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Hey there!
I'm enjoying my Pandora tunes accompanying the sound of the rain as I type. I have it dialed in to "solo piano" very mellow and the perfect background music for thinking. :)
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Hot Off the Easel!
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Morels or Conifers?
22 x 22
gouache ink resist
This is one of the paintings at my show at Flint St. Gallery in Little Monsters toy store in Lake Orion, MI.
The show runs from August 30 through October 2. Hope you'll have a moment to stop in and see it. And don't forget to browse through the most awesome collection of toys ever! Leila and Chris (the owners) really know how to pick 'em!
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Idea Spark-lers
| | Are you needing some painting ideas to get you going? Well, you've come to the right place!
Gouache Ink Resist....Let's finish this thing!
If you missed last weeks newsletter... steps 1,2 and 3 can be found here.
Step 4
Put some black India ink into a container and dilute it with water slightly...maybe a couple of squirts with a water bottle. (Gladware works great, and has the nifty snap on lid to keep your slightly diluted ink good for a long time) All the demo's I've seen or read say to dilute the ink. That way you are sure the ink is absorbed into the paper rather than sitting on top. It's more economical too. I've forgotten to dilute it though, and it works just fine. I like really black blacks, so forgetting was a good thing for me I guess. (Imagine me, forgetting something!)
With a very light touch (a soft 1 inch or larger flat brush works best here... but not one of your best watercolor brushes, (It is waterproof ink) softly lay on the ink, trying not to disturb the gouache layer. Wash your brush when you're done, with soap...it's waterproof ink, remember? :)
I was thinking that putting the ink into a fine mist spray bottle might actually be even better than a soft brush. I'll try it and let you know.... Or you try it and let me know, whichever comes first. :)
I paint the ink on like I would paint a flat watercolor wash, holding the paper tipped up about 30 degrees, starting at the top of the paper and keeping a bead of ink at the bottom of each light horizontal stroke. Let gravity work for you. Gentle touch with a fully loaded brush. Re-load with the ink after each stroke across. You are trying to lay the ink on top of the paper, not scrubbing it in. You'll probably have ink running down the sheet in drips, which can get messy. I lay on the ink over the sink, or over my ink container to collect the drips.
You will have a black painting at this point, though you can see the ghost image within the ink layer. I forgot to take a photo of the example we started with, but here is another painting with the ink layer on.... You get the idea, right?
Let the ink dry completely...completely...completely. This is the stage that you don't want to rush. If the ink isn't completely dry, you'll wash some of it off along with the gouache in the next step. Your black might not be as black as you'd like. Letting the ink dry overnight might be a good idea, if you can stand the suspense! :)
Step 5
Now comes the fun part...the great wash off! It's like revealing secret agent code.
Take your black painting to the sink and run a stream of water on it. Soon you'll see the white parts appear as the ink washes off the shapes that were covered in gouache. It's actually the gouache washing off and taking the ink that was on top with it.
I wish I had a video of the process....and a clone to take the video or photos.
This step needs some finesse and restraint, which are not among my strong suits. Try to go slowly. You can always go back to the stream of water, but once it's washed off, it's gone down the sink! The completely cleaned and scrubbed paintings look different than the ones that were washed off with a softer touch. You'll have to decide which you prefer. When you completely wash off the gouache, it reveals more of the watercolor underpainting, but you run the risk of losing some of the interesting textures that appear with less aggressive washing off. (You can always go back in with watercolor or ink after the wash off.)
Here's what it looks like after the wash off: This was an aggressive wash off, since I wanted the blues of the under-painting to show.
I decided to add some gouache back into the blooms, and green and yellow watercolor in the leaves and centers. I also touched up the India ink in spots on the border, where the ink looked anemic.
And Waaa-laa! A finished gouache ink resist painting.
Any questions? Just ask!
Hope you have fun trying this technique... please share your efforts with me!
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If you think any of your friends might be interested, please feel free to forward this email.
Have a Great Week! |
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