The last time I tried to marble paper was back in 2014, using whatever supplies I had that made sense: india ink, a paint brush, paper, and a 13x9 pan filled with water. For being a last-minute, half-assed thing, it was fine (but it was an attempt at suminagashi, where materials are minimal). I later scanned the marbled prints and color adjusted them into the treatment here. Prior to that experiment four years ago, I hadn’t done any research or know what compounds were needed to make the materials work together to achieve the best outcome, and I didn’t care to then. Though I did my research and acquired the proper materials this time, along with knowing which pattern styles I prefer, it’ll still take a few sessions to learn how to create solid patterns and figure out which methods and variables work best.
While creating each new print in this set for the first time, I was frustrated with the streaks on the page for interrupting the marbled ink and the pattern result in general, but of course there are going to be some errors on the print in the beginning, and the streaks can be easily fixed by preparing the alumed paper differently (bathed, not sponged). I’ve scanned just a few from the first experiment where I just used slightly watered down watercolor ink from a tube and oxgall: featured from latest to first print. I’m hoping to try watered down acrylic for the next round to see the differences that occur, and eventually make my way to using oil paint. Hopefully I’ll be back with more prints of each!
Experiment 01: Watercolor (black), paper color: red, purple, and black (inverted).
And after seeing the streaks on the prints digitally, they’re growing on me as a nice added texture.
The last time I tried to marble paper was back in 2014, using whatever supplies I had that made sense: india ink, a paint brush, paper, and a 13x9 pan filled with water. For being a last-minute, half-assed thing, it was fine (but it was an attempt at suminagashi, where materials are minimal). I later scanned the marbled prints and color adjusted them into the treatment here. Prior to that experiment four years ago, I hadn’t done any research or know what compounds were needed to make the materials work together to achieve the best outcome, and I didn’t care to then. Though I did my research and acquired the proper materials this time, along with knowing which pattern styles I prefer, it’ll still take a few sessions to learn how to create solid patterns and figure out which methods and variables work best.
While creating each new print in this set for the first time, I was frustrated with the streaks on the page for interrupting the marbled ink and the pattern result in general, but of course there are going to be some errors on the print in the beginning, and the streaks can be easily fixed by preparing the alumed paper differently (bathed, not sponged). I’ve scanned just a few from the first experiment where I just used slightly watered down watercolor ink from a tube and oxgall: featured from latest to first print. I’m hoping to try watered down acrylic for the next round to see the differences that occur, and eventually make my way to using oil paint. Hopefully I’ll be back with more prints of each!
Experiment 01: Watercolor (black), paper color: red, purple, and black (inverted).
And after seeing the streaks on the prints digitally, they’re growing on me as a nice added texture.
The last time I tried to marble paper was back in 2014, using whatever supplies I had that made sense: india ink, a paint brush, paper, and a 13x9 pan filled with water. For being a last-minute, half-assed thing, it was fine (but it was an attempt at suminagashi, where materials are minimal). I later scanned the marbled prints and color adjusted them into the treatment here. Prior to that experiment four years ago, I hadn’t done any research or know what compounds were needed to make the materials work together to achieve the best outcome, and I didn’t care to then. Though I did my research and acquired the proper materials this time, along with knowing which pattern styles I prefer, it’ll still take a few sessions to learn how to create solid patterns and figure out which methods and variables work best.
While creating each new print in this set for the first time, I was frustrated with the streaks on the page for interrupting the marbled ink and the pattern result in general, but of course there are going to be some errors on the print in the beginning, and the streaks can be easily fixed by preparing the alumed paper differently (bathed, not sponged). I’ve scanned just a few from the first experiment where I just used slightly watered down watercolor ink from a tube and oxgall: featured from latest to first print. I’m hoping to try watered down acrylic for the next round to see the differences that occur, and eventually make my way to using oil paint. Hopefully I’ll be back with more prints of each!
Experiment 01: Watercolor (black), paper color: red, purple, and black (inverted).
And after seeing the streaks on the prints digitally, they’re growing on me as a nice added texture.
The last time I tried to marble paper was back in 2014, using whatever supplies I had that made sense: india ink, a paint brush, paper, and a 13x9 pan filled with water. For being a last-minute, half-assed thing, it was fine (but it was an attempt at suminagashi, where materials are minimal). I later scanned the marbled prints and color adjusted them into the treatment here. Prior to that experiment four years ago, I hadn’t done any research or know what compounds were needed to make the materials work together to achieve the best outcome, and I didn’t care to then. Though I did my research and acquired the proper materials this time, along with knowing which pattern styles I prefer, it’ll still take a few sessions to learn how to create solid patterns and figure out which methods and variables work best.
While creating each new print in this set for the first time, I was frustrated with the streaks on the page for interrupting the marbled ink and the pattern result in general, but of course there are going to be some errors on the print in the beginning, and the streaks can be easily fixed by preparing the alumed paper differently (bathed, not sponged). I’ve scanned just a few from the first experiment where I just used slightly watered down watercolor ink from a tube and oxgall: featured from latest to first print. I’m hoping to try watered down acrylic for the next round to see the differences that occur, and eventually make my way to using oil paint. Hopefully I’ll be back with more prints of each!
Experiment 01: Watercolor (black), paper color: red, purple, and black (inverted).
And after seeing the streaks on the prints digitally, they’re growing on me as a nice added texture.