Imbrication (noun): Overlapping and forming a regular pattern; an overlapping of edges (as of tiles or scales).
This week I have found myself drawn back into the black and white world of sumi ink and liquid charcoal. I felt like painting, and actually did a lot of it, but the word of color felt like too much.
The first thing I decided to try was working on a small aquaboard I had lying around. After some debate I decided to try liquid charcoal on the surface, which led to experimenting with texture, brushes, and removing paint.
I’m currently a little stuck. Essentially, the horse is looking toward the viewer, but I can’t get it to read that way and still have the texture I want. More experimentation to come.
For no good reason, from there I moved to sumi ink. I used polyester netting to create a pour, then waited for it to dry to see what I got.
I don’t know if it is the media or something else, but this is not behaving the same way it does with watercolor. I’m still liking it, but it may take more layers before I know what it’ll be.
Next I decided to get out my gelli pad and work on a painting I’d been thinking about for a while.
I drew out the cormorants, then used the gelli pad to create the sea wall texture. Finally, I painted the sky and figures. There are a couple of small fixes, but I’m pretty happy.
After this, I was inspired to try using the ink on a recent assemblage. It’s definitely not finished, though I’m not sure what the next step is.
With the sumi ink sitting out, I was lured into a few more paintings. The (unfinished) owl on the left is a redraw of a piece I did last week.
The swan painting is sumi ink with a metallic paint for the moon. It may need a few tweaks for calling it finished.
Finally, I worked on drawing and starting “Contraposto Quiet”. This will be a many-stepped project.
In addition to painting, I did a lot of yardwork this week, though those projects are really only interesting to me. Today is full-on rain, so no gardening.
I hope you have all marked your calendars for the studio tour next month! Hope to see you then!
