Note: I decided not to modify the yesterday’s experiment. For now at least, I leave the unmasked traces as they are. I may change my mind if I revisit this study at a later time.

Today’s watercolor experiment:

I enjoyed my experiment with ink yesterday, even though I used it minimally (the red spot surrounded by yellow).  Today, ink takes a more prominent role in the design.

I began by using a flat brush wet with clean water, to make a ‘Y’ shape. The idea in mind was to float ink on the water and allow the different colors to mix. I used red calligrapher’s ink and a waterproof yellow ink from Winsor Newton (sunshine yellow). I added a third water trace and added blue ink to see how the mixing would proceed.

After thorough drying, I applied latex resist. I applied it diagonally across the page. My idea was to create a visual element to complement the ink design. I was also interested in seeing what would happen to the ink underneath the latex.

The final stage of my composition was the background. I wanted a contrast to the saturated colors of the inks, so I used Payne’s gray and Moonglow (a Daniel Smith pigment consisting of viridian (PG18), ultramarine blue (PB29) and anthraquinold red (PR177)). This is a great pigment combination to use on rough-surfaced paper.

I added a second layer of Moonglow and used a round brush to add a Payne’s gray stripe on the left side of the composition. I painted it so it appeared to lie beneath the red ink.

I removed the masking material and, as in yesterday’s experiment, left it blank.

Comment:

I like the way the different colors of ink mix together. The most interesting area of the composition, color-wise, is around the intersection of the arms of ink. However, in comparison to the overall scale of this study, it is not significant. What does strike me about this composition is the layering. The color layer, actually laid down first, appears to float above the other two, the white design hovers at an intermediate level (revealed at the final stage) and the muted background, painted last is at the bottom.