Nick Stewart Inspired Ink Washes

[mizgeorge]

Here are a couple more

 

Pure Pens Windermere - I thought this was a monotone, but there are some subtle greys and cyans in this very blue-black ink:

 

and Kyo no oto Kyo iro Soft Snow of Ohara - which is also subtle, but I think the colours are lovely:

 

[axialix]

Excellent @mizgeorge. I love both of those colors. Wish it was economical to get that Windermere here in the states. It's a very nice shade of blue.

[axialix]

Aurora Black:

 

Diamine Earl Grey:

 

Colorverse Black Hole:

 

Sailor Blue Black:

 

Colorverse Proxima B: simple wash just to show complexity of the ink

 

Alien-esque?

 

Colorverse Supernova:

[askwyatt]

This is gorgeous stuff. I love it and will have to check into seeing if I can do any of this kind of fun. 

[squirrels]

Wow! your drawings just keep getting better @axialix, good stuff! I made a couple of attempts at this technique, more just to see the qualities of the ink than anything else. A few standouts:

 

Vinta Sirena:

 

Pennonia Zuzmó:

 

Vinta Leyte:

 

Robert Oster Bronze:

 

J. Herbin Lie de Thé:

 

Noodler's Walnut (unfortunately the black component seems to hate water, but otherwise it's quite nice):

 

Diamine Amazing Amethyst:

 

Vinta Bodabil (not too chromatically varied, but the sheen definitely works nicely):

[yazeh]

@axialixexquisite, especially the Aurora black...

@squirrelsthe oster bronze reminded me of Le Petit Prince. The walnut is really nice, too. I was going to do a pun about acorns and pecans... but I better refrain

 

[axialix]

Those are some great inks @squirrels! I'm really surprised at the Noodlers Walnut; intense oranges going on in that chroma. The Diamine Amethyst is lovely as well.

[mizgeorge]

@axialixLoving the mountains - Supernova is wonderful!

 

@squirrels Those are great - I particularly like the ginkgo leaf effect on the Vinta Leyte and the Amazing Amethyst.

 

I'll add one more today too - this is Laban Hera, normally a pretty dark, slightly blue leaning green.

 

[squirrels]

14 hours ago, yazeh said:

@squirrelsthe oster bronze reminded me of Le Petit Prince.

As in Montblanc Le Petit Prince? That's quite interesting. They are pretty different looking in actual use, but there certainly is a strong pink undertone in the Bronze.

3 hours ago, axialix said:

Those are some great inks @squirrels! I'm really surprised at the Noodlers Walnut; intense oranges going on in that chroma. The Diamine Amethyst is lovely as well.

Noodler's Walnut is definitely a more complex ink than you might think just looking at it, though it's not uncommon for browns to be that way. Using this technique (applying the ink to an already wetted area) gets that weird Noodler's Black crusty separation thing to it, but when I was using it with a waterbrush (as in my avatar) it wasn't nearly so crusty, though I did notice that the black  component would pretty rapidly fix itself to the paper, so it can be tricky to spread it out over a larger area. Need to make sure you are not putting down much ink at once if you want an even coating of color.

 

7 minutes ago, mizgeorge said:

Those are great - I particularly like the ginkgo leaf effect on the Vinta Leyte and the Amazing Amethyst.

Thanks! It is a pretty cool pattern.

7 minutes ago, mizgeorge said:

I'll add one more today too - this is Laban Hera

Very pretty! I like the little fence and road

[Audrey T]

15 hours ago, squirrels said:

Noodler's Walnut

I love this one and also the Vinta Bobadil -- and the rest are very cool, as well. Beautiful.

[axialix]

That one is magical @mizgeorge! Nicely done.

 

2 hours ago, squirrels said:

..Using this technique (applying the ink to an already wetted area) gets that weird Noodler's Black crusty separation thing to it..

