On Saturday 17th March 2018 I will be running 2 fountain pen inks and bleach workshops here at my studio in Rochester, Kent.
What’s this all about?
For the past 3 years I have been investigating the properties of hundreds of fountain pen inks for use as a creative and inspirational medium – fine honing and utilising their unique chromatic behaviours when blended with water and maximising the dramatic visual effects that ocurr when the inks are subjected to bleach.
What has come out of the project this far, is the sheer versatility of the medium to perfectly embrace both illustration and calligraphy with very real possibilities for use in fashion/textiles and more fine art based activities. I have so far uncovered four fundamental qualities to fountain pen inks that, I believe, uniquely set them apart from other mediums and that allow the creative:
• to use the medium in both negative – working from dark to light (bleach on ink) as well as in the positive – working light to dark (using inks for illustration or as watercolours)
• to create all the colours of the spectrum through mixing the 4 base ink colours (CMYK). This limited palette produces the complete range of hues and tones and is easily transportable
• to easily integrate the medium with other mediums
• to achieve stunning effects using household bleach. The bleach can also be used for achieving highligts and used for erasing.
This is a NEW and EXCITING art medium. If you’d like have a go, please come along.
Workshop times
The morning workshop will run from 1000hrs to 13oohrs. 5 people maximum.
The afternoon workshop will run from 1400hrs to 1700hrs. 5 people maximum.
What will the workshops include?
- An introduction – You will learn how to investigate an ink, explore it’s chromatography and how it reacts with bleach. You will learn how to blend inks together and maximise the serendipity of the outcomes.
- Swatch testing – You will learn how to emulate my swatch card technique, how to maximise the chromatography within the inks and on the best paper for the job. You will learn how to apply bleach to your swatch card to give it that gold neon effect.
- Automatic pens – You will learn about automatic pens, how I create my abstract lettering, how I blend inks together, apply bleach and incorporate metal dusts and carbon.
- CMYK – You will learn how to mix the four main ink colours together to create new colours. Using this four colour process, you will create a coloured facsimile of an illustration.
Cost
The cost is £60 per person per workshop. All art materials, tea, coffee, squash and biscuits are included.
As there is a lot to cover in a 3 hour period numbers are restricted to 5 students per workshop.
If you would like to attend please:
- Transfer £60.00 direct into my paypal account ref: studio@stewart2.com. Reference the payment with your name.
- Email me: nick@stewart2.com or call me on 07956 365155 stating which workshop you would like to attend – morning or afternoon.
Travel
If coming by train, my studio is a 4 minute walk from Rochester railway station. The train journey from St Pancras to Rochester is 40 minutes. If coming by car, the journey is very straightforward and there are plenty of car parks nearby. For studio location please see map below:
If you like what I’m up to, you can also follow me on social media:
Instagram: @quinkandbleach
Twitter: @nickistew
Facebook: Fountain Pen Inks & Bleach
I also have a portfolio of test art pieces at: https://www.behance.net/Nick_Stewart
FOUNTAIN PEN INK ART 