Sunday, October 12, 2008

Disaster

I decided I wanted to glaze my painting "Chain Reaction" (see earlier post)

I used an acrylic glaze - didn't even think about the possibility the ink might not be waterproof after drying - and the ink started to disappear! Luckily I didn't go over too much of the painting but some areas area seriously affected. Frustrating!! Usually I like a matt surface, but for some reason I decided I wanted a shinier one on these works. Of course, it is a learning experience, and a good one too because if the painting went to another person and for some reason got water on it, I suppose the ink would have run!

So, now...to find some waterproof ink. Or even perhaps a black pen instead. Would be quicker than working with the fine brush and ink. I've not had a lot of luck in the past to find an ink pen that didn't bleed.

Any advice gratefully received.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oh no! :-( On the other hand, love the new direction. Have you ever had a look at Jeese Reno's work?
Never tried it but I know a lot of people who like this stuff;
Higgins waterproof ink gives you bright, transparent color. Use them like liquid watercolors for washes and shading; mix or dilute for infinite variety.

Sandra T said...

Thanks Cath. Will search it out. And yes, I love Jesse Reno's work.

denise said...

Oh, how did I miss this piece - it's very compelling. Lively and still at once, very interesting. That is understandably disappointing.

I have successfully used spray varnish with water media pieces before - applied in several lightly sprayed layers, it drys so quickly it doesn't impact the media greatly. Though would maybe try on test pieces first for high ink density.

Shellac is often used for to seal papers in bookarts (see here). I was told being spirit based, the meths evaporates as you apply it so it does not affect water media. It's also traditionally used to make waterproof inks. You can buy shellac from the hardware store as flakes which you mix with methylated spirits. Its shelf life is short, and it dries more quickly when fresh. Haven't tried it yet myself though, so would do some test pieces before committing. See artists John Virtue, and Mary Hambleton.

I used to use Winsor and Newton drawing inks. Believe they are shellac based - if they dry out methylated spirits will dissolve the colour again. Often brands have waterproof and non-waterproof lines, so check for which it is before purchasing.

Sandra T said...

Thanks so much Denise for the advice. I've just bought indian ink labelled waterproof ... we shall see. I also bought a black oil ink that is used to ink date stamps. The man in the shop put some on paper for me, it looks pretty good. $10 for a tiny amount though. I'll check out those sites you give. Thanks.