Alcohol Ink Realistic Techniques Paint a Echinacea Flower

It is always best to test out your inks and your sealers before you begin painting. Safety is important, make sure to use proper safety equipment and ventilation. Nitrile gloves, long sleeves and leave children and pets out of the area while working with Alcohol inks.  It is always best to look at the Material Data Sheets for the products you are going to use.

*Safety Note: When using paints and chemicals please adhere to any and all manufacturer safety guidelines with these products. If you have specific safety questions or concerns please contact the product's manufacturer or your doctor. I am an artist, not a Scientist or a Doctor. These are just my opinions and my process, I am not responsible for your health or actions.

Students learn and practice a whimsical wispy alcohol ink background using air and alcohol for blending. Plus how to use texture as an option to create more interest in their Alcohol Ink paintings. 

Let's look at adding alcohol inks over the textured background creating a wispy look using a fun technique.

Students will practice using alcohol inks to create a bumblebee. We'll be dropping in the color and shaping up with some details.

Okay, so we've tried the more abstract, let's try sketching in some with a pencil, and then we'll fill in with some color and adding a little Chameleon pen for details.

Now that we have a lovely practice background, let's paint your first bee on there using some alcohol inks and pen details.

Students will practice painting a coneflower, and learn to create texture using a stippling and lifting technique.

Let's take a look at a fun and simple material that we can use to create a honeycomb look with our alcohol inks.

Students will learn to use masking fluid on yupo paper to create a simple masked drawing of the Bumblebee scene. 

Let's create a beautiful and simple background using alcohol inks. We'll be doing a pour over the masking fluid. It's a very easy way to create an interesting and colorful blended background.

Once your alcohol ink painting background is dry, it's time to remove the masking fluid.

Students will begin to paint in some details with shadows.

Let's begin adding some details of bees and flowers to your painting.

We will be trimming your alcohol ink paintings and thinking about what size you want to mount them to. We will be using a wooden cradle board for this step.

We'll cover the steps of sealing and attaching your painting to wood.

Let's begin our second project, but sketching and masking in our last flower options. You can print out the PDF below under resources (you will need an ap to open it if on a mobile device).

Now that we have our masking down, let's add our background wash of colors.

In the next steps, we will be removing the masking fluid and begin some of the details in the coneflower.

Final steps to finish up your project. Learn to use a black sharpie for some fine details.

Learn to use air to move the alcohol inks around to create an easy and stunning coneflower.