Birstall and District Art Society

Spring 2025 - Monday classes held at Wanlip Church Hall  -  Time: 10:00 to 12:30pm

Maxine Dodd - Exploring Ink and Wash  –  3rd March, 10th March and 17th March

This series of workshops will explore the medium of ink – in many different guises. Inks used as drawing and painting with traditional brushes and pens – and used in combination with other media to resist or work with the ink itself. Here are the subjects of each class – It is important to attend the first week if you have never used ink before in order to be able to get the most from weeks two and three.

· 3rd March – Ink and wash basics – Capturing natural objects - Where to start and how to treat inks and capture tints. How to apply and interact with other media such as watercolour. Using shells, pebbles, nuts, leaves, feathers and seeds as our subjects
· 10th March – Ink and wash animals and birds – Using the techniques we learned in week one, we’ll add new materials which react against ink, including wax/oil pastels and gouache. Bring photos of animals or birds for this class – Nice and bold patterned fur and feathers would be great for this workshop
· 17th March 2025 – Blotted line ink technique – A very unusual technique developed by Andy Warhol in the 1960s. The technique is a form of printing with ink but allows for great fun with colour and metallics. We’ll work with images of shoes and boots and fashion for this workshop for a Sixties inspired Pop Art use of ink and pattern.

lMaterials list:

Covering for tables and floor – I use the Decorators Dust Sheet on a roll from Wickes – One roll will do the group! 3-6 small jars to keep washes in – I have pipettes and they can be purchased from Amazon; pipettes used in pet medications are great for this as well – I can provide links if needs be. Otherwise, nice and straightforward.
· Indian Ink – or any coloured ink which they have. Winsor & Newton or Liquitex inks – Bring what you have to try
· Jam or smaller jars, with lids, to use to create and store tonal washes.
· Plastic film from food trays, greaseproof paper for Andy Warhol technique – The surface must be see-through and non-absorbent, so the ink ‘sits’ on the surface.
· Funnels or pipettes to ‘decant’ ink from the ‘master’ bottle
· Mark makers: Household paint brushes, old toothbrushes, sponges, sticks or twigs, small craft rollers along with usual dip pens and watercolour brushes
· Protective clothing: Aprons, old shirts, gloves
· Watercolour paper: All kinds, smooth, not, hot or cold pressed, rough but watercolour paper is best for this.
· Plates/saucers/trays: To stand your ink bottles on to help catch spills
· Sponges, kitchen paper, jcloths: For mopping up but also making marks
· Objects to draw: Natural objects like shells, feathers, nuts, seedheads, photos of animals or birds, photos of shoes, handbags, things with a 1960s theme.

Examples:
· David Downton – Fashion Illustrator and portrait artist https://www.daviddownton.com/
· Andy Warhol – Blotted line technique - https://www.warhol.org/lessons/andy-warhols-blotted-line/
This link has two demonstrations of the method with a great video demo right at the bottom of the page

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