I noticed that too using Noodlers Black Eel. I thought it was because of the added lubricant but apparently it's because both are water-resistant. That's according this chart from Goulet Pens comparing all of the Noodler's Inks: https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/2603/2528/files/noodlers-ink-properties.pdf

 

@yazeh recommended using Koh-l-noor inks as they are water-resistant as well. I had pretty good results using other w/r inks like Sailor Seiboku/Souboku, but not so good with others like Platinum Carbon Black. It's puzzling. Working quickly before they start drying out is key, however there seems to be more going on with the crusty goo than just water resistance.

 

I'd like to talk a minute about photography. Starting this thread I used indoor CFL lighting in all the shots. But now I much prefer and get way better results (especially for sheen) using full direct sunlight. The brighter the better. I know that's considered a photography no no, but that sunlight carries so many more wavelengths of light than any indoor bulb ever made. And I want every photon possible reflected off my paper and back into my lens. Perhaps this is wrong? I don't know enough about photography to answer that question yet. I'm hoping someone here will suggest something different, or maybe advise a new technique I haven't tried. I'm here to learn and welcome suggestions. Thank you to all who have contributed to this thread. Keep em coming!

[squirrels]

2 hours ago, axialix said:

I'd like to talk a minute about photography. Starting this thread I used indoor CFL lighting in all the shots. But now I much prefer and get way better results (especially for sheen) using full direct sunlight. The brighter the better. I know that's considered a photography no no, but that sunlight carries so many more wavelengths of light than any indoor bulb ever made. And I want every photon possible reflected off my paper and back into my lens. Perhaps this is wrong? I don't know enough about photography to answer that question yet. I'm hoping someone here will suggest something different, or maybe advise a new technique I haven't tried. I'm here to learn and welcome suggestions.

I am also no expert on photography, but have also found that natural light is the best for photographing art. It's possible that diffused sunlight (e.g. clouds) is better than full sunlight though. The only observation I can make on that point is that full sunlight tends to give me a much warmer color temperature than artificial light, and I think also than diffused sunlight.

 

I decided to branch out a bit, and blatantly copy some ideas that I liked from other people in this thread 😅

 

Rohrer & Klingner Alt-Goldgrün

 

R.O. Bronze, again

 

J. Herbin Lie de Thé, again

 

J. Herbin Vert Empire

 

Aurora Black

 

Noodler's Habanero

 

Pennonia Zuzmó (again)

 

Noodler's Zhivago

[axialix]

3 hours ago, squirrels said:

...The only observation I can make on that point is that full sunlight tends to give me a much warmer color temperature than artificial light, and I think also than diffused sunlight.

This is very true, especially with late afternoon or early morning sun. It shifts the color temperature to much redder hues. If I do have to take shots during these hours, I make sure to adjust the temperature in Photoshop. I believe the free photo editor GIMP also has this functionality.

 

Here is a color temp chart for anyone interested, or if someone is preparing to buy bulbs for their home, it is helpful to know.

Image courtesy of Inline Electric Supply.

 

Those are great washes @squirrels. You are getting better as well.

[PithyProlix]

39 minutes ago, axialix said:

Here is a color temp chart for anyone interested, or if someone is preparing to buy bulbs for their home, it is helpful to know.

 

I was researching desk lamps a while back and many of what I would call 'mid-range' combine multiple small LEDs at two color temperatures. The one I bought, while fine for reading & writing use, is not bright enough for good ink photography. But I got the thought of buying 3-4 (or more) bright LED bulbs, each at a different color temperature. I am not sure but I suspect this would be more economical and, perhaps, near as effective as the bright wide-color-temperature bulbs dedicated for photography use but I haven't tried it yet so I really don't know. Just throwing out the idea and also wondering if anyone else has tried this. 

 

Indirect sunlight works OK but I still feel I have to use photo editing software to manipulate the image more than I am comfortable with. 

 

[axialix]

38 minutes ago, PithyProlix said:

 

I was researching desk lamps a while back and many of what I would call 'mid-range' combine multiple small LEDS at two color temperatures. The one I bought, while fine for reading & writing use, is not bright enough for good ink photography. But I got the thought of buying 3-4 (or more) bright LED bulbs, each at a different color temperature. I am not sure but I suspect this would be more economical and, perhaps, near as effective as the bright wide-color-temperature bulbs dedicated for photography use but I haven't tried it yet so I really don't know. Just throwing out the idea and also wondering if anyone else has tried this. 

