Ink It

One of my favorite mediums: Ink.
No not the tattoo kind.

I find black and white to be a dramatic statement. Texture even more so in black and white. What I enjoy are ink pads, stamps, and ink pens.

Ink Pens/Markers
No quills for this girl! Nothing is more devasting (with ink) after spending 5+ hours on a drawing just to blot too much in one spot and ruin it. I prefer stippling with pens-time consuming but worth it. For those who don't know, stippling is repetitive ink dots layered to create shading.

A couple of my nature study works with stippling:

Some flower power:

Rubber Stamp and Ink Pad
The stamp can be of anything but the stamp itself needs to be small. I usually use one that is the size of a nickle no bigger than a quarter. I have used a lady bug and a shamrock. The lady bug for the following:

That drawing was done on a 16x20. LOTS of ladybug stamping. For the sharp lines I used post it notes to create a border not allowing excess ink. The stamp prints are layered which also hides the obvious shape of a lady bug. Here is a bigger view:

I did a custom drawing of my father in-law's pug, Percy. I used a shamrock stamp and he loved it!

I actually find this method of ink drawing very soothing.

I have been thinking about getting back into ink. My Mom has asked for a custom ink drawing of her flat coated retrievers sleeping. I will be using the stippling technique. Its an 18x24-the largest stippling project for me yet. I have already drawn the basic outline and started stippling. At this point I'm 5 hours in. I will share my progress in another post.

I won't be stopping there and plan to introduce more ink artwork in my line up this June!