Aubergine Ink

I didn’t get much done in the studio today, but I did get the aubergine ink mostly mixed up for tomorrow’s printing.

First, I’ve got a friend who is going through some tough stuff and needed my help. I spent a few hours this morning helping him out. Then, I well and truly intended to mix ink and pull prints for the rest of the day. But I got a phone call from another friend who wanted to swing by for breakfast at the local dive joint. And, as he pulled into my driveway I saw steam pouring from the car. Long story short, he was soon on his way to the mechanic and needed a ride back home.

I decided that if I got only one thing done in the studio it would be to mix up the ink for what has become tomorrow’s printing. The goal was aubergine. To get there, I start with a clear, pure violet.

 

[Violet Iris]

 

[Slightly blue of violet]

Then, to mute it out, I blended it with the painter’s complement, yellow. In the spot where the yellow has smeared, you can see it turning brown. That’s right! It’s the direction of my goal.

 

[Violet with a dollop of yellow]

I went a little too far, I think, ending up with more of a maroon. Tomorrow, I’ll add some of the magenta and blue back in to bring it back toward violet. That’s what I get for being in a hurry.

 

[Ta-dah! Warm aubergine]

[Maroon Iris]

The great thing about using oil-based inks is that they can sit day after day as long as the air is excluded and there are no drying agents added. Here are my piles after mixing up the big pile. The magenta, blue, and yellow are my source piles. The brown is from yesterday. The big pile is tomorrow’s aubergine. I’ll lay a sheet of heavy plastic over it, press that down to a thin film of vegetable oil to seal it, and leave it until tomorrow.

 

[Ink piles]

UPDATE: I did add more violet and now it’s perfect!

 

[My perfect aubergine]