Class 16. Ink Wash

If using easels, best to sit on the floor, drawing boards propped up to slant. Or stand at slant boards on tables. Large containers of water reachable for all. Two students share on newspaper: 2 cat food cans (or any non-tippy paper plate or container), 1 with India Ink and 1 with wash. Each student: 1 large brush (bamboo is good) and 1 reed pen and/or twig; 1 newsprint and 4 white 18 x 24 papers at hand.

(Logistics note: keeping ink bottle and cans in a shallow carton minimizes the problem of spills; unused ink can be poured back into the bottle and ink cans that are stored in the carton upside down don’t need to be rinsed.) And: while model rests show many master wash and ink drawings.

STUDENTS:

1. On newsprint, with rapidly changing action poses, draw continuous flow of the MAIN MOVEMENT through each figure with 1 brush-sweep of wash.  Fill a page with these, with time for all to get it. (Don’t put other papers under this—they get soggy.)

2. White papers. Three 10-minute poses, each with partial cloth drape. Use the whole page. Show main action with 1 sweep of wash, add more wash to show weight and form.  Add lines with pen/twig sparingly to describe weightless cloth edges and selected figure contours. DO NOT DRAW CONTOURS 1st and WASH 2nd.

HOMEWORK: (#14) Use your gesture drawings done today. Re-draw each on clean paper, starting each with one sweep of movement as today. Use chalk, crayon or wash made of tea or coffee, dilute paint, or?  Experiment using heavy, jagged lines on one, light lyrical lines on another, all straight lines next and then last, combine any line qualities in the same drawing.  Follow instruction sheet.