kraft paper with Liquitex gloss medium, let dry, then applied alcohol ink and blending solution. The inks moved very well on the surface, similar to Yupo. A particular piece of inked kraft paper inspired a landscape collage. The first collage I've been fairly happy with after many disasters. I'm not sure why I struggle with this art form so much. I believe I over think it. Whatever the problem, I'm determined to overcome. In this case I brought all my problems to bear and sorted them out on a single piece of 5" x 7" paper...ie. landscapes, collage and my latest focus, color theory. It's a conglomeration of paste papers, yellowed newspaper, a catalog image, colored pencil and acrylic paint. I threw a mat on it and scanned it. Sorry for the dirty looking mat. That's alcohol ink that has become a permanent part of my scanner bed. :(

I'd like to share another technique I tried today...impression lifting aka photo transfer. I printed out an image on glossy paper, then applied a thick coat of acrylic gel gloss medium over the image. I allowed it to dry thoroughly, then soaked it in warm water for a few minutes. Once the paper looked completely saturated I turned the image face down and used a damp paper towel to gently rub away the backing paper from the actual image which had now become 'one' with the acrylic medium. It's a bit of a mess but it went fairly fast. The result is a semi-transparent image that can be adhered to another surface, in this case, kraft paper. Note: If you give this a go be sure to take care in handling the image after the backing paper has been removed. The image will be a little stretchy and delicate. 

Fancy Goldfish ~paper sculpt complete

I just put the finishing touches on this. I chose the warm palette because the coffee filters took on a yellowish appearance when the gloss medium was completely dry. I added two wooden beads I found for the eyes. The beads were red so I gave them a coat of Adirondack Pitch Black alcohol ink and glued them in place with Mod Podge. The entire piece is mostly Adirondack alcohol ink. I did add some DS Duochrome Hibiscus watercolor to the scales and DS Pearlescent Shimmer watercolor to the smaller fins. Painting on gel gloss medium is a unique experience. The watercolor pigments became permanent as soon as applied, which surprised me. I did have more control over the alcohol ink, though.