The Ink Adventure

With Inktober rapidly approaching, and with my Cheeky Monkey Mind begging to do something with alcohol inks, I figured it was time to get them out and give them a try. I’ll cut right to the chase here: Playing with alcohol ink is really a lot of fun.

Of course, my initial efforts didn’t produce any gorgeous works of art. Today’s adventure was merely a way of getting acquainted with the basic properties of alcohol ink. I have lots to learn, and I’ll probably be sharing more information as I try new things.

First, I gathered up my supplies.

Next, I cut a sheet of Yupo paper in half.

Now it was time for a little fun. I was excited to open my “starter set” of alcohol inks, and I was even more excited to see information on various ways to use the inks.

The real excitement began when, drop by drop, I saw the beautiful, vibrant colors of these inks on my Yupo paper.

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Playing with Alcohol Inks

The inks did not spread as fast or as far as I’d expected. I used no alcohol or blending solution here. I started with orange, added red, yellow, blue, green, violet, plus drops of white, black, and gold.

Here’s a closer look at the page:

Sorry for the poor photographs.

At this point, of course I got curious, wondering what would happen if I tried different things. So, I grabbed a little alcohol straight from the bottle and poured it on. Oops! Too much, too wet, and sure enough I started getting lots of muddy colors as I attempted to swirl it all around.

Not to be deterred, however, I shrugged, carried the paper to my big studio sink, and ran it under the water. Here’s the effect it created:

No longer the bright, bold colors, but interesting all the same. I can easily imagine using something like this in my art journal.

While this little experiment was drying, I used the second half of my Yupo paper to create this little floral design:

This was done by first brushing alcohol over the entire page. Again, I was surprised that the ink didn’t flow as freely as I’d expected. I left my initial drops of ink in the center, made more drops around the page, and then used a Q-tip to move the ink around, playing with it a bit to see how much “drawing” I might be able to do. Oh, I also used my “ink blending tool” although it didn’t do a lot.

At this point, I have yet to figure out what the “alcohol blending solution” is used for or exactly how to use the blending tool. I’m planning to watch a few videos, try a few new things, and learn a bit more about these colorful inks.

I do like the colors, and I’m very pleased with the set I purchased. All primaries, secondaries, black, white, and a gold metallic. That’s more than enough to make a good start.

Yes, I think I will be using these during Inktober. I’m not sure exactly how I’ll be using them, but I’m looking forward to learning more about alcohol inks.

NOTE: You’ll find links to the products I purchased here.

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