Exercise 20:
THE SECRET OF ACRYLIC INK

IN THIS EXERCISE, YOU WILL PLAY WITH ACRYLIC INK, WHICH IS TRANSLUCENT AND VERY DIFFERENT FROM GOUACHE. ACRYLIC INK MAKES A NICE ADDITION TO YOUR ART SUPPLIES IF YOU LIKE TO MIX MEDIA IN YOUR WORK. IT IS WATER RESISTANT, DRIES QUICKLY, AND FLOWS SMOOTHLY. IT ALSO WORKS WELL FOR WATERCOLOR EFFECTS AND FOR STAMPING. ITS FLUID NATURE FEELS WONDERFUL AS YOU MOVE THE INK ACROSS YOUR PAPER.

MATERIALS

Newspaper or large craft paper

Gray heavy cardstock

Palette with a convex well

Round brush

Black and white acrylic inks

Black or white gel pen

Gouache (optional)

1. Cover your work space with newspaper or large craft paper.

2. For your reference, go back to the kitchen. Grab a few bowls and stack them one inside the other to set up your still life.

3. Set up the gray paper you will paint on. Put a few drops of ink in your palette. Load the round brush with white ink and paint your bowl shapes. Paint a few washes for highlight and form. Let the paint dry.

4. Use the black ink to paint in detail. Because of the ink’s water-resistant quality, you can put detail in a different medium if you wish. Let your artwork dry before doing any pen work, if you care to add another layer of detail.

5. The beauty of this versatile medium is that you can lay down a deliberate line and play with wash in gouache, ink, or watercolor, never smudging or smearing the line. You can work in reverse as well. You can put down a wash first, and then do line work as an overlay without smearing or smudging the wash.