Cal Johnson
Cal Johnson
No Pressure!
Saturday, December 9, 2014
by Susan L Stewart
About 25 people met for the Cal Johnson workshop. During it, Cal did many demonstrations to show us how to create beautiful abstract paintings using colored inks. It was fascinating to watch how the colors flowed and interacted with each other as he added drops of ink to wet illustration board.
“You need a slick surface for this to work,” Cal said. He went on to explain that the illustration board needs to be taped down to a heavier support to keep it from bowing.
I used foam core, which worked great.
Another key is to leave the painting alone for at least two days so it can dry completely before removing the masking tape. The painting looks and feels dry in a matter of hours, but the material in the center of the illustration board is deceptive.
I got impatient and took the masking tape off two of my paintings the next day and, sure enough, they bowed to the point of being unusable. The two I left taped for two days stayed relatively flat.
No Pressure!
Saturday, December 9, 2014
by Susan L Stewart
About 25 people met for the Cal Johnson workshop. During it, Cal did many demonstrations to show us how to create beautiful abstract paintings using colored inks. It was fascinating to watch how the colors flowed and interacted with each other as he added drops of ink to wet illustration board.
“You need a slick surface for this to work,” Cal said. He went on to explain that the illustration board needs to be taped down to a heavier support to keep it from bowing.
I used foam core, which worked great.
Another key is to leave the painting alone for at least two days so it can dry completely before removing the masking tape. The painting looks and feels dry in a matter of hours, but the material in the center of the illustration board is deceptive.
I got impatient and took the masking tape off two of my paintings the next day and, sure enough, they bowed to the point of being unusable. The two I left taped for two days stayed relatively flat.
After he put down the colors he wanted, he sprinkled Gold Geld powder over a few places. He took a piece of Saran wrap that was larger than the painting and crunched it up in his hands. While holding it in the air, he smoothed out some of the wrinkles but left most of them in. Then he held it above the painting and let it gently drift down onto the wet ink. At that point it was ready to set aside for two days to dry. The plastic wrap left interesting patterns in the paint.
Cal adding Gold Geld powder for a beautiful effect
Unlike other workshops, many artists noted that because this technique was so simple, they felt relaxed. There was no need to concentrate on composition, line, shape, etc. when working with inks — they have a mind of their own! This freedom resulted in artists creating more paintings than they usually do during a workshop.
It may look simple, but the reality is that while Cal made beautiful paintings seemingly without thought, many of the workshop attendees ended up making a lot of mud. It’s important to keep in mind that instructors make whatever they are teaching look simple because they have used those techniques hundreds of time. They have taken the time to figured out the nuances of their medium.
Learning how to use inks on wet illustration board will take practice, but the journey to mastering this technique will be delightfully fun.
It may look simple, but the reality is that while Cal made beautiful paintings seemingly without thought, many of the workshop attendees ended up making a lot of mud. It’s important to keep in mind that instructors make whatever they are teaching look simple because they have used those techniques hundreds of time. They have taken the time to figured out the nuances of their medium.
Learning how to use inks on wet illustration board will take practice, but the journey to mastering this technique will be delightfully fun.
