The Fly

This one took two tries and it still could use some grounding with a few shadows now that I see it on screen. I used Ranger Pearl mixative on the wings to make them look more fly wing-y and I added the veining with a Prismacolor colored pencil...Violet Blue, I think. A waxy pencil on Yupo, you say? I know but I'm fairly certain it'll be permanent after a good spray or two of Krylon gloss varnish.

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.

Bug Me ~ a new series

Spring is coming and it looks like Mamas' got her ink on again. I finally have a new direction and it's about time, too. 2015 kicked my behind health-wise and I'm still dealing with the aftermath. It's difficult for me to sit for any length of time at my work area because of severe arthritis in my spine and I wound up losing all my forward momentum. This past week I told myself I will paint two bugs every day no matter how I feel and so far I'm doing it. And it feels good. I just love bugs and I love alcohol ink so this series makes perfect sense to me.

I'm using the frisket film still which allows me to pour the inks to my bugs with abandon. Occasionally I use a little liquid masque as well. I'm only limited by my imagination. In addition to the alcohol ink I've been embellishing a few of my bugs with Brilliance Archival pearlescent inks .  
Jo Ann's was having a sale on these ink pads and I couldn't resist.

All the paintings are small (5" x 7") and are surprisingly labor intensive. If anyone wishes to give this a go let me give you some tips.

1. Make sure your working Yupo is completely covered by the frisket film. Otherwise the inks have a way of sneaking underneath and winding up in areas they shouldn't.
2. When applying the film be sure to leave no creases or bubbles, again for the reason listed above.
3. Be sure to keep a sharp blade in your Exacto knife for clean cuts. The moment the blade starts to drag change it.
4. When cutting out the shapes fight the urge to bare down too hard on the blade. You don't want to cut through the Yupo. A light hand on the handle of the knife helps.
5. You can draw on matte frisket film to give yourself guide lines if you wish. 
6. After you've made your cuts hold the Yupo up to the light so you can see your cut lines. I miss spots all the time so I recommend double checking. Also double check after you've removed the Yupo from your cut shapes and before you start inking. Frisket film tears easily and some little pieces might get left behind.  
7. Work as clean as possible. Nothing is more heartbreaking than a big ink smudge on a new ink painting. This is one of the biggest challenges for me.
8. Happy inking!

Found a Bug in My Painting

It's always fun to apply acrylic gesso to a surface, then work it around with a palette knife or whatever is handy. After it's dry, the textures that occur as a result can be very exciting. Last night I had a swatch of paper I had coated with gesso and I began to slosh paint on it. I love to watch the paint settle into all the little nooks and crannies and lo and behold, I spotted insect wings! The more I looked, the more came into focus. A thorax, some insect-y legs...definitely a bug. I added some eyes, some antennae and voila! Try painting on gesso. The results are never the same twice and it never gets boring. 

A Katydid & a Ladybug

'Ladybug' and we all know one or two.

'Katydid' and she did come to visit me last summer.
 I was fortunate to snap a photo before she went on her way.

It just never came together for me.

My sketch

Not all bright ideas pan out. I worked up a sketch on pad paper that looked like it might work. Alas, it did not. In the process of coming to that conclusion I used up a lot of ink and almost an entire bottle of Ranger blending solution which isn't cheap so I did the next best thing....I cropped it into two separate ink paintings. The original painting was my largest so far being 17" x 12".

I wanted to try out my new Ranger ink colors...Pitch Black and Pesto(green). Pesto behaves much like the rest of the Ranger inks (aside from the mixatives) but Pitch Black is thicker and it takes a lot of blending solution to make it move. From now on it will be used in smaller works until/unless I order more blender. I do love it, though. I works so well to tie the Micron line work into an ink painting, adds wonderful contrast and drama and it truly is pitch black.