Beds of dried, caked and cracked mud are fascinating. Footprints in them are even better, or the mysterious sliding rocks found in Death Valley. I looked at a lot of pictures of mud flats, and one thing I noticed were curves and angles as well as the way light bounces off their slightly uneven surfaces.
Here I used ink and water, specifically Private Reserve’s Copper Burst. I have never considered using fountain pen ink as a painting medium, but it’s opened up my eye to its potential.
Every artist practices. Pianists do scales. Painters paint. I, on the other hand, have never been fond of practicing anything because I always want to do. However, I am finding myself rather stumped at the moment, and have decided I do need to practice. I need to practice brush strokes and colors. I realized this after I lay down this wash for the mesa and lower portions of the painting, which for now are at a standstill.
Looking at everything, I am thinking about two things. What colors should I use? What brush should I use?
Colors don’t require a brush choice, so I have dabbled with reds for the mesa, as you can see below. There are combinations of Burnt Sienna, Quin Gold, Yellow Ochre, Raw Umber, Organic Vermilion, and Pyrrol Orange. Doing these early in the morning, I didn’t label them. That’s okay, because I know the colors I used, and I will check them out during daylight.
Next, I need to decide on a brush. I am inclined to go with a flat, so I can draw straight across to show the sedimentary layers of rock. Those I will get to sometime tomorrow and then choose colors and – yes! – practice making some strokes and mixing the colors strong enough to make some good contrasts, too.
This is a beautiful little suzuri, ideal for calligraphers. It measures 4.75 x 2.75 inches (12 x 7 cm), originates from Japan, and is made of natural stone. The size makes it perfect for taking with you. Western calligraphers who like to use sumi with dip pens find the deep well at the end a perfect reservoir for ink. Brush calligraphers also find it useful as the brush tip can be dipped straight in. Because of its small size, obviously this is not going to work for someone who needs a lot of ink, but for someone who is writing with a pen or fine brush, this is a superb little stone.
For the sumi artist, a deep well is equally useful. The flat surface can be laid with water, the tip dipped in the well for dark ink followed by a small amount of water, held tip up, and the two will combine in a lovely gradation of ink.
Combined with a professional grade sumi stick, this little stone produces rich, dense ink with little effort.
Ink, Yarn & Beer 