Using India ink has been eye opening. It’s lightfast, permanent, and waterproof. It’s available in many colors, and it’s mostly transparent. It can be a stick, liquid in a bottle, or markers. I guess I never thought about how perfect it is as a medium.

I think it creates beautiful, glowing colors. Unlike watercolor, I don’t overmix and create mud. I wanted to add a little opacity as well as some white here and there, however, so I bought a bottle of Dr. Martins’s Bombay white. That, along with the few dozen Faber-Castell Pitt Brush Pens should hold me for awhile.

I’ve learned to work from light to dark as once the ink is down, it’s not possible to lift it unless working on a surface like Claybord or Duralar. I’ve also learned to use washes and glazes. I don’t quite know how such an art supply fiend like me has managed to miss ink as a medium all these years. I’m pleased I finally found it.