Shell & Ink

For our third homework assignment with the shells, we graduated to using ink! This new endeavor was an exciting one for me, as I was most definitely ready to move on from the previous contour line drawings. Although I do enjoy long, detailed drawing, the shell I received is very even and somewhat square in its structure. After a couple times drawing the shell and carefully observing the lines and spirals, I got tired of the repetition. Adding ink was something new and different, and I had a lot of fun experimenting with the new medium.

When I started out with this drawing I might have been a little impatient to get to the ink wash... I went faster than usual and included less detail than my last two drawings. I think this actually worked out better, and let me focus more on the line weight on parts of the entire shell, instead of narrowing in on one tiny section at a time. I bought two colors of ink: sepia, and black. I started off with a very weak wash, going around the shell and creating some space. It was hard to know where to start and how dark to push the wash. I was surprised at how the sepia wash turned out on my white paper; it was a very light pink when watered down and had warm red tones when I used it heavier. Also, when I added the black ink, wherever the colors blended a pretty purple-ish tone was left. That was another surprise that made the ink wash a little more interesting. Slowly but surely I added layers of ink, one on top of another, and when I was satisfied with the color and contrast I finished. The most challenging part for me was probably figuring out how and where to leave areas white to show the highlights. I think it turned out fine but I felt like I was playing a guessing game! Maybe that's just what art is all about... :)