Alcohol ink

Alcohol ink on Yupo paper

Alcohol ink is an acid-free, highly-pigmented medium and the popularity of alcohol inks has exploded the last few years. It is an intriguing medium and once the alcohol has evaporated only the dye is left behind and wow is it amazing! Alcohol inks should be applied on a non-porous surface. I use Yupo paper for my alcohol inks. which is a synthetic paper which do not absorb liquid. I have also tried alcohol inks on glass, tiles, photopaper and even plain old acetate film.

There are several brands of alcohol inks and they all blend well together. I tried brands like  Tim Holz Ranger ink, Pentart, Copic ink marker refills and Pinata by Jaquard (no advertisment just my own exploration).

Moving around and blending the pigments until the alcohol evaporates is an intuitive artform wich suits my organic paintings.  The result is vigorously pigmented and fresh, just as i like it.

I apply alcohol inks and let the magic begin. I feel like a colour conductor where the ink is my instruments and they play to me. Come and listen! Check out the result on the examples below.