That's Gneiss! #92 ~ Colorful coping
I won’t lie, it’s a little difficult to write today, what with the state of the world. My personal issues at work are one thing. Some things are known, but it’s going to take a while before anything actually happens - which is going to drive me nuts. I’m the sort of person who is ready to MOVE ON once a decision has been made. Even though it wasn’t my decision, since there’s no going back then let’s get on with it already. Then of course, there’s the daily news which gets worse and worse. It’s hard not to feel a bit down these days.
I have found that despite my current mood, there is one thing that’s keeping me going…
ART
Last week I mentioned I was investigating alcohol ink, and this week I dove in head first! After watching a couple of videos and looking at a lot of pictures of other people’s art, I decided I really wanted to give it a try.
I bought some ink and synthetic paper, and yesterday I plowed through the first pack of paper in no time. It is SO MUCH FUN. One doesn’t need to have any artistic skills to make beautiful pieces with AI - just a bit of curiosity and patience. The alcohol base dries quickly, but the ink can be reactivated again and again by adding more alcohol. The results are amazing, and never what you would expect!
For example, one of the pieces I did yesterday started like this:
That’s pretty cool - but don’t get too attached! I used 91% rubbing alcohol to wet the paper before adding the ink, so it kept spreading as I added more colors.
The different colors of ink each behave a bit differently, but for the most part they push into each other and start to blend a little bit. I added more alcohol to keep things going; tipping the paper back and forth to spread the ink around. When I was happy I set it aside to dry…
I bet that was not what you were expecting! Me either, but I sure like it.
Here’s another I really like from Saturday’s session. I also used a straw to blow the ink around after dripping more alcohol on it. The amount of time you let it dry, and the number of times you keep adding alcohol will affect the outcome.
This morning I woke up and just had to dash out and buy more supplies! I’d already ordered an ink set online, but didn’t want to wait until next weekend to play more. I picked up more ink, some special mixing solution, some spritzers, and more paper (of course).
It’s quite amazing the range of colors that come from just a few bottles!
Here’s an example of how forgiving this art form is. The first photo shows a piece where I had messed around with a small bit of felt around the edges - meh. I set it aside and worked on some other things for a while.
I decided to spritz more alcohol onto and see what I could do to make it look better. I spritzed and waited, spritzed and waited, spritzed and waited (actually, I don’t recall how many times I did that). I love the result!
The addition of the spritzer and special blending solution allowed for some very different textures in today’s work.
They look sort of like deep space nebulas, or just really cool creations.
I cannot get enough of this! I’m not sure exactly what I’ll do with them yet. Several of them look like they’ll be good backgrounds for collage, or to draw directly onto with pen. We shall see. I’m looking forward to spending more time and learning to have a little more control with the ink (but never complete control).
Well, here we are at the end of the weekend. I hope you all have a decent week - at work, at play, and with your loved ones. Especially with your loved ones.
Cheers!
Tidbits
Some Washington authors share their favorite fonts
Speaking of fonts, meet Ugly Gerry - made completely from the shapes of gerrymandered congressional districts!
There are even more books in the public domain than you thought! Some can be found in the Hathi Trust Digital Library.
That’s a fancy contraption!
Reading: my reading has really taken a hit with all the time spent on art! I’m plugging away at The Traitor Baru Cormorant, and enjoying it! Slowly. I’ve also spent some time with Pigments of Your Imagination: Creating with Alcohol Inks. There seem to be surprisingly few books on the subject - but there are plenty of videos!
Making: plans for camping (twice!), and a trip to Yakima to see my parents.
Recently eaten: We had lunch at Cafe Zippy again today, and realized that the food could be so much better if they put a bit of effort into it. Friday night to celebrate our anniversary (11 years!) we at at Terracotta Red Bistro. It was yummy as usual. That pear martini! Tasty.
Videos of the Week
Goats are great for clearing out the underbrush - and occasionally they escape! In which case they are great for comedic relief.
And here’s a treat for your ears and eyes. This song is good too!
Question of the Week
If you’d like to answer the weekly question, just hit reply. All answers will be kept anonymous.
What have you run across recently that really amazed you, or that made you laugh out loud?
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Last week I asked about your favorite webcomics.
Current favourite web comic (stupidly amazingly simple):
I’m particularly fond of Tiny Snek right now.
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