daydreamwaves asked: I love your art! I was wondering what medium do you use (for example to paint your envelopes)?
I get asked this question a lot, so forgive me for copying and pasting most of the following from a Disqus conversation on May 10th.
I could dish about inks and papers and brushes all day! People usually give me a skeptical look when I tell them I exclusively paint with ink. My work exhibits a variety of textures, which is due to the different types of inks I use.
Daler Rowney FW inks are my favorites, which are acrylic based. This means they’re thick and easy to layer, but they still have the slick and fluid texture of ink. Best of all— they’re archival and won’t fade over time.
I also use natural inks from a variety of companies, including Winsor & Newton. These inks are more delicate. If not taken care of, they will fade over time. However, they’re worth the risk because natural color is always bright and pure.
As a rule of thumb: synthetic colors are heavy and opaque, and natural colors are translucent and stain-like. You can tell if a paint is synthetic or natural by reading the label. Acrylic inks will be labeled as such. But also take the color into consideration. Colors that are named after a mineral or stone (ex: cobalt, umber, sienna, ultramarine) actually use those elements to make the paint. This explains why they’re so expensive. Colors with names that sound more descriptive (sky blue, flame red) were concocted in a lab. This holds true with most paints, especially oils.
The shimmery pages were created with Daler Rowney FW Pearlescent inks. When dry, they make a really hard surface. I often use them as a foundational layer to help thicken a page.
…you should hear me go on about brushes in my Kolinsky Sable blog post!
Thank you for the question,
-M. H. Dunaway
