COURSE DESCRIPTION

This course is composed of 8 classes of 2.5 hours each, every Wednesday between 12.30pm and 3pm, from the 7th of October until the 27th of November. Each class is dedicated to a series of techniques, skills and personal explorations. You will learn about different types of ink, brushes and paper. You will also learn about classic and contemporary ink masters and how they have pushed the boundaries of painting in their own work.

WHO IS IT FOR

This program is for you if

- You are experimental, intuitive and desire to step outside of your comfort zone, loosen up and find new creative paths

- You want to build your techniques and ink painting skills

- You have little to no experience using black water based ink

- You are an experienced or an amateur artist willing to expand your own practice

- You are creatively independent and want to move beyond the fundamentals of ink painting

This series of classes is not intended to teach you traditional Chinese or Japanese ink painting nor to show you how to replicate another artist's artworks or to produce hyper realistic paintings.

OBJECTIVES

- Build strong foundations in black and white ink painting

- Expand your knowledge in ink painting art history and techniques

- Obtain skills to build and maintain an independent artistic practice

- Develop confidence to undertake experimental technical/artistic approaches in developing your own style and creative potential

PROGRAM

week1-meet your tools

Introduction to wet-on-dry technique, learn basic brush strokes

Looking at contemporary artists to expand our understanding of what ink painting and wet on drytechnique can be

Use of pigmented ink with flat and rounded brushes of various sizes

Paint seated and standing, with one and two hands, opened and closed eyes, experience what movement,physicality and meditative gestures do to your art

Learn about the importance of the quality of environment in your practice, paint in silence, in music, with white noise

week2-time and space

Expanding on wet-on-dry technique, develop basic brush strokes towards abstraction and personal way of rendering

Looking at contemporary artists to deepen our understanding of the use of movement, speed or slownessof making

Experiment with mark making and dripping and explore how it can be achieved with the tools youalready own

Paint in your favourite posture (seated or standing), alternating between both hands, with slow andexplosive movements

week3-the art of reading stones

Introduction to washes and layering to build depth in your painting

Looking at classic and contemporary ink artists as examples of what ink painting using washes can be

Use pigment ink on rice paper and play with the fluidity of this medium, how it reacts on such paper, itsunpredictability, learn to let loose

Working from small stones (Ruskin technique) that are interesting in shape and texture, understand howto move from figuration to abstraction, from microcosm to macrocosm

Rely on your memory to filter details that are not necessary in your work while keeping the essence ofyour subject matter

week4-the sky is the limit

Considering the making of backgrounds as an opportunity to “read” the artwork and develop a personalvisual lexicon

Looking at 19th century watercolour artists to understand the power of white and how to balance light and dark elements

Analysing light and shadow placement on objects to help creating dramatic sky painting

Working with a reserve, how batik can teach us a trick or two

week5-light and reflexive surfaces

Introduction to non literal rendering of water and reflection

Looking at classic and contemporary art to support your on going research of what has already been done, how you can learn from it and subsequently find your own voice

Learn about the importance of sampling and how it can support your practice and make it moresustainable

Use pigment and acrylic inks on rice paper to develop a personal language that translate your vision of thenatural environment

week6-symbols and mythology

Experimenting with texture rendering for introducing abstract details in your work

Looking at contemporary ink and oil artists as inspiration for creating your own personal mythology figures and symbols

Looking at contemporary ink artists who manipulate surfaces to understand the role paper quality plays inthe final artwork

Process oriented, experiment with the order of wash application and ink painting to see how it greatly influences the end result of your work

Learn about the importance of water in capillary action and how salt can interfere with this process

Paint using pigment and acrylic ink to experience the various visual qualities of both ink types

week7- use of colour

With a limited colour palette, approach tone on tone ink painting and expand the range of visual effects inyour work

Looking at contemporary ink artists as reference for developing a personal tonal feel in your art

Learn the basics of colour theory and how you can apply them to create subtle contrasts in order toorganise the order of appearance of various details in your painting

Based on what yo have learnt the previous week, play with your symbol lexicon to find new ways oflayering them

Experiment with layering black ink and colour ink together, discover to what extent they can be mixed or not on to paper

week8-personal visual lexicon

Sum up all that you have learnt over the last 7 weeks to create an ambitious artwork

Consider how your favourite artists can influence and push you in your practice

Focus on how you hold and manipulate your brushes to create blots, splodges and other abstract marks

Looking back at all you have achieved, will you focus only on abstraction? Symbolism? Will you try to incorporate some figurative elements?

Choose how you will play with black, white and greys, wet on dry, wet on wet, washes, and reserve.

Plan the scale you will work on considering how physical or meditative (or both?) you want to orientate your practice

MATERIAL LIST

INK

Pigmented black ink

https://www.artshedbrisbane.com.au/art-spectrum-ink-50mlhttps://www.artstoreonline.com.au/collections/inks/products/holbein-sumi-inks-paste

Acrylic ink

https://www.artshedonline.com.au/atelier-250ml-black-ink/https://www.artshedonline.com.au/chromacryl-waterproof-black-ink-250ml/

PAPER

White butcher paper

https://www.bunnings.com.au/wrap-move-butcher-s-paper-50-pack_p2610059

Rice paper

https://www.artshedbrisbane.com.au/kohzo-rice-paper-715x760mm-cream-wdeckle

https://www.artshedbrisbane.com.au/shin-hosho-rice-paper-780-x-504mm-white

https://www.artshedbrisbane.com.au/whenzou-rice-paper-roll-45cm-x-25m

Watercolour paper sheets (A4 or A3, rough or smooth, 270-300gsm)

https://www.eckersleys.com.au/fabriano-rosapina-paperbuy one single sheet (500x700cm), mark each corner of the sheet on the back side with lead pencil and cut it in 4

or buy a pad

https://www.artshedonline.com.au/arches-watercolour-pad-a5-185gsm-15-sheet-medium-chttps://www.artshedonline.com.au/canson-heritage-watercolour-paper-block-23x31cm-30~8285https://www.artshedonline.com.au/valero-mixed-media-pad-a4-200gsm-100-sheet

Tracing paper

https://www.artshedonline.com.au/mont-marte-tracing-paper-pad-40-sheet-a3/

BRUSHES

1 small and 1 medium mop brushes

https://www.artshedbrisbane.com.au/bamboo-brush-with-goat-hairhttps://www.artshedbrisbane.com.au/bamboo-sable-series-bw170

https://www.artshedbrisbane.com.au/117-alvaro-squirrel-mop-brush

1 large and 1 extra large brushes

https://www.artshedbrisbane.com.au/unipro-flat-brush-unpainted-handlehttps://www.bunnings.com.au/uni-pro-25-75mm-3-piece-paint-brush-set_p1661064

ADDITIONAL MATERIAL

week 1

- 1 long stick, about one meter such as bamboo stick from the hardware storehttps://www.bunnings.com.au/lattice-makers-25-x-1200mm-bamboo-stake_p0035990

- 3 elastic bands and one roll of sticky tape

week 3

• 1 smartphone or a torch
• white candle and a stanley knife

week 7

- 2 acrylic colour inks, either orange & blue, red & green or yellow & purple, such ashttps://www.artshedonline.com.au/as-pigmented-ink-50ml-yellow/