the transformative power of pigment ink
I’m creating 52 works by May 2024. When Red Playground 8 and 9 are complete, I will have finished 3 of the my target of 52 works.
The Transformative Power of Pigment Ink
In this fourth session, whilst adding pigment ink to the Inktense shapes within ‘Red Playground 8 and 9,’ an intriguing development occurs.
Red Playground 8
The power of pigment ink is truly displayed in Number 8 as I outline each shape with my .4mm pigment ink pen. A colourful and pleasing stain-glass appearance emerges.
The dynamic lead light look ameliorates the strength of the pointers located in all four quadrants of the work. My challenge is to lessen the confrontational appearance found in the earlier partner work, ‘Red Playground, Finish what you started’,
Outlining every one of the small shapes of ‘Red Playground 8’ consumed over an hour.
Red Playground 9
I push on to ‘Red Playground 9’, even though it is late afternoon.
I soon run into a problem caused by applying yellow rather thickly on the first day of using Inktense. The deposits of yellow pigment on the work clogs my pens.
Because I’ve encountered this problem before, I did take extra care to dissolve the Inktense block in water before I applied it. It seems I have more to learn about the properties despite having used it to create several works within my “Out of Hand” collection. Note to self: run solvency tests in the future.
Please watch, “The Transformative Power of Pigment Ink”
subscribe on YouTube and hit the bell to be notified when I upload the next video of the series.
Or, better yet, click here to join my email list to get notification and occasional updates with news, free downloads and other special things I’m working on right now.
Most of my .4mm pigment ink pens become clogged, so I change to a size .6mm. The extra ink flow resolves the blocking problem.
The power of pigment ink gives vibrance to the checkerboard pattern. It makes the Inktense designs appear more grounded, especially in the somewhat botanical lower right quadrant. The blue and yellow shapes in the upper right quadrant are almost confrontational, relating to ‘Red Playground 8’ and the earlier ‘Red Playground – Finish what you started’.
‘Red Playground 9’ now reminds me of a Tiffany-inspired design. The total time to outline the design on this side requires another hour. Whew!!
The Intriguing Power of Pigment Ink
Before adding pigment ink both works had a gentle batik feel. The intriguing power of pigment ink makes them almost radiant. My regard for pigment ink as an art medium continues to grow as I seek other ways to use it.
I chose to fill in the two bars at the top and bottom of both pieces. Originally I thought they could serve as a unifying influence between ‘Red Playground 8’ and ‘Red Playground 9’. With the overall strength of chroma of the works they would simply appear unfinished.
Both pieces, like their companion work, ‘Red Playground-Finish what you started’, are very vibrant. The texture of the supports prevents me from giving them a similar three-dimensional form. I’ve discovered a new way to express dimensionality.
But, you’ll have to wait for the next session, which is the final one for these two works, when I add dimension and intrigue with coloured pencil.
‘Red Playground 8 and 9’ are working titles. I’d really appreciate you giving your ideas for final names for these works by commenting below.
I’ve been playing with pigment ink since about 2018 when I created my ‘Can Red Come Out to Play?’ collection. What has been your experience with pigment ink pens?
Click here to join my email list to receive monthly updates of what is going on in the studio. I can notify you when the latest video and blogpost go live. Simply respond to one of my emails and tell me.
Those on my list will receive other benefits I’m working on right now, including having first dibs to purchase works later on this year.
Is there a better title?
‘Red Playground 8’ and ‘Red Playground 9’ are working titles. I’d appreciate your suggestions for a final title. Post them in the comments below or in the comment section on any of the videos of the series.
