In an alcohol ink mood....

As you know, I am in Karen Walker's alcohol ink landscape class. Watching the video's and the instructions gets my creativity flowing.

The first 5" x 7"' paintings I did as excercise for the course, the cityscape is a 'happy accident'. I was flowing the ink for a Tuscan landscape, but the blue pushed the other colors away. Leaving a very dark strip of color on the paper. I tried to move it around with a coffee stirrer, and made this marks. I thought it looked like a landscape, and when I turned the painting around, I love it even more. I am going to leave it as it is. The next painting is a Tuscan landscape with a magical tree. Flowed background with minor details and a detailed tree in the front.

And I also painted some anemones. I have ordered some more ink (Ranger has some lovely new colors) and I ordered a larger (A3) size YUPO paper. I have one excercise from last week (a waterfall) and one from this week I want to paint on large format. To be continued...

More landscapes in alcohol inks

As week 2 of my Landscape in alcohol inks course progresses I was going thru my pile of pictures. I love taking pictures but I not use them very often in my work. But this is going to change! Even though the picture is not exactly what you are looking for, you can paint whatever you like. As I am showing here below, the reference image is taken by me in Pacific Grove in California last year. The tree is dark and dooming, but I turned it into a lovely Spring tree, making the painting more colorful. You should try it yourself! Get you imagination going and use only the things you like from your pictures.

Alcohol ink course

This month I am taking Karen Walker's landscape class in alcohol inks. She has some marvelous classes with lots of video's, encouragement and inspiration! If you are interested in following one of her classes please  click here.

This week the focus is on Forest and Water and so far I have finished one painting. This one is from the Tropical Waterfall exercise, using an image shared by Robyn Lovelock on PaintMyPhoto http://paintmyphoto.ning.com/photo/waterfall-8.

I am now moving on to the next exercise on reflections. I have printed an image I took from a very Dutch landscape about a year ago, when I was on a painting holiday in National Park De Wieden in the Netherlands. I am very curious how it turns out in alcohol inks. To be continued....

Landscapes in alcohol ink

This week I have been working with alcohol inks again. I just love this medium. It has mind of its own and is hard to control. Just like me ;-). I created a few abstract landscapes with the inks, with no brush in sight. Just letting the inks flow on the Yupo paper and find their own way. I work on A4 size Yupo paper (8 1/4" 11 3/4")

I also have been busy for the local art show that will start in 3 weeks time. I bought new frames and I will need to frame everything I want to show. Not an easy task, did you ever see the difference between a white and black frame on an art work? It could make it or break it. The 2 pastel paintings need a black frame, I will start with those. The paintings I will take with me to the art show will stay for sale in my Etsy shop til the show. If you are interested in buying one, now is the time!

Painting in the Paint-a-thon on atcsforall

This weekend there is a Paint a thon on www.atcsforall.com and I am painting ATC's. From penguins to San Francisco to trees.

Another waterlily in alcohol inks

I must be in my waterlily period ;-). I have painted a few waterlilies in watercolors and this is the second one in alcohol inks. The format of the painting is A4 ( 21 x 29 cms / 8 1/4" x 11 1/2"). The painting is for sale in my Etsy shop.

Watercolor paintings in my journal

I have been painting all weekend! In between sitting outside in the warm sunshine I have painted 2 watercolors in my Moleskin watercolor journal 11 1/2" x 8 1/2". The painting with the swans is for the challenge in of of the forums on WetCanvas and the water lily is for me ;-). I am also painting the swans in alcohol inks. The reference of the water lily was a picture I took of the water lilies in the pond in Mission San Juan Capristrano in California last May.

Making ATC's today

I have been making several kinds of ATC's (artist trading cards) today. I sold some in my Etsy shop and decided to make a peacock series for the shop.

And then I played with alcohol inks and made some ATC's for the Art-a-thon on www.atcsforall.com. A few abstract landscapes in alcohol ink.

And a few with pen and watercolors. The flamingo is one of them.

ACEO's / ATC's in alcohol ink

Gosh... I love alcohol ink! It is so much fun to work with the inks. You cannot control it, it flows where-ever it wants to go and some colors behave differently then others. I made some landscape ACEO's with the alcohol inks on glossy cardstock. The ink behaves differently on the cardstock in comparison with Yupo paper, which is a plastic kind of paper. It doesn't flow so freely, but I like the effect.

I enrolled myself on a 3-week online training with Karen Walker, to learn more techniques on how to work with alcohol ink. It will start in a few weeks time and I am really looking forward to it. In the meantime I need to find a Dutch or European supplier of the inks and paper. The ink comes only in small bottles and the ones we brought from the US are being used often ;-).