Teachers Pet
Yes I know your mother told you not to, and you probably ignored her, as l did when still a young boy, but I’m not suggesting you strike them or set light to anything, just use them to draw character uncontrollable lines that will add vigor and life to your art work.
Line and wash or Pen and Wash as it is sometimes called, is a half way house between drawing and painting where both disciplines come together on the same paper, often with great effect, as a hobby, apart from my art work, l have started to collect ink wells and pens, not the very ornate desk top type but basic every day type, early school type dip pens and ink holders, and through this interest have discovered there are many ways and tools that can be used to make marks on a piece of paper, your only limited by your imagination.
l’m basically a doodler at heart but do sometimes manage to expand my line and wash drawings into frameable art works, often as a result of quirky hit and miss ink lines or unintended smudges that bring life and a spontaneity that would be hard to match using conventional drawing pens. The washes can be achieved with either coloured inks, there are many colours available, but do first check if they are water proof or water soluble inks, both can be used with great effect, or from your normal range of water colours paints, just restrict your pallet to 3 or 4 colour with a line and wash.
Line and Wash, I always work with a very limited pallet, maybe Burnt Umber, Ultramarine Blue and Ultramarine Violet some times a wild card, any combination you like really but its best to restrict it to 3 or 4 colours and something to make that broken interesting line or mark with is all you will need, almost any thing will do, well known English artist David Bellamy often picks up a twig nail or even the end of his paint brush when he’s out doors painting to create an interesting line of various strengths and widths to create effect, any thing he can finds close at hand. The less control you have over the line the better, just hit and miss scratches will create a much more interesting composition, than a controlled uniform line with little or no variation. So where do the matches come into it, well for this first little farm scene l pinched a couple of those long barbecue type matches from the kitchen cupboard, and with a sharp knife cut a wedge shape nib on the end and a point on the other end, then dip the cut end of the match into my ink pot and draw away, twisting and turning the nib and point as l drew , and did not try to straighten or complete the line l had created, you want to keep that hit and miss effect.
So what comes first the Line or the Wash, it really dose not matter ether way will work, myself l normally draw first, when out and about with a Pilot black Fine liner these pens will bleed a bit if the ink is lightly washed over with a small brush and can give you a very satisfying result on its own or blend in with a light water colour wash. However when I’m back in the studio on a stable surface and a secure ink pot, (l’ve been known to knock them over) l like to make marks by using a variety of things to draw with, toothpicks, sharpened matches, bamboo, feathers and twigs all work well and you can never be quite
sure what mark you will be left with. This technique works best when not laboured, so work quickly and freely.
Try something simple at first like the old ink well l’ve done above, and below, you can always sketch lightly in pencil first if you wish but remember, hit and miss with that match or pen, and don’t draw the whole inkwell outline as a solid line, the same applies to the paint, it wont finish up the way you were thinking anyway, this technique has a mind of its own, so just splash it on and let the colours fuse together then leave it alone, why not draw and paint three or four ink wells in this way, you will find that each one looks different, even using the same colour paints, allow about 3 minutes for the drawing and the same time for the painting, that way you don’t have time to fiddle, then walk away and come back later or in the morning, leave them alone to dry, and see how fresh, and vibrant they look the next day because you let the colours paint themselves and the ink lines ‘’Speak’’
This technique has long been a favorite of illustrators, who have used it from the very earliest days of news paper print and magazines publications, and many magazines still retain artists today to illustrate there articles and stories, it is valued by them for its speed, artistic flare, and ease of reproduction.
Now you have sharpened your
match at one end to a point or wedge, have a tissue handy as you may need to use it as a blotter much as you would have a side slip of water colour paper handy when painting to test or take some of the excess paint of before returning your brush to your painting, hold the stick well back and loosely, not as you would a pen, you need a relaxed and lively drawing, not a tight detailed one, all the normal drawing/painting disciplines now apply eye line, focal point, light source, perspective and shadows every thing that will makes a the composition work and hold together, with the added bonus of pen and washes spontaneity, a little preliminary pencil work wont hurt but keep it to a minimum for that fresh look,
You will need the paper to set your pen and ink work ‘’alight’’, any quality paper capable of carrying a light water colour or ink wash is fine, Cartridge paper will be ok with just one light wash any more and it will start to warp, and be hard to stretch, if you want to be safer l’d use a smooth acid free water colour pad of 160gsm, but rough textured water colour paper is also fine and will help break up your ink lines as the pen match skips over the papers rough surface. A medium and a fine brush will be good remember your just washing it on to the paper so even the cheapest brushes will do the job, as long as they will hold the watery paint from your pallet to the paper, and if your using a water colour pad no stretching will be required. However l still like to tape my paper down to make sure it dry’s tight and flat, Pen and wash is a cheap, fun, and unpredictable medium, why not have a go?
I have included the photo (Fig 7) so you can see the actual cottage in its setting, also I have partly redrawn the cottage leaving the left hand side just scratched in as a line drawing, while lining up on the right hand side with a photo of the finished work. Hoping this helps you to see how paint is just washed around the ink framework. My original pen and wash is not accurate in any way, l did not worry about the detail. You may like to work from my painting or from the photo. Remember no fiddling, now you’ve got 10 minutes don’t fiddle, good luck.
From my sketchbook – I mentioned earlier in this piece about working plein air while using pen and wash and suggested a pilot fine liner was ideal and easier to carry than a pen and ink bottle and I thought I would include this sketch done roadside in the Swan Valley in just that way. A little dog sitting on the crossover between the road and farm caught my eye while l was out driving, and although he got lost in this little sketch l thought I would include it anyway, to demonstrate the simplicity of line and wash, still as in the studio only a 10 to 15 minute sketch but this time roadside. a spur of the moment sketch, on smooth 300gsm Arches Watercolour sketchbook, a Black Pilot Fine liner pen, and a little watercolour wash, just for the fun of it.
By the way, the farmer arrived home while I was drawing, put his hand up and smiled as he slowly drove passed me and the dog, then the dog having waited while the farmer drove over the bridge, chased him up the drive to the house ‘’wagging his tail.’’