Techniques Group 1
These techniques introduce working with various papers and liquid colors.
1. Mirror Imagery
Select a piece of light-colored paper with either a glossy or a matt finish; each one produces different results. Fold the paper in half and put a few drops of ink or paint inside along the fold line. Fold the paper again, and press it in different directions to move the ink inside the fold. Try folding the paper again at another angle to change the symmetry of your mirror-image design.
2. Moving Ink Drops
Drops of ink (or watercolor or diluted paint) move around the surface of paper just by tipping the paper in any direction to create your design. The kind of paper and the amount of liquid color you use will create different effects. Try using a blow dryer to make the ink drops appear to be running across the paper.
3. Torn Paper
Choose coated papers with long fibers and tear them into different shapes. Immerse the torn papers in ink or paint of various colors. The edges absorb the most color and will be darker than the surface. Allow the papers to dry and make a collage by gluing them to a cardboard base. You may want to iron the dried papers to make a smooth surface before pasting them together.
4. Paper Stamps
Choose papers of varying thicknesses and textures. Fold them into paper strips. Roll strips of the same width in different ways, as illustrated. You can combine two or more paper stamps of the same length to make a larger stamp. Dip the stamp in ink and press on to paper to make patterns.
5. Wrinkled Paper
Take a piece of paper with a glossy finish and crush it to create a wrinkled surface. Paint or draw over the wrinkles with different inks. The wrinkles in the paper will absorb more ink and will be darker.
6. Paper and Glass
Drop some ink on a glass surface and lay a piece of paper over the ink. Press the paper in different places to move the ink around. Different kinds of papers will produce different results. The result also depends on how you remove the paper from the glass. This technique produces beautiful colored paper.
7. Finger Painting
Every tool used in painting and drawing has its own effect. Fingers are the original painting tools. Dip each finger into different colors of ink or paint and draw thick lines on a surface of your choice. You will get different results depending on the materials you use.
8. Wet Paper
Ink and watercolors move easily on a wet surface. Wet a piece of paper and drop some ink onto it. You will get different results depending on the texture of the paper you choose, the amount of ink you use, and the direction the ink flows.
