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Showing posts from July, 2018

En Pointe - an alcohol ink painting and tutorial

En Pointe Cyndi Lavin, 2018 Just like Fire on High and Tempest , this piece was done using the wet into dry technique with  alcohol ink . Drip your  alcohol ink  colors onto a dry background and let them dry, or at least mostly dry.  Using 91% rubbing alcohol in a  squeeze bottle , add the solvent to one small area at a time, manipulating the running inks with a blower.  You can use a hair dryer (set on cool), canned air, a  heat gun  (at a distance), or even just a straw. Originals and prints of Cyndi's work for sale This post contains affiliate links: Dick Blick Copyright 2018 Cyndi Lavin. All rights reserved. Not to be reprinted, resold, or redistributed for profit. The tutorial only may be printed out for personal use or distributed electronically provided that entire file, including this notice, remains intact.

A watercolor approach to working with alcohol inks – a tutorial

When you work with  alcohol inks  using a wet-in-wet technique, you've got less control than with any other method.  At least it seems that way to me!  Put 91% rubbing alcohol or a  blending solution   into a   squeeze bottle , and wet your paper thoroughly.  Drip inks onto the page, and allow them to spread for a bit.  Tilt and tip the page to allow the inks to run and blend.  Add more alcohol or solution, and more inks as needed.  Keep it wet and loose until it's blended to your satisfaction.  You could also use either a hair dryer, canned air, a straw, or a  heat gun  to move the inks around.  Be careful to use colors that mix well when using this method, or you could end up with a muddy mess. Once the piece is dry, you can reactivate areas that need more work, or you can add small details like the dots that you see near the center.  All that takes is a small brush or cotton swab, dampened with alcohol or a different color of ink.  Originals and prints of Cyndi'

Lazarus Rising – an alcohol ink painting tutorial

Lazarus Rising Cyndi Lavin, 2018 This piece was painted using the same method as Fire on High , dripping  alcohol inks  onto a dry background and working on a small section at a time.  Visit the link to Fire on High for more precise instructions! Originals and prints of Cyndi's work for sale This post contains affiliate links: Dick Blick Copyright 2018 Cyndi Lavin. All rights reserved. Not to be reprinted, resold, or redistributed for profit. The tutorial only may be printed out for personal use or distributed electronically provided that entire file, including this notice, remains intact.

Tempest – an alcohol ink painting tutorial

Tempest Cyndi Lavin, 2018 Prints for sale A piece like this uses a combination of wet and "dry" techniques.  Of course,  alcohol inks   are wet by nature, but it's possible to add smaller details with a damp brush and the most concentrated inks late in the process. For Tempest , I started with a fairly heavy application of inks with a brush. After allowing them to dry, I used a  squeeze bottle  with rubbing alcohol to drip a small section at a time, blowing it with a  heat gun .  You can use a hair drying instead.  You can also experiment with using either 91% rubbing alcohol or a  blending solution  in your bottle.  In some sections, I let the inks spread a bit before blowing; in others, I began blowing right away.  Variety! The final steps after if was dry was to adjust the color with a barely damp brush.  If you drip out a drop or two of ink onto a plastic palette and let it evaporate, you can reactivate the pure ink sediment with a brush.  In this case, a

Morning Mist – an alcohol ink painting tutorial

Morning Mist Cyndi Lavin, 2018 Here is another watercolor-look technique you can try with alcohol inks .    First, choose the colors you want to use, and mix up a small batch of each in a  squeeze bottle .  You can use either 91% rubbing alcohol or a  blending solution   to make a very dilute mixture of each color you plan to use.  Apply the inks, one color at a time to your paper, and use either a hair dryer, or a  heat gun  to move them around.  Adding the next color will reactivate the dried inks, so be careful about your placement and direction of blowing.  The little dots were adding later with a cotton swab. Originals and prints of Cyndi's work for sale This post contains affiliate links: Dick Blick Copyright 2018 Cyndi Lavin. All rights reserved. Not to be reprinted, resold, or redistributed for profit. The tutorial only may be printed out for personal use or distributed electronically provided that entire file, including this notice, remains intact.