When I retired, part of my creative journey involved the discovery of a new art medium- Alcohol Ink. I stumbled on it ‘by accident’ a couple of years ago after dabbling in watercolour and acrylic paint, and was intrigued by this new medium which has a ‘mind’ of its own and lets one ‘play with the universe’.
I started by accidentally using ‘blowing’ techniques (straw, canned air, use of compressed air movers, etc) to create shapes and imaginary flowers. The flowing and transparent nature of the inks is a fascinating medium. The varying type of surfaces which I use is also an element of ever-changing discovery. From abstract shapes and flowers, I have moved to create my own landscapes (many seascapes and sunsets) based on my surroundings, but often within an imaginary context. I now use painting techniques a lot more frequently, but often start by moving the inks on my surface and let them create a flowing and colourful background.
Waves are one of my favourite subjects and I love to see people’s emotional reactions to them.
Trees, forest scenes, and our local glacier have also been in my repertoire. My paintings are not so much realistic as they are colour and movement-driven.
As winter approaches, I often find myself moving to cooler colours, Northern Light or winter scenes, etc. I seem to be driven by what I see, feel, or hear around me, or by pictures I take on my regular bike rides.
I constantly evolve by taking online Alcohol Ink workshops and my goal is to keep enlarging and improving my technique repertoire so I can continue growing while creating.
I am a member of the Pearl Ellis Gallery, and I present paintings in local exhibits, as well as enter art contests around me, thus allowing me to painlessly ‘put’ my work out there.
