Old and New – Ink/Watercolour in a Watercolour Moleskine
This is a view of Newhaven Harbour on a cold February day. The sky suggests another storm approaching from the north above the Fife coast but all seems calm inside the sheltered area. The old fishing trawler, designated L.H.178, was built in the early 1020′s and this link gives some information about her.
http://www.trawlerphotos.co.uk/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=65049
Like most European boats, the method of registration gives some idea of their origin. In this case, LH means her home port is Leith which is just a mile or so to the east. Although the first and last letters are normally used this is not always the case – sometime three letters are needed when ports have similar spellings. The number is the position, in that port’s overall amount of vessels. I have another photograph, of this harbour, with a similar fishing trawler moored in roughly the same spot. Her registration is L.H. 175 but the photo was taken a few years earlier which suggests that the boats lasted a long time – if they survived the seas. The inflatable, moored next to the trawler, shows how designs have changed – the first “old and new” in this scene. The second are the pair of lighthouses on the pier. The older light, which was built in 1869 is next to the buildings on the right while its more “modern” replacement is at the end of the pier next to the harbour entrance. Both are registered as “historic buildings” and are well-known local landmarks although only the larger one functions these days.
Nuria 5:36 pm on February 20, 2010 | #
(English):
Wonderful Bob!.
Please, I can say what colors you used to paint the sky?. The result I like it much!.
—o—
(Español):
¡Maravilloso Bob!.
Por favor, ¿Me puedes decir que colores has usado para pintar el cielo?. ¡El resultado me encanta!.
Nikira 10:32 pm on February 20, 2010 | #
Wonderful work, superb sky.
trebor61 3:02 am on February 21, 2010 | #
Hola Nuria
Gracias por tu comentario y el interés en el cielo en este cuadro.
Estas nubes son pintados con tinta. Utilice un tipo de tinta que significaba para estilográficas. Esta tinta se separan en la base de su “” colores diluidos con agua. Buena calidad de los artistas de tinta no lo hace. Empiezo por dilución de la tinta en un recipiente pequeño. (Tendrá que experimentar para conseguir la consistencia correcta, pero comenzar con un más débil en lugar de mezcla más fuerte. Usted puede ir siempre sobre el área en que el primer lote se ha secado). Asimismo, se orinan en la página, con agua, para detener la tinta remojo en un área con demasiada rapidez. Aplicar con un pincel y hacerlo rápidamente. Si deja un charco de tinta de la sesión en la superficie que formará bordes duros. Como de aplicar el barrido de tinta rápidamente sobre las partes que usted desea cubrir. Si es necesario, caída en más para oscurecer algunas zonas. Usted encontrará que los diferenciales de tinta y fragmentos, pero no tanto como, digamos, una pintura de acuarela que granulados. Si usted encuentra que hay un residuo de líquido claro, acuoso en la superficie podrá tomar parte de esta con el borde de un tejido. No se preocupe por molestar a su pintura. La tinta ya se establecerá en el lugar. Como se seca debería ver los diferentes colores que aparecen.
Te recomiendo que practicar con este primer lugar, en el papel de desecho, antes de intentar esto en un cuadro. Parece que funciona mejor con tinta negro y siempre utilizar papel de acuarela que ha pegado a los bordes de la parte de atrás del cuaderno para tratar de evitar la página “cockling” o “pandeo”. ¿Por qué no intentarlo y vamos a ver lo que puede llegar a? Buena suerte.
Hi Nuria
Thanks for your comment and interest in the sky in this painting.
These clouds are just painted with ink. Use a type of ink meant for fountain pens. This ink will separate into its “base” colours if diluted with water. Good quality artists ink doesn’t do this. I start by diluting the ink in a small container. (You will have to experiment to get the correct consistency but start with a weaker rather than stronger mix. You can always go over the area when the first lot has dried). I also wet the page, with water, to stop the ink soaking into one area too quickly. Apply with a brush and do this quickly. If you leave a puddle of ink sitting on the surface it will form hard edges. As you apply the ink sweep it quickly over the parts you wish to cover. If necessary, drop in more to darken certain areas. You will find that the ink spreads and fragments but not as much as, say, a watercolour paint which granulates. If you find that there is a residue of thin, watery liquid on the surface you can soak some of this up with the edge of a tissue. Don’t worry about disturbing your painting. The ink will already be set in place. As it dries you should see the different colours appearing.
I recommend you practise with this first, on scrap paper, before attempting this on a painting. It seems to work best with black ink and I always use watercolour paper which has the edges taped to the back of the sketchbook to try to avoid the page “cockling” or “buckling”. Why don’t you try it and let us see what you can come up with? Good luck.
trebor61 3:03 am on February 21, 2010 | #
Nikira – Thank you so much for your comments which are very much appreciated
Nuria 6:02 am on February 21, 2010 | #
Bob, Thanks very much!!!!!!!.
Nikira 8:39 am on February 21, 2010 | #
Bob, what tape you are using, that does not hurt the paper? Masking delicate? I use some on the wall and dab it against my clothes to get some lint on it so it would be very gentle. But it half inch or wider.
trebor61 11:11 am on February 21, 2010 | #
Nikira – I have tried different types of masking tape. Low tack (delicate?) is the best but the water tends to lift it. I now use ordinary stuff and take care when removing it after the painting is finished. I use 2″ wide tape when using an A4 sketchbook as this link might show:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/28475994@N00/4011151379/?addedcomment=1#comment72157623355576909
but find that 1″ wide stuff is OK when working with the smaller sizes. Since I tend to use lots of water I now apply tape as a matter of course to every painting. When I remove the tape I pull it outwards, towards the edge of the page. That way any damage caused by the tape sticking too much is confined to the “masked edge”