Introduction

At the TAS April 2025 members meeting, the guest artist was Margaret Miicklewright. Margaret was working mostly with inks and painting a dramatic seascape. With just 2 hours to demonstrate her painting techniques, time was not on Margaret’s side, and she had to end with an unfinished work.

The following are some notes supplied by Margaret on which products and materials she uses, plus an image of the finished work (header image).

Paper, etc.

I use heavy duty watercolour paper 300gsm or more ideally because it does not wrinkle or warp when soaked. Daler Rowney Aquafine rough , I also use handmade paper from Two Rivers in Watchet which does cope with being soaked but it is a bit unpredictable when the ink is applied.

I used birchwood ply painting panel for the demonstration. These can be obtained from Jacksons etc.and you will need to prime them if wanted or try using them unprimed (ink does react differently on unprimed wood) As some of you may have seen, handwriting ink can be absorbed by Gesso, so maybe use the heavier weight ink such as acrylic.

Soaking (paper – I used water sprayer on the wood): Gently sketch out your guidelines in pencil (you will be left with light visible pencil lines, under the ink). Minimum 20 mins ideally in softer water which does affect the results I think. Daler Rowney paper is very robust so can be left for much, much longer and will put up with resoaking and lots of spraying. Soaking is not essential, but personally I love the effects of using ink on wet paper. It can be sprayed afterwards to gain some lovely effects too. Drain the paper by tipping it at an angle, then gently wipe with paper towel.

Brushes and pens

Try to always use acrylic brushes as natural filaments can be damaged by using ink and also bleach or Sterilising fluid. Chinese brushes hold the ink well. I use pens made from Common Reed (about a metre tall with a fluffy head, naples yellow in colour – cut a length into pen sized lengths, then make diagonal cuts either end) . The best time to harvest these is Jan-May – they want to be firm to be usuable. If kept in a cool but dry place, a jam jar for example, they should last a long time (I usually get a new batch each year but they can keep for several years). Other grasses or bamboo can be used of course, but these reeds tend to retain the ink for longer.

Inks

Acrylic Inks

Wide range of colours, do not fade when dry, acrylic paint formulation, not affected by bleach or sterilising liquid (SL). Heavier body therefore fairly matt in finish. I used FW Inks by Daler Rowney and Liquitex (lighter in pigmentation – wide range of more interesting colours and translucent finishes).

Handwriting Inks

Dyes, they fade down when dry and are less predictable, but create lighter or more dramatic effects, especially when SL is applied. Please remember that they stain a bit. Parker Quink (permanent black), Watermans and Cult Pens own inks which I have recently discovered but rate highly. www.cultpens.com hold a very wide range of inks at competitive prices, fast delivery and a mini packet of love hearts with every order – a local firm too (Tiverton).

If using SL, please look at the safety instructions before using, only a small amount is required in your palette. You can paint over an area that you have applied SL too.

Other things to experiment with – Liquitex Acrylic medium, modelling paste, to give body, I used it on the foreground on my painting. Gesso can prove a useful medium for ink which can be mixed into it.

The secret weapon white is by Daler Rowney Bleedproof White, a very robust way of making sure that white remains white, it comes in little jars. My drawing tools for the evening were Art Graf (like tailors chalk) which is another strong thing to use which can be blended with water and rubbed with the fingers.