Value Studies with Sumi

9/15/20 value studies with Boku-Undo sumi ink

Whoa, it’s been a long time since I used any kind of liquid medium!

I was in the mood to use a new tonal material to make value studies. I have some ArtGraf water-soluble graphite blocks that I bought in Portugal a couple of years ago that I haven’t tried yet. And I just got a set of “Shadow Black” tinted sumi ink called Boku-Undo. Both products behave like cake watercolors but are very intensely dark due to the addition of graphite (the former) and sumi (the latter). As expected, they are excellent for making value studies because they are easy to dilute or use full strength. But it’s been so long since I used watercolors that my first brush strokes blew my head open!

My still life had included a tomato, but struggling with the sumi took so much time that I had to use the tomato for lunch. By the time I got to using colored pencil, all I had left with were the garlic and lemon! I’m not done experimenting with these sumi inks, though, and I’m going to try the ArtGraf blocks, too. (The smoke is still hanging over us oppressively; it’s a good time to play indoors.)

9/15/20 F-C Polychromos colored pencil in Stillman & Birn Nova sketchbook
(I tried to enhance the highlights with a white Posca marker, but I don't like
the lack of integration with colored pencils. Paint markers are fun when used
with other markers, but they are the opposite of colored pencils in terms of subtle gradations.
Paint markers are like plastic while colored pencils are like wood.)