BLEACH WASH AND MARK MAKING
DRAWING
This is a very striking way of working, in that
it brings such a luminous effect to the
drawing. Drawings using this medium rely
strongly on the effects of light.
For this exercise you will need a selection
of brushes that you think are appropriate to
the marks you need to make. You will also
need to stretch some paper because in the
first example we are going to cover the
surface of the paper with ink. Indian ink will
not do for this work as when it dries it
becomes waterproof and therefore
permanent. I use a product called Quink,
which is soluble in water and does not dry
permanent. When bleach is applied it affects
the ink by bleaching out the colour and
leaving a bright stain that gives the dynamic
effect of light against the dark of the ink. This
approach to working is the opposite of what
we would normally be doing - in effect we are
adding the light rather than adding the
darker tones.
To start, cover the paper with ink. For the
first trials let it dry. Then take the bleach and
dip one of your brushes in it. Make some test
marks, the test marks in my example rather
look like Chinese calligraphy. You can
practice as much as you want before you do
a drawing. Get to know the potential of the
process. However be aware of the health and
safety aspects of using such materials as
bleach and follow the directions that have
been put on the product to protect yourself.
In the first drawing of the portrait I set
the sitter up so there was a strong light
coming from one side. This gave me a strong
contrasting tonal subject. I then dipped the
brush into the bleach and started to draw in
the strongest areas of light, and like magic
the light and luminosity appeared. When you
first do this drawing the effect is quite
startling, it’s like doing a drawing in reverse.
My next step was to put in the tones that
were of the middle range. To do this one
dilutes the bleach with water to take away its
strength. Practise before putting down the
next tone on a piece of prepared practice
paper so you have the right strength of mix
to give the right tone. The two landscapes
are done through the power of suggestion -
a process I have mentioned before with the
images you see in cloud formations. The
same process is applied from the beginning,
and that is to lay down the wash of ink in the
first instance. However, before letting it dry,
paint wet into wet with different strengths of
bleach. As a suggestion do this in the area at
the top of your paper to suggest the sky. At
the bottom part of the drawing I have
allowed the ink to dry to work into it in a
different way giving a contrasting mark in the
drawing. Other techniques I have used to
make marks in this drawing have been
splattering the bleach on to the paper with a
toothbrush, drawing lines with a dip pen
with the bleach, and laying diluted areas of
bleach down to vary the tonal aspect of the
drawing. As I explained earlier, this drawing
has been done from autosuggestion rather
than observation. However, there is nothing
to stop you from doing a drawing in this
medium from observation.198
Part Three – PENS, INK, BRUSHES and PAPER