Playing with Ink

Hi all y’all!

I have been rekindling my love of painting with a block of Arches watercolor paper. I haven’t painted on paper in many years and have never painted on a block of paper. My goal is to start painting as a practice not as a product. My expectations for myself were out of control.

I love using the block of paper. It wasn’t the most expensive, but it was about $40. You can saturate the paper until it looks like a mess and swells a bit. The next morning it is flat and feels lovely. It feels like smooth cotton. When it is completely dry, you cut off the top piece with a palette knife.

I also have really nice Schmincke watercolors now. Both the paper and the watercolors make a world of difference.

I am using watercolors, ink, paint pens, and acrylic paint. I am loving the ink. The ink bleeds through all of the top layers. That is cool for a while, then I spray matte varnish on the painting to stop the bleed and place highlights.

The Inks are Dylusions Postbox Red and and Vibrant Turquoise. The red puddled in the hair in the shape of butterflies, so I encouraged them. In the end, there were so many layers that I decided to sand the surface. It left some scratch marks that I really like. I smoothed her face with a stiff brush and Golden Titanium White.

It seems she has a lot to think about, but I’m not sure what.

All the best. Stay safe!

Gator Girl