Black Ice info

Black Ice (detail)

Ink on watercolor paper. 
 
This one was done by wetting the paper and (before the water froze) dripping diluted black ink on it. If you look closely, you can see the patterns of ice crystals in the ink splotches. From such humble beginnings, everything else followed...

Black Ice 1

Ink on watercolor paper. 
 
And this was painted with undiluted black ink; which, after freezing, thawing, and drying, ended up looking remarkably like burnished metal.

Black Ice 2

Black Ice 3

Black Ice 4

Ink on watercolor paper. 
 
This one looked incredible when it was frozen; unfortunately, some of the incredibleness melted away when it thawed.

Black Ice 5

Ink on watercolor paper. 
 
The air temperatures this time were almost balmy; in the teens Fahrenheit (-12 to -6 C).

Black Ice 6

Ink on watercolor paper. Diptych (contains two separate pieces of paper).

Black Ice 7

Ink on watercolor paper. 
 
With this one, I was finally able to control the thawing/drying process to the degree that the inky ice crystals in the finished painting look about the same as they did while frozen. 
 
It only took eight tries to do that...plus many more that were trashed for lousiness. 
 
With that hurdle cleared, time to move on to more ambitious designs.

Black Ice 8

Black Ice 9

Black Ice 10

Ink and watercolors on watercolor paper. Triptych (contains three separate pieces of paper). 
 
I regretted introducing color into the series, which is why this is the only Black Ice painting that includes it.

Black Ice 11

Ink on watercolor paper. Quadtych (contains four separate pieces of paper). 
 
The ice doubles down.

Black Ice 12

Ink on watercolor paper. 
 
Lucky 13 turned out to be one of the best of the series, despite looking nothing like the originally intended design.

Black Ice 13

Black Ice 14

Ink on watercolor paper. 2023. 
 
The true mace of winter.

Black Ice 15

Black Ice 16

Ink on watercolor paper. 
 
While creating abstract ink paintings in warmer conditions, I've often seen the ink flow into a particularly superb pattern and wished that there was some way to freeze it in that exact position. 
 
Turns out that the best solution is, quite literally, to FREEZE it in that exact position.

Black Ice 17

Ink on watercolor paper. 
 
Almost looks like the ice is sticking out its tongue at you, doesn't it?

Black Ice 18

Black Ice 19

Ink on watercolor paper. 
 
There were five successive paint-freeze cycles involved in making this one. I think the temperature changed while I was doing it, too, which may account for the differences in the ice crystals in each layer.

Black Ice 20

Black Ice 21

Black Ice 22

Black Ice 23

Ink on watercolor paper. The design is based on kori, the Japanese ideogram for "ice."

Black Ice 24

Ink on watercolor paper. The artist's personal favorite of the series.

Black Ice 25

Black Ice 26

Ink on watercolor paper. 
 
This concluded the Black Ice series. Lesson learned: in art as in driving, black ice must be handled cautiously. 🖤 🧊

Black Ice 27

Black Ice type

A series of 27 abstract ink paintings, created outdoors in subfreezing temperatures to achieve unique effects.