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  • #989871
    llawrence
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        I’m conducting a bit of an experiment into Flemish technique here. I’ve read that the Flemish Primitives often began an oil painting with an ink drawing on gessoed panel, sometimes followed by egg tempera before oil glazes.

        This is my first attempt, working mostly with brushes. The ink is a homemade natural walnut ink, which Renaissance artists may have had available; if not, it is very similar to a buckthorn ink which they certainly would have had.

        It’s nice using these materials, because the ink is easily erasable back to white with a moistened brush. However, I had a hard time getting a flat wash of any kind. I plan to try this at least a couple of more times, once being really loose with the ink and using only bristle brushes, and once using a quill pen and building with hatching. I’m hoping one or both of these approaches will help sidestep this issue.

        I haven’t decided yet whether I’ll go to egg tempera at this point, or jump right into oils. Either way, I’ll only post the ink stages here out of respect for the forum, but I’ll post a link to wherever the finished paintings end up, probably in Classical Art.

        Thanks to jocelynsart for the photo reference in RIL. Feedback and suggestions appreciated – thanks for looking!

        #1167232
        Blah
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            Superb! :clap:
            Thank you for sharing this drawing and the technical information. I very much look forward to seeing your ink stages and your finished work.

            #1167233
            valchina612
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                This is absolutely beautiful, and a very interesting description of how you use the ink etc. I look very forward to seeing more. :clap: :clap:

                Val. :wave:

                #1167236
                llawrence
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                    Thank you for the kind words, Blah and Val! I’ll post the next one when complete.

                    #1167235
                    lalflen
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                        This is a lovely ink painting. Am anxious to see the next step in oil. I am very interested in this technique. Thank you for sharing

                        Happy Painting
                        Linda

                        http://lalflen.wordpress.com/
                        #1167237
                        llawrence
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                            Thank you Linda!

                            I went ahead and put an oil imprimatura over the ink. I was a bit concerned about it scrubbing up or blurring the ink, but with a soft brush the oil went over just fine – the ink didn’t budge, or even discolor the brush at all. I’m going to let it dry and then paint in oil on top, trying to leave as much of the ink drawing visible as possible.

                            #1167241
                            dkk
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                                Lovely work……..very soft and elegant. Love the lighting. Are you going to keep copies of each stage? This work stands on it’s own as it is, even though you are taking it to the next level.

                                #1167238
                                llawrence
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                                    Thank you ddk – in this case I went ahead and did the oil painting today, and it worked out great, but I’m not keeping copies of anything. Just the photo I took earlier.

                                    I’m investigating this technique mainly for use in illustration; so for the next one I want to try something more complex and see how it works out. So far it’s a big success – turns out oil painting over an ink drawing is easy!

                                    #1167234
                                    Bluegill
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                                        Looking great! I’m interested in trying that, too. You said you used an oil imprimatura directly over the ink; was that with thinned-down earth tones? Did you feel like you had to be sort of gentle in applying it so as not to disturb the ink beneath?

                                        On Instagram and Facebook as Marktablerart
                                        http://marktablerart.blogspot.com/
                                        http://www.marktablerart.com/

                                        #1167239
                                        llawrence
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                                            Thanks Mark! The imprimatura was just oil, no pigment. I was worried about being gentle, but the ink did fine. I guess if I’d scrubbed some might have come up, but the ink seemed to want to stay put. Happy with the technique so far.

                                            #1167240
                                            llawrence
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                                                Here is the second ink drawing. I used a lot more hatching in this one, thinking of the hatching in egg tempera paintings. Not sure if that’s what I’m looking for or not. Maybe.

                                                The full painting process of the first is posted here in the Classical Art forum, and I’ll post the others there as they’re completed as well. Also posted a more detailed explanation of the process on my art materials blog.

                                                Oh – reference for this one is a photo by Steve McCurry. Feedback welcome and thanks for looking!

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