Alcohol Inks on Canvas

For over a year, I've been doing alcohol ink paintings. I've painted on Yupo, ceramic tiles, plastic dominos, and glass. They are a fun and vibrant medium.

Yesterday, I went to my studio with the intent of doing some cherry blossom paintings on Yupo (synthetic paper). For some reason, I decided that I wanted to try painting with them on a blank and pre-gessoed canvas I had sitting around. It wasn't the absolute first time I have touched the inks to canvas, but it was the first time that I have done so as more than a mere experiment to see how the inks take to the canvas surface.

I took a few photos as I went along:

Inspiration photo, taken by me Spring 2013

Canvas with whites masked with Miskit. Usually the orange doesn't show up so much, but the bottle is getting close to empty and the coloration has settled to the bottom.

Squirts of ink! I'm now putting on my gloves!

Background now has it's initial coat of ink.

Masking fluid has been removed! Wow!

Now, I am painting in paler shades and detail. I love the white ink over the background!

Detail of Blossoms

I'm not finished with the painting. My plan is to come back in with acrylic paints and add some dimension. All in all, I am pleased with the start.

Under the Fir Tree - Alcohol Ink Series

"Under the Fir"

11" X 14"

$295

The alcohol ink paintings keep coming. This was a painting derived from this photo:

I wish I had taken photos during every step of the process, but I neglected to. It is the process that I used in this blog post except I now use translucent Yupo paper which is much easier to see through. I also used a LOT of masking fluid in the making of it, but only in one layer. The background was somewhat of an afterthought, and I'm not sure why I put in a pink background, but I like it.

I've been having so much fun with these paintings this month that I'm now about to go find more images to continue the series. I hope you are enjoying them too.

Ink on Yupo with Masking Layers

I was organizing some stuff in the studio the other day and ran across a pile of 11" X 17" "xerox" copies that I made thinking I would use them for Pronto prints or paper lithography prints. My last attempt at the paper litho didn't go particularly well, so the project had been abandoned.

I decided that these images might be a good basis for some alcohol ink on Yupo artwork.

I knew that I wanted to use a LOT of masking fluid (I use Miskit) in a new abstract way and that I wanted a turquoise background when I was finished. For this new method, I decided that pink would be a nice contrast to the turquoise, so I painted the whole background in pink. I think I added some shadow gray as well...and perhaps some purple.

I let this dry.

I then took a 1/2" brush and applied the masking fluid (Miskit) to my favorite pink areas and added a lot of splatters and dots.

I let this dry.

Then, I held the painting vertically (over paper towels and trash can) and used my spray bottle of 91% alcohol to splotch and rinse the pink from the unmasked areas.

I let this dry.

Then I began painting the actual images inspired by the photocopy. I used both a round brush and a fan brush and the droppers of course. Because the Yupo was more opaque than I thought it would be, I used a light box in a dark room to see the image through the Yupo. I could have drawn the image first, but for this particular piece, I decided that I didn't want pencil lines. Below is the painting with the masking liquid (Misket) still in place, but the main imagery painted.

I let this dry. It takes longer for the ink to dry on top of the masking fluid. (If you are not patient, ink that is still sticky will make a mess in the next step.)

I was very pleased at this point. I almost wished I could ignore the masking fluid and call it done, but I was also very curious what it would look like removed, so I started taking it off. Dried masking fluid sticks to itself, so you just sort of make a ball as you go. Some bits are stubborn and the Yupo tends to release ink if rubbed more than some other surfaces, so try to touch only the masking fluid, unless you like the scrubby look below.

As you can see, the masking fluid also lifted some of the pink ink. I found that using a gentle touch and not re-daubing, I could keep from lifting as much.

Some of my darker areas and some of the yellow flower bits were painted over the masking fluid and were lifted away, so I then went back in and repainted. I also worked in some straight extender and some diluted inks to add some rhythm to the dense area.

Here is the finished piece:

(Scheduled for Cross-posting on AI Art Blog)