 

Indirect sunlight works OK but I still feel I have to use photo editing software to manipulate the image more than I am comfortable with. 

 

 

@PithyProlix Thank you for the suggestion. I'm currently using two Barrina overhead linear lights directly over my desk. They are 4 feet long and put out 3500 lumens each. They are also color adjustable from 3000K to 6000K. Total overkill. The perfect light setup for artwork photography. I thought. Me = big dummy.

 

 

They are LED, and as I just found out a couple months ago, they produce horrible light banding in my photos due to the fact that they flicker (switch on and off) at 60 hertz (in the US, 50 across the pond). This flicker isn't noticeable to the human eye it's so fast, but it sure shows up with my iPhone camera. I just pulled this image off a Google search, but it shows the problem:

 

If you can take a slo-mo video with your phone, try holding it under an LED light and shooting the video. You'll see the banding/flickering. The solution I've read is to set the shutter speed to 60 or 120Hz to match the electric current. But that ends up doing crazy things to the ISO and it just doesn't look right. Maybe on a high end DSLR camera this is possible and it works, I dunno, can't afford one.

 

Here's a video describing this phenomenon and the solution (for video): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=srQlxkdpLAs

 

So I'm back looking at spending bookoo bucks for some pro indoor lights which a) is definitely not in my budget, and b) I can't really justify the need except to post photos here. It's not like I do serious product photography for a living or something. Although it would be nice!

[InesF]

12 hours ago, axialix said:

And I want every photon possible reflected off my paper and back into my lens.

+1 👍

 

I enjoy all the washes and drawings of all the contributors in this thread. All these colourful washes and drawings brighten up the gloomy winter days in such a pleasant and stimulating way. Thank you!

[axialix]

1 hour ago, InesF said:

...All these colourful washes and drawings brighten up the gloomy winter days in such a pleasant and stimulating way...

 

For me too. We're staring down the barrel of an ice storm here. The trees are already covered in it. The crystalline entity comes to mind. Just hoping the electricity holds out and we don't lose power.

Image from: https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Crystalline_Entity

[squirrels]

11 hours ago, axialix said:

Those are great washes

Thanks!

It would seem as if you and @PithyProlix have gone a bit more in depth on this than I have (which is very interesting to read about). For my part I usually try to photograph with natural light when I have the option. I'll have to try color correcting in GIMP next time I end up with a clearly warmer image than intended, that's a great idea!

 

Curious what people think about scans in comparison to photography. There are two scanners at my work, and one of them seems to almost always give me a more faithful image than photography. I'm also a sucker for the extremely even lighting that you get from a scanner. I imagine it's possible to get an equivalent or better image with really good photography (and a wide-ranging light source), though.

[PithyProlix]

8 hours ago, squirrels said:

It would seem as if you and @PithyProlix have gone a bit more in depth on this than I have

 

Not at all, wrt me. I have just thought about it a little and have not actually done anything. 

 

8 hours ago, squirrels said:

Curious what people think about scans in comparison to photography.

 

To me, scans look unnatural and far from what the eye sees when it is looking directly at the ink and paper. That said, I think a scan is fine in itself as long as one doesn't consider it an approximation of what the eye sees directly. 

 

Scanners don't work anything like an eye does. Eyes don't project their own light into a very controlled environment, for instance. A scanner has an array of light sensors and they are spread over a relatively large area. An eye has a lens and its sensors are grouped in a much smaller area.

 

A camera is much more like an eye than a scanner is. 

[squirrels]

2 hours ago, PithyProlix said:

A camera is much more like an eye than a scanner is. 

This makes a lot of sense

 

I got some textured watercolor paper from my mom and thought it would be interest to do some more of these with it

 

Diamine Evergreen:

 

Vinta Armada:

Vinta Fortaleza:

 

Noodler's Chekhov: