ARTiful, get inspired to create

Free resources for artists

Blog

Mixing India Ink, Graphite and Acrylic for a black and white forest painting

Mixing India Ink, Graphite and Acrylic for a black and white forest painting on ARTiful, painting demos by Sandrine Pelissier
Drawing / Forest Paintings / Ink / Inspiration / Mixed media / Painting / Painting technique / Step by step demonstrations

Mixing India Ink, Graphite and Acrylic for a black and white forest painting

Mixed media are a lot of fun!

If, like me you like mixing drawing and painting media, you might want to experiment with the idea of mixing graphite, India Ink and Acrylic paint on canvas.

Here is how you can paint a forest painting with India Ink, Graphite and Acrylic:

transfer you drawing into your canvas with graphite

 It is always a good idea to make a few thumbnail sketches for composition and tonal values before starting to work on your painting. Once this is done you can start transferring your design to the canvas. Here I used graphite to do so, because I am going to draw some parts on the painting with graphite later.

painting branches with India ink and drawing leaves with graphite

Making your way on the painting one section at a time you can start to paint the darkest areas with India Ink and draw over lighter ones with graphite. In this case I am drawing the leaves and painting the trunks and branches.

I am a Blick Art Materials affiliate and I receive a small compensation for sales. That does not effect in any way the cost of the purchaser’s order but it helps me keeping the content of this blog free.

Speedball Super Black Waterproof India Ink

“Super black” means its blackness will be very permanent and fadeless. Contains 100% carbon black pigment. Also free-flowing, non-clogging, and waterproof.

drawing with graphite on canvas

You can use different types of graphites depending on how dark you want your drawing to be, The higher the B number, the softer and darker the lead. Here I have been using an HB graphite for the light areas and an 8B for the dark areas.

paint a lyer of gel medium on top of the India ink and the graphite to fix them

India Ink and Graphite need to be fixed on the canvas so they won’t smudge. You can use a workable fixative, or you can also paint a layer of medium on top of the ink and graphite. If you do that, you have to be careful to apply it fast and never go back to an area you already painted, you would smudge the ink or graphite.

I am a Blick Art Materials affiliate and I receive a small compensation for sales. That does not effect in any way the cost of the purchaser’s order but it helps me keeping the content of this blog free.

 

 

Liquitex Acrylic Mediums

Gel mediums are ideal for extending a heavy body paint, to create impasto, relief, or sculptural effects. – Gel Medium, Gloss

The trick here is to fix it in two times. I first paint the medium over the ink only, let it dry and then paint the medium over the graphite parts.

It is also easier if you paint over all the ink first, let it dry and then paint over the graphite areas. That way you won’t drag any ink into the lighter areas.

I am working on the painting one section at a time

[slideshow_deploy id=’6078′]

clean up a few areas with white acrylic paint

When you are done fixing all the ink and graphite, you will probably need to clean up a few areas with white acrylic. Let the painting dry overnight.

make a light acrylic wash to spatter over the painting

You can also mix some of the acrylic with water to use for splattering and adding drips on the painting.

adding splatters on top ot the painting including the trunks.

Adding splatters to a painting is fun and will make it look a bit more textured.

make some adjustments on the graphite and India ink painting once it is dry

Once everything had time to dry, you can decide if you want to make a few adjustments, here I want to brush off a bit of the white acrylic in some areas and also soften a few edges.

use a stiff brush and water to soften a few hard edges

To soften a few edges, you ca use a stiff brush and a bit of water.

keep working on the painting with splatters over the Indian ink and graphite

You can keep on making adjustments until you are satisfied with the result. Here I am adding more white splatters.

Graphite and Indian ink forest painting by North Vancouver artist Sandrine Pelissier

Specks of Light
Mixed media on canvas
(India ink, graphite, acrylic)
48 x 48 inches

 Original is sold, prints available on Fine Art America.

detail of graphite and India ink painting by North Vancouver artist Sandrine Pelissier
detail of graphite and India ink painting by North Vancouver artist Sandrine Pelissier
detail of graphite and India ink painting by North Vancouver artist Sandrine Pelissier

Here is a time lapse video:

4.4/5 - (13 votes)

Comments (19)

  1. Jane-Ants Evans-Harris

    Wow, the “how to paint trees with mixed media” video is amazing, I haven’t got all the liquitex acrylic gel medium at home but still I can’t wait to give it a go. Can I try this demo without the gel medium or should I wait until I have some? I have everything else. This is my week 1 paint or draw something in black and white exercise. My sister, Terri Bate, put me on to you, Sandrine and I am delighted, can’t wait to get going.

  2. JOAN

    YOU ARE AMAZING…..LOVE ALL OF YOUR WORK.

    1. Thanks Joan !! This is very nice of you 🙂

  3. timfernald09473300

    This painting is breathtaking. If you are using canvas, do you treat it first with medium or do you begin your painting on the untreated canvas?

    1. Thanks Timfernald 🙂 I began the painting directly on the canvas, but it is a primed canvas ( it has been painted with a layer of white gesso).

  4. didee100004328700

    Would you please share what medium you used to “fix” the painting? Many thanks!

    1. Yes, I am using either Opus or Golden medium, the ones that are simply called medium, like this one from Golden:
      https://store.opusartsupplies.com/sagro/storefront/store.php?mode=showproductdetail&product=35145

      You can choose matte or glossy depending on your taste. Glossy might make some areas of your painting shinier than others though. This can be fixed by applying a layer of medium on all the painting before varnishing.

      If you are working with mixed media, it is always a good idea to spray a layer of fixative before applying medium or varnish. I was recently reminded of that the hard way 🙂
      https://store.opusartsupplies.com/sagro/storefront/store.php?mode=showproductdetail&product=14172

      1. didee100004328700

        Many thanks!!

  5. Sucheta

    Beautiful. I like.

  6. ahfong

    What a lovely black and white painting. Thank you for sharing

    1. Thanks ahfong !

  7. […] In this painting the leaves are drawn with graphite and the tree branches are painted with India ink. The graphite on the leaves are fixed by painting a layer of acrylic medium on top. You can see the painting process in detail here on this post: Specks of Light, mixed media step by step painting tutorial. […]

  8. […] Specks of LightMixed media on canvas(india ink, graphite, acrylic)48 x 48 inches […]

  9. […] Black and white forest mixed media painting tutorial on French countryside- Triptych mixed media painting tutorial […]

  10. […] Black and white forest mixed media painting tutorial […]

  11. […] Specks of Light, mixed media on canvas (India Ink, graphite and Acrylic) […]

  12. 情趣用品

    I want forgathering utile info, this post has got me even much more info!

    1. Thanks 😉

  13. […] Specks of LightMixed media on canvas(india ink, graphite, acrylic) […]

Leave your thought here

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

The reCAPTCHA verification period has expired. Please reload the page.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Download this PDF

A Mixed Media Treasury of Techniques and Ideas

Join my mailing list

Learn from the comfort of your home:

 

 

HOW TO MAKE PAPIER MACHE BOWLS

 

 

 

 En Français