Painting with 3 liquid inks, an adventure in an afternoon.
This past December, I received as a gift three fountain pen inks from the New Orleans-based stationer Papier Plume: Garden District Azalea, Moss Green, and Cafe Diabolique.
I have other inks from this maker in my collection, but these three colors were new to me. What better way to get to know an ink, but to paint with it?
The process of painting with 3 liquid inks
Subject selection
Looking around my apartment, I had a beautiful winter rose bouquet on the table. A close up view would make an interesting composition, and offer challenge.
Paper selection
I chose to use the Col-o-ring Oversize, a 4” x 5.5” pad of exceptional mixed media paper.
Art Station Setup
I set up my table with a container of clear water, my favorite brushes for transparent media, a cotton pad, and of course the ink bottles.
Painting with 3 liquid inks process
- Sketch of composition with 2H pencil
- Lightly block in “red” areas with pale wash of Garden District Azalea
- …wait for it to dry completely
- Blocked in areas of more depth with Moss Green
- …wait for it to dry completely
- Went back and forth with these two colors to build the depth and shape, taking time to wait for it to dry each time.
- Lastly used Cafe Diabolique for final depth layer and defining lines
It was about 20 minutes of active painting time, not including the long waiting periods between layers.
Result
I am pleased with my painting! But… my initial wash with the Azalea ink was quite pink. Going back to it after the green, it has a decidely more tomato-red hue. Did I contaminate the ink bottle with droplets from the green, or was chromatography playing tricks on me?
As is my way with inks, I set up col-o-ring ink swatches after the painting. The colors are consistent with the colors in my finished work. And what do I think of these inks?
They are excellent, shading inks. I am espeically excited about the green and the brown for writing with fountain pens. Cafe Diabolique might just meet my conception of the perfect brown ink!
What I might do differently next time
I think it’s clear: I ignored my own advice to inkwash painting students and dipped my brush directly into the ink bottles rather than decanting into smaller containers. I may have gotten some green ink into my otherwise pristine Azalea ink. Could the chromography of the ink appear differently from it’s intense state? of course. Next time I paint with my inks, I intend to be more careful on this point.
Conclusion
Painting with 3 liquid inks takes a little bit of logistical planning. Using the technique of layering transparent colors to build depth and detail, one can get to know the full range and potential of any ink. These three inks stood up well to my painting demands, and I can’t wait to see how fun they will be to use in my fountain pens!