I have been obsessed with professional alcohol based markers lately. Prismacolor makes a large variety of these types of markers. They’re double ended so that there’s a fine point end on one side, and a chisel or paintbrush point on the other. I recently lucked out in finding a deal for a set of 48 of these markers. At Michael’s, normally they’re priced at $299.99, but, one day, there was a 60% off coupon I was able to use, thus reducing the price of this set of markers down to $120.00. This effectively made each marker $2.50 each. Normally, each marker, bought singly, costs $6.99.
Previous to the above deal I just described, I was able to buy a set of 48 Artist’s Loft markers a few weeks ago for a similar deal. The Artist’s Loft markers are the markers I used to make the foundational drawing for this manipulated image. I mentioned the Prismacolor markers initially to describe to you the excitement I feel with regard to my current fascination with alcohol based markers.
What fascinates me about these alcohol based professional markers is the variety of colors that can be used. I had been wanting to collect a bunch of off color and neutral colored markers for my collection of art supplies because of a lack in the market I’d mistakenly and naively knew of prior to last year. Well, in my research over the last year, I discovered several brands of alcohol based marker makers that do indeed provide a wide range of colors: brilliant, pastel, dark, light, neutral, and everything in between!
I’ve also been interested in gel pens, ball-point pens, water-based pens, felt-tipped pens, fountain pens, reed pens, and other kinds of pens. Basically, as I mentioned at the introduction, I’ve been obsessed with pens. Since I have not been able to fulfill my dream as an artist with a large studio for the last several years, my compensation has been to downsize the sizes of my images, and to work with smaller tools, utensils, supplies, and equipment—the preponderance of the small if you will.
For internet production and consumption, this downsizing has worked out okay. Size is relative on the internet. Size is more determined by the screens by which viewers view art, whether if on handheld technology, laptops, or full sized computer screens. With my art, I include the dimensions, materials used, and other relevant information on my blog posts so that you are better informed as to what you’re investing in should you decide to share in the world of Art of eVan.
I like the sandy and stoney effect alcohol based markers give to the medium of paper after I manipulate my digitally converted drawings with filters in Photoshop. Rubbing alcohol does indeed have an unmistakable drying effect. Sand and stones are definitely mediums and symbols that lack water. That is, unless the relationship is that of a sandy beach that’s constantly being lapped by waves of ocean water. But even then, further away from the water is loads of beach sand that remains dry and scorched by a Summer’s sun. Anyway, you get the idea.
I titled this piece Read Tea (2B) because the markers I originally used for the foundation drawing are red. I used to use a color called Alizarin Crimson when I made oil paintings. It’s a standard dark red color that’s a staple for most professional oil painters. It’s a color that resembles blood. Therefore, it’s a natural, biological red. I used a couple markers from my collection that resemble alizarin crimson to surround an irregularly shaped target depiction.
As you may know, I have been fascinated with the bleeding effect that some water-based pens give after water is brushed over them on paper. I used that type of pen here, and achieved that bleeding effect that I wanted with the simple, hair-like scrawling you see transversing up to the middle of the target. It’s topped with a perpendicular line, thus giving it a capital letter T character. The letter T can be associated with the beverage of tea. Red tea tends to have a zinging sour taste to it intending for the drinker to perk up.
I sprayed and sprinkled some acetone over the alcohol based marker patterns, thus achieving some of the splatter marks you also see here. Acetone, like rubbing alcohol, after it dries, tends to parch materials of any moistness, giving mediums a stoney or sandy quality. So here I have chiseled out a simple abstract image with my chisel pointed alcohol based pens for you to feel in your viewing pleasure. I hope you enjoy it. I highlighted a couple tiny titillations of brilliant yellow and lavender around a couple of the dots near the center of the target to play with the notion of tiny intense points of color surrounded by vast areas of more neutralized color. I guess it’s playing with proportions, such as “the 80/20 rule” and so forth. In this case, it would be more like the 99/1 rule. Let’s make it the “98/2 rule” since that sounds less political.
Specifications:
Title: Red Tea (version 2B)
Source medium: Water-based, and alcohol-based ink, on paper
Source drawing completed: 3/4/2017
Print medium: Hewlett Packard printer ink from Hewlett Packard DesignJet Z2100 printer on Hewlett Packard print paper
Digital manipulation completed: 4/14/2017
Dimensions of print: 36 inches by 16 inches
Number of limited edition prints: 25
Investment of print not framed: $90.00
Investment of print framed: $435.00 (shipping included)
Contact me: artofevan@hotmail.com
Art of eVan 