I have tried ink on water marbling and it was ok but nothing spectacular, quite pale colours and I didn’t get great results.  Of course I most likely used the wrong ink and almost certainly an inefficient technique, but in the back of my mind I wanted to have another go as I love the effects of marbled paper.

I saw a suminagashi class on Skillshare and it looked doable as I had all of the ingredients so I gave it a go.

Tomoe River paper

Top Strathmore mixed media, bottom Stonehenge warm white.

Strathmore mixed media (front)

Strathmore mixed media paper (back).

I like that this technique is fairly unpredictable but not totally. Having said that, the final photo is the back of one of the prints and I really like how the ink has swished onto the back of the paper and created a very unpredictable effect.

I used Strathmore mixed media paper which was very white and smooth, Stonehenge warm white paper with a slight texture and Tomoe River paper which is thin smooth and will still withstand the printing and rinsing of suminagashi very well.

Of all the papers I think the Strathmore mixed media worked best as it seemed to give the cleanest prints with nice strong lines. I am always amazed at how much wet you can throw at Tomoe River paper and it still comes out smiling!

I am looking forward to having another go, maybe with some coloured ink and on a warm sunny day so that I can hang my prints onto the washing line to dry!

Happy Monday x