Hi everyone! I hope you all had an awesome Halloween. :) I have a new video for you today showcasing a technique I experimented with this weekend. I shared a little bit about it in my last post. A calligrapher I know on instagram shared how she uses pearlex powders to create bright and colorful inks that work perfectly on black backgrounds. I couldn’t wait to try it, and though I will confess that I made mistakes and need to practice this technique quite a bit more, I had so much fun and I hope it inspires you in the same way I was inspired by colorsofchrist.
I’ve had these black canvases for awhile, and I had actually started several paintings on this particular 6*6 canvas. They all looked terrible- I just couldn’t make my vision a reality with the paint and the ink I was using. So when I saw how well these inks stood out against black, I painted over what I had done before with black gesso, and started fresh.
- I built the background by adding 3 torn pieces of Tim Holtz’ tissue wrap, using matte gel medium to adhere the pieces to the canvas.
- I wanted to dirty them up a bit, so I splattered some black india ink, spritzed it with water, and let it dry.
- Now with the text! I concentrated my writing in the crevices between the paper pieces, varying the size of my writing and using three different colors.
- I made quite a few mistakes- there were several times my pen blotted a large amount of ink in places I didn’t want them, and trying to clean them up just made those spots worse. I was able to clean them up a bit by painting over them with black paint.
- When I do this again, I need to be careful of how much powder I add to the water. I think when I had too much powder was what made it harder to manager. Also, not overloading the pen nib would help, as well.
- I added some modeling paste over the paper, in specific directions. I let it dry overnight before I began to write on it. Once it’s completely dry and set, it’s much easier to write on.
- Since this ink is fairly easy to smear, especially if it gets wet or damp, I sealed it with a coat of Krylon crystal clear acrylic coating. Now I can rest easy.
I’m looking forward to trying this pearlex calligraphy ink with lots of different color combinations, and hopefully improving my calligraphy skills a little bit, as well. I definitely need to work on not overloading my pen nib, being more patient so I can achieve a better result and not splatter and leak all over the place.
Thank you for reading!! Do you like adding calligraphy or text to your art? What do you think of this technique? I’d love to see your projects!! Leave your links in the comments!
hi again, just wondering what pen nib you are using and when you cover the canvas again with some black…is that Liquitex black in the tube?
Grazie!
It is liquitex black gesso, just a little and I use some water to try and blend it in with the canvas a little better. It’s not a perfect fix, but I’ll have to practice a bit more to get it right the first time. I’m not sure what kind of pen nib I’m using… It says Hunt Ex-Fine bowl pointed, #512 on the base. Does that help? Thanks for all your feedback and questions!!
Ciao! Yes it does help, thank you. I am using a Nikko G nib and the sharp tip catches, so I combine that with a Faber Castell marker with my handwriting. Oh, and regarding the acrylic clear sealer…you did mention it in your tutorial, so that was also very helpful.
Not sure what part you mean- I used liquitex black gesso to paint the canvas, but I also used black DecoArt modeling paste on top of the canvas to add some texture. I used the same pen nib whenever I added the calligraphy, but I used a pallette knife to adde the modeling paste. Did I answer your question ok? I’d love to see what you’re doing!!
Good concept, but I wonder about the fact that there is no apparent binder to keep the powder attached to the surface once the water has evaporated. Do you use a fixative overspray? Mixing the Pearl-ex with a thin acrylics medium might work as well, and the medium would securely bind the powder.
You know what, I used an acrylic clear sealer as a final step, but I think I forgot to write about it!! That was silly… good catch Judy!! Thank you!
Anjuli, another winner! The colors on the black background really pop out, I love the combination of them. Which blue and gold did you use? Looking at the Pearl Ex powders, there are so many different ones! And for the white, did you just use a white ink? I have come across some difficulty writing with the fine tip nib over the paint…the nib catches. Have you had that problem? It sounds like your “fixing” the canvas helps this. Look forward to your response…thank you!
Hi Susan!! That’s a great question I didn’t even think about- when I got my pearlex powders, I bought a big set, so I had to go back and look carefully to find the right ones- #656 Brilliant Gold, #652 Macropearl and #688 Misty Lavender. It can be tricky writing over texture, you’re right. I write really fast since my calligraphy skills are not very developed, and I like how it looks when I go really fast. It seems to help when I’m writing on modeling paste or other texture heavy mediums.
I saw the big sets of powders and was tempted, but I will start with just a couple of colors. In any case, your results are stunning, so continue. I look forward to seeing what else you do with them! I, as a calligrapher, am used to writing slowly, but I love the effect when I write quickly, and even when the letters and words are illegible…it adds to the charm and mystery of the piece, doesn’t it?
Thanks for responding…a presto!