Exploding Colors

My art work over the last few days has gone in two very different directions. With my oil-painting project on index cards, I’m having to work in a very controlled fashion with tiny little brushes. It’s about learning to see and then create detail in my painting.

At the same time, I’m exploring fluid art projects, too. It’s a good counter-balance. Instead of being tight and controlled, fluid art — such as acrylic pouring and alcohol inks — allow me to just let go of any and all pre-conceived notions about what I’m creating and quite literally go with the flow.

I liked the possibilities I saw in my recent “Pink Poppy” alcohol ink painting, so I happily followed along with another project from Alcohol Ink Art: How to Create Stunning Colorful Artwork and Projects with Alcohol Ink. This one was titled “Explosion of Colors” and it really consists of nothing more than putting inks on the paper and playing with them in one way or another.

That’s exactly what I did here.

I dropped different colors onto the paper. I spritzed with alcohol. I used a brush dipped in alcohol to move the ink around a bit. I picked up the paper, tilted it, scraped places with a palette knife, and tried to think of what other things I might do or use to manipulate the ink.

In the end, it’s not an especially pretty piece of art, but as with my Pink Poppies, I see possibilities here. Alcohol ink is colorful. Creating with alcohol ink is fun and exciting. And right now, it’s been an excellent way for me to unwind and enjoy the artistic freedom it brings. While I don’t plan to do a lot with these inks, I will be playing with them from time to time.

Do you play with alcohol inks too?