Pouring Inks

It’s pouring here!

…I know it’s not Spring and there is no rain, but it’s definitely pouring out here and its ink!

Pouring is a watercolor technique, where transparent watercolors are poured directly onto  the  paper with minimal to no usage of brush at all. It’s fun and interesting to watch as a painting comes to life after layers of watery, drippy paint.  To be honest after a point,  it looks so messy that you almost seem to wonder if this will end in the trash bin…… but wait until it dries and you remove the masking and voila!

Today I will be demonstrating this technique  in just 10 easy steps, using Splash Inks instead of watercolors. These inks have been created by an artist  and come in a pack of just 3 primaries and black. The primaries are enough to create your own palette of colors and hues.

Here is a  detailed, stepped out demo ….

Supplies-

Splash Inks,

3 containers to hold the inks,

Watercolor paper-140# or 300#,

Masking fluid,

Stamps-Mama Elephant-Central Park

A  spray bottle filled with water

A heat tool to quicken the process of drying -optional

Step 1- Tape a piece of watercolor paper to a board. …this is very important, since we will be working with a lot water and we don’t want our paper to buckle.  Pour the inks into the containers as shown below, adding a bit of water. Stamp the image.

Tip: Thinner the ink,  the paler the pour will be.

Step 2- Take a brush and paint masking fluid “carefully”all over the image… this will protect the image from color.

Tip: I can’t stress enough on the careful part, because the more careful you are at this step, the happier you will be when you peel the masking off! You do not want to be sloppy and ruin the final piece when you see that the colors have seeped into the image! 

Also don’t forget to use an old brush and leave that brush in water as making fluid tends to dry quickly and could ruin your brush!

Step 3- First pour–

Dampen paper or brush on water all over the paper . Use a spray bottle to help move the ink around throughout the pouring process.

Pour Yellow directly from the container or use a dropper, and pour at a diagonal to get a lovely mix of colors.

Step 4-  Pour the magenta and tilt the board and let the colors mingle and do their own thing.

Tip: Do not touch or fiddle with it!

Step 5- Pour the blue and look at how beautifully it turns into a lovely green! that’s the beauty of this technique..totally unpredictable results!

Let Dry.

Step 6- Masking fluid is used to save your colors, be it the white of the paper or the colors of the different pours. So apply masking wherever you want to save these colors . I wanted some leaves at this point, so I went ahead and painted some using masking fluid.

Let Dry.

The painted leaves, once dry….

Step 7- Second Pour

To build on the  darks,  pour blue again with a bit of magenta. Keep tilting the board and keep spraying water to move and blend the inks.

Let dry.

Tip–Keeping the paper damp will prevent hard edges/lines from forming. Also, keep wiping the edges to prevent a back run.

 Step 8- Final pour

Pour a bit of all three and let these mix well to give a wonderful shade of brown…

….now  that looks like a perfect mess! Wait let dry!

 Step 9- Peel the masking  for the final reveal !

Go over the stamped image with a wet brush to push it further into the background rather than popping off the page.

Step 10- Peel the border tape…… and you have a framed painting!

Don’t these inks just glow?

Remember , your project might vary in color tones and hues depending on the intensity of color, you have started with , the angle at which you tilt the board and the amount of water you spray,but, irrespective of all of this, I can assure you the end result will be stunning! So don’t be afraid to experiment and feel free to ask if you have any queries….just leave  me a comment below!

I surely hope you ‘ll have been inspired to give these inks a try…its truly a  rewarding experience!
Swarup.