Playing with Pigments: Experimenting with Water, Ink & Paper

Lately, I’ve been on a bit of a mission, playing with water, pigments, and different materials to see how they interact. So, I took a little trip to Eckersley’s and picked up some new supplies: a gorgeous A3 300 GSM Fabriano watercolour pad, some Liquitex acrylic ink, and a Jasart Byron watercolour set. At home, I already had my tried-and-true favourites, Kuretake watercolours and my 200 GSM mixed media Valero paper, so I figured I’d do some testing and see how everything behaved.

Lately, I’ve been on a bit of a mission, playing with water, pigments, and different materials to see how they interact. So, I took a little trip to Eckersley’s and picked up some new supplies: a gorgeous A3 300 GSM Fabriano watercolour pad, some Liquitex acrylic ink, and a Jasart Byron watercolour set. At home, I already had my tried-and-true favourites, Kuretake watercolours and my 200 GSM mixed media Valero paper, so I figured I’d do some testing and see how everything behaved.This kind of blind experimentation, where there’s no theme, no goal, just playing, can be frustrating. But I think that’s where the real growth happens. Even when it feels like a flop, it’s still part of the process.

Fabriano 300 GSM - Watercolour Paper 

Valero 200 GAM - Mixed Media Paper 

That said, I don’t think these pieces are a total loss. I might cut them up for future collages or take the least hated one and add some pen work, maybe even some Posca pen details. Not sure yet, but we’ll see where it leads!