You're in New York City. You're walking the High Line. And you've just come to a neighbourhood of galleries, with the glass front of the sleekest one almost a full storey high. In its window -- almost filling the full window front, maybe 30 x 50 feet -- is a dramatic painting, a splash of black on white. People pay good money for stuff like this.
-- except: I must have dozed off, dreaming of my recent trip. In fact, the dramatic splash measures only about 8x12", and it was produced here in The Yellow House with one of my favourite splashy techniques:-- painting onto plastic wrap and then pressing the still-wet wrap onto paper.
Don't be disappointed. People pay good money for stuff like this.
There are gazillions of sites on the internet now, supported by advertising dollars and/or subscriptions from interested readers, where you can watch artists at work. Let's call this one, "Splashdown", and follow it through a typical episode.
Let's see. After the plastic wrap, the artist scrawled with black crayon.
Oh, did I mention the downside of advertising sponsors? The sponsored website is bound to be cluttered up with teasers like: "Ten Historical Photos You'll Never Believe" or "What Famous Politicians Wore on Their Prom Night" or "The Natural Anti-Aging Cream You'll Find Under Your Car's Hood."
Don't let those ads interrupt the flow! Watch the artist apply random ink marks with an old-fashioned nib drawing pen and a *very* old-fashioned ink.
"Bistre" is more than old-fashioned -- it's one of the classic inks of the Renaissance, and even before. This small jar is the last of a vintage that was made especially for me from soot gathered from a coastal cabin's woodburning stove in about 1990. The process, roughly the same as what's described here, is messy -- you definitely want someone else to do the dirty work. But the outcome is pretty exciting. (Hey! I can draw like Leonardo!)
You'd need a lot more soot, though, to cover that window along the High Line.
Okay. Our studio hour is coming to a close. You can click "SKIP AD" and observe the addition of charcoal and water-soluble blue crayon.
Is something coming into view here, or are we just having fun splashing water on that blue crayon?
Answer: Just having fun splashing -- and there's likely to be more fun in the future.
It's part of my post-trip commitment to make a splash every weekend. And my guarantee:-- If you dip in here to check up on me, you won't have to fend off advertisements or hit "LIKE." And if you're reading this now, I already know you're my friend so you don't have to ask.
