April
TIPS • ADVICE • IDEAS
sketchbookTop tip
Consider alcohol inks.
They produce beautiful
organic patterns on
glossy or non-porous
surfaces
Ink is a lively, vivacious medium yet it can be
intimidating, as there are so many different
types and brands on the market. Here are a
few of my favourites:ACRYLIC INK
Made by suspending very fi nely ground pigments
in a fl uid acrylic binder, acrylic ink can be diluted
with water yet becomes water-resistant once dry.
They work well when you are producing artwork in
layers and you need each layer to remain intact
and avoid bleeding.
These inks generally have good lightfastness,
although they don’t have the translucence and
luminosity offered by dye-based inks.LIQUID WATERCOLOUR INK
These dye-based inks share many characteristics
with watercolour. They are generally not
waterproof once dry so can be useful if you
might want to re-work further later. They lack
lightfastness so colours will fade over time unless
they are fi xed with a UV protection spray.
The colour ranges are vast, however, and
the ink dries to produce a brilliant, almost
luminous fi nish, so they can be useful for
illustration work. Ecoline Liquid Watercolour
ink is a favoured brand.METALLIC INK
Metallic inks are comprised of super-fi ne metallic
pigments, usually suspended in a shellac or
acrylic binder. When mixed with either of these
two binders, the ink becomes waterproof.
Check the manufacturer’s instructions before
using with pens as some brands have larger
particles which may cause a blockage.
If you want some shimmer with your colour,
Daler-Rowney’s FW range has an extensive
choice of pearlescent and shimmering inks.
http://www.bridgetdaviesart.co.ukMAKE A SPLASH!
BRIDGET DAVIES introduces
three of her favourite artistic inks