Alcohol Ink Stamped Collages By Sharon 'Harry' Solly

I received the new Ranger Alcohol inks this past week and have been going nuts with them. They work on so many surfaces. I had gotten a pack of Artist Canvas Panels that are already primed so that I could try out some painting, collage, glazing techniques etc. Well needless to say I never got around to those ideas and the panels have been sitting here waiting on a new life. I decided to see how the Alcohol inks would work on the panels and to my happiness they are fantastic! I am totally hooked and am now begging my daughter to go out and buy more panels to play with! LOL! I hope you try these and have a blast as I have.

Supplies used for these projects:

  • Large Face, Puzzle Face, Square Border, Paintbrushes, Script, Art Word and Dragonfly Circle Poem Rubber stamps (Cherry Pie)
  • 5�x 7� Artist Canvas Panels, acrylic Primed (Fredrix)
  • Stream, Wild Plum, Butterscotch, Lettuce, Raisin and Terra Cotta Adirondack Alcohol inks, Alcohol Blending Solution, Cranberry, Meadow and Butterscotch Adirondack dye inkpads (Ranger) India Ink Black, Artprint Brown and Port Red Memories permanent inkpad (Stewart Superior), Versamark Watermark inkpad, Vermilion and Lilac Impress dye inkpads (Tsukineko)
  • Dark Green and Bright Teal embossing powders
  • Printed Quotes on white copy paper from your computer
  • Soft Gel Medium, Paintbrushes, Heat Gun, Scissors, Sponge, Spray Sealer

For the Pink/Purple collage; Squirt some of the Alcohol Blending solution onto the Canvas panel and smoosh it around with your finger so that the entire canvas is covered. You want the canvas to be wet but not with puddles. Drop a few drops of Stream and Wild Plum alcohol inks onto the surface and help them spread a bit with your finger. Add more drops of each color if needed, as well as more Blender solution. The Blender solution will make the inks spread rapidly as well as lighten them, so go easy with it. To make bull�s eye effects, place a drop of ink onto the blender solution wet surface. As that drop spreads out, place a drop of another color inside the first one and it will spread out as well. Once you are happy with the ink colors and pattern, heat the inks gently with a heat gun to dry them. Once they are dried, you can wipe the top of the panel with a damp cloth and they will not come off. You will need to use a permanent ink when you stamp on these panels as the dye inks will wipe right off even after heating with a heat gun. You can emboss them if you wish though.

Stamp the Art Word image repeatedly around the outer edges of the panel with Port Red permanent ink. Heat set the ink.
Stamp the Puzzle Face image with India Ink Black permanent ink to the left side of the panel as shown. Heat set the ink.
Stamp the Paintbrush images with Versamark Watermark ink. Cover the paintbrush images with Bright teal embossing powder. Remove excess powder and heat with a heat gun to emboss. Be careful with the heat gun and do not let the panel get to hot or the surface will bubble.
Tear and cut the printed quotes as you like to fit onto the panel. Color them with Vermilion and Lilac dye inks using a sponge. Glue the quote strips to the panel with Gel Medium. Seal the panel with Spray sealer.

For the Earthy color Panel: I used Butterscotch, Raisin, Terra Cotta and Lettuce Alcohol inks with the blender solution in the same manner as described above. Heat set the inks.
Stamp the Script image repeatedly around the edges of the panel with Artprint Brown permanent ink. Heat set the ink.
Stamp the Dragonfly only of the Dragonfly circle poem image randomly on the panel with Port Red permanent ink. Heat set the ink.
Stamp the Large Face image with India Ink Black permanent ink. Heat set the ink.
Stamp the Square Border image twice as shown in the picture with Versamark Watermark ink. Cover the border images with dark Green embossing powder. Remove excess powder. Be sure to remove stray bits of the powder before heating or they will be permanent. Heat the images with a heat gun to emboss the powder.
Cut or tear the printed quotes/words to the right fit on the panel. Color the strips of quotes with Meadow, Cranberry and Butterscotch inks using a sponge. Glue the quote strips as shown onto the panel with Gel Medium and a paint brush.
Color in the eyes slightly with Terra Cotta alcohol ink and the lips with Raisin alcohol ink using a paintbrush that has been dipped in blending solution. Heat any wet inks with a heat gun to set them.
Spray the panel with Sealer.

I hope you DO get these inks soon and have a go at these panels. They are not that expensive at your local art supply stores of chain craft stores. If you have any questions about these please email me! Happy inking!

Art and Words By Sharon Solly 2004