Indian Ink

And the Day Came..., Indian Ink, Tod Evans

Recently I have been enjoying using inks in my work. Black Indian ink, when diluted, creates soft shades of grey. It diffuses gently when watered down, but try adding it full strength with a brush onto wet paper and it explodes in an exciting manner. The painting above was created in response to the challenge of making work inspired by poetry, song or quotations for the recent West Norfolk Artist Association spring exhibition. (Unfortunately the photograph has a very blue tint to it, apologies). The starting point was choosing a quotation, this was the easiest part as these words attributed to Anais Nin (1903 - 1977) have long held resonance for me:

'And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.'

I relate to it because I wasted a lot of years wanting desperately to paint and draw, but was too fearful to try.

Having decided on the quotation I jotted down several ideas in my notebook, starting with something that was almost a mini installation. As my brain worked out the logistics the ideas became simpler until I ended up with this. I initially used pencil to draw the stages of the bud, semi opening and then fully opened blossom on Fabriano '5' hot pressed watercolour paper. This paper is smooth and bright white, a great contrast to the black ink. I introduced passages of ink into the background first before tackling the blossom. Areas were strengthened and some spatter added.

Background and stages of blossom in Indian ink...

 
I considered carefully whether I wanted text on the painting itself. Having made the decision to include it - how and where? I chose to write the quotation sideways, and to repeat it several times. To help integrate the words into the overall design I used counterchange with white ink on the darker background, and black ink on the lighter areas. I created a mottled effect by brushing diluted black ink over some of the starker white writing to 'push it back' visually. Finally, I added some linear work with a dip pen, again using counterchange. The block of writing to the left of the paper helped to balance the image as the larger open flower on the right is quite commanding. I was pleased with the end result.

Detail of text added sideways to left of painting

Is there a piece of poetry, song lyric or quotation that has personal meaning for you? How could you respond to it in your artwork? This challenge could help give you a nudge out of your usual comfort zone, it certainly made me think as I don't usually include words.

Fun with Pen and Wash

Winter Heather and Statue, 32 x 24cms
Edding permanent pen and watercolour
on Fabriano 5 HP watercolour paper. 

I think the most popular media this Autumn Term, in the Mixed Media Class, was using pen and wash.  I planned two sessions - one either side of the half term break.  The first was using a permanent pen, which leaves a fairly uniform line even when using a 0.7mm.  The second session I introduced a dip pen and Indian ink which enables flowing calligraphic lines, and a more hit-and-miss approach.  I find the loss of precise control can lead to bolder, fresher work.  Whichever method, many people like to start with a simple pencil drawing to establish the composition, it gives confidence when starting with the pen as it cannot be erased - so any mistakes have to be incorporated and lived with! I suggest setting off with a bit of urgency when first going over the pencil lines in pen, working too slowly and deliberately can produce a very static line.  People are often surprised at how they unconsciously go on to embroider more details once they get going, and with surprising confidence. At any point the pencil lines can be erased to leave a clean pen image before introducing passages of watercolour.

The subject was quite open in that I suggested 'holiday' as a theme for exploration.  This could range from the broad holiday view of a scene captured on camera as a memory, to a close up detail of something of interest.  The example I worked up for the session (I usually photograph the stages and print off to show the progression) shows a weathered stone statue from a winter walk last year, the heather framed it so beautifully.  The cropped close up view below shows how I had to think about what sort of marks could be used to portray the various textures.

View close up - variety of marks to describe various textures.

For the session using the dip pens and Indian ink I chose to incorporate working from still life.  As an added interest I suggested looking at the illustrations used to advertise Worzals, a local garden centre/farm shop/cafe.

Adverts for Worzals Farm Shop.

Studying these illustrations closely showed not only the beautiful quality of line but also that some printing had been done using actual leaves etc.  A marvellous opportunity to have a go at another approach...

Calligraphic lines using a dip pen and Indian ink,
plus some leaves of the purple sprouting broccoli painted with ink
and used to print on Fabriano 5 HP watercolour paper. 

Ink painted onto head of purple sprouting broccoli
before used to print texture on the paper.

All very hit-and-miss,
loose lines added to enhance leaf prints, ink blots welcomed!

Watercolour washes added - free approach kept going
with paint not restricted by line and more spatter.

I also had fun with a second offering,  I couldn't resist these beetroot when I went shopping.  I think my enjoyment of the subject matter and treatment shows in the work itself!

No pencil drawing this time - straight in with the dip pen.
Beetroot cut in half to make print bottom left.  Brush also used to add ink as shadows. 

Watercolour washes added.

The feedback from the sessions was very encouraging and in the final session of term, when members can work on something of their own choice (or finish off work from previous weeks), many opted to have another go using one of these methods.

I also had another stint using the dip pen recently, this time with Quink Ink.  When diluted with water this ink tends to separate out into blues, greys and ochre - all by itself!  It is perfect for using in sketchbooks, but be aware that it is not very lightfast.

Studies of natural objects with dip pen and Quink Ink.