Evolution of Alcohol Inks chronicles my journey of discovery into this fluid art medium. Conceptually, my initial goal was to see how many different ways I could create dynamic and colorful artwork.
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The technical processes I used involved 3 distinct methods: Digital Photography, Alcohol Ink Markers, and Digital Collage.
The foundation for my work, started by pouring and moving liquid inks in the traditional fashion to create Abstracts. What I found most challenging was to make something from these seemingly random patches of color. This was solved with my digital photography.
One of my first experiments was using my camera to capture photos of the liquid inks while they were still in formation. In a second method, I was successful with taking photos as I physically manipulated the paper. My goal was to find an interesting Focal Point and Strong Supporting Elements to achieve unique compositions.
I used Adobe Photoshop for the digital editing of my photography to further enhance my choices of color as I experimented with various filters.
I researched products and tools and tested a variety techniques as I created an assortment of textures.
The addition of alcohol ink markers elevated my work to a new level of creative expression in the second phase of my technical process.
I then experimented further with the alcohol ink markers and digital art as I created representational objects and paired them with alcohol ink abstracts. This led to the creation of my first children’s book, Space Explorers, inspired by and featuring my 5 grandsons!
I created two books for my solo exhibit, Exploring Alcohol Inks, at UNCW’s Boseman Gallery. The first book consists of photos and techniques which I used for my Artist Talk at the closing reception. The second book, The Art of Alcohol Inks, features my completed artworks and highlights my processes.
My digital work continued into my third phase in the of Evolution of Alcohol Inks. I used my original abstracts as backgrounds and meticulously cut out shapes for a reimagined assembly as a Digital Collage.
I went on to create 14 different scenes incorporating images from my previous work with Sea Creatures (painted with acrylics) and Fish and Seashells (painted with watercolor).
I resized, reshaped and otherwise modified all aspects of the cut shapes to fit the look of each design. Some pieces contained over 200 layers of cutouts.
I used digital alcohol ink brushes in Procreate to visually tie together the collage pieces with the backgrounds.
My digital collage work is featured in my children’s book, See Inside the Sea. It is kid tested and parent approved!
Evolution of Alcohol Inks, includes Digital Photography, Alcohol Ink Markers, and Digital Collage. What started as a simple exploration of this fluid medium evolved into a stronger concept of creating colorful works for Art Books, and Illustrations for my Children’s Stories.
Historically, I drew inspiration from Eric Carle who was an illustrator & writer of Children’s Books. In his lifetime he produced over 77 Books and sold over 152 million copies. His most famous work was The Very Hungry Caterpillar. He is considered a Modernist Collage Artist using Acrylic Paint on Tissue.
I was also heavily influenced by modern artist Freya Kotchakorn. She specializes in Drawing and Watercolor. As a Digital Artist she uses Procreate and teaches a Masterclass in this platform. Freya also offers live event performances for companies such as Kate Spade, Sephora, Louis Vutton, and Tiffany. As part of my independent study, I completed her Masterclass program in Procreate which I highly recommend for any art student.
I have been operating my art business as, Atlanta’s Art since 2012, and my studio is located in the Ogden area of Wilmington. My main website is AtlantasART.com. I have an author’s page on Amazon, and my You Tube Channel is @AtlantasART.
Thank you for your interest in Atlanta's ART!
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