I've rediscovered my Inktense blocks and pencils thanks to my friend Jacqueline Holmgren in Sweden. She's the lady I met in Norrkoping whose sister worked for my father in the 1960s. She is an amazing artist, specialising in acrylics and collage, how I wish I could attend some of her classes, they look so exciting when she shares them on Facebook.
However, last weekend she posted her latest videos and I was hooked! I had bought some inktense blocks a few years ago to complement the pencils which I have been using for a while, although the Museum pencils seem to have been top of the pile since I discovered them 3 years ago!
I hope this link will work as I'm sure you'll be as inspired as me when you see what can be done. One of the most important tips was to use gloves as the blocks really are very messy to use. The second video in the set is on the pencils which is also excellent as it shows some good ideas and although on fabric, the method is the same as on paper.
So, having seen all this I got stuck in and look what I've achieved! Some very loose paintings on watercolour paper, larger than I would normally attempt and quite liberating as I worked standing up, splashing water around and getting through lots of kitchen paper. I had to be quite patient as well and take tea breaks to let the paper dry between layers otherwise the pigments turn into mud!
This is the first attempt in my sketchbook before I started on the loose paper. I was copying a photo taken by Luba, my Belarussian friend who's grown up with wild mushrooms so she knows a good one when she sees it!
Here's a sketch I did earlier in the week and as you can see it's still in the rather careful style of before.
I wonder how long I'll be able to hang on to this looseness before reverting to normal?
No comments:
Post a Comment