

This is another point, whereas an artist can do whatever you want, but that doesn’t mean you should. If you’ve decided to try using ink on canvas, the first thing you need to do is figure out what kind of pen to use. Obviously, you won’t add a thick layer of ink, but you can mimic this type of texture. You can do something similar to this with ink. If it helps, try thinking about how oil and acrylic painters use the texture of canvas to add thick, textured paint to create their images. Use the texture to add a new dimension to your pen and ink drawing. Don’t try to work around the texture of the canvas. The best way to use ink on canvas is to take advantage of the texture and use it to create an interesting visual. The point is that if you’re going to draw on canvas with ink, you should take advantage of the texture instead of trying to cover it up. Now, if you’re thinking of applying multiple coats of gesso to your canvas to make it smoother and more accepting of ink, why not just draw on a smoother surface instead? Now, if you prepare a canvas specifically for ink, you should draw in more detail since several coats of gesso can help cover up the rough texture of the canvas. If your plan is to draw a detailed pen and ink drawing that makes use of stippling and hatching to create careful value gradations, then you’re going to have a hard time accomplishing this on canvas in most cases. With that being said, you should still strive to make intelligent choices that will enable you to express your artistic vision. Can you use pen and ink on canvas? You can, and as an artist, you should at least try it to see if you like it.Ĭan pen be used on canvas? Absolutely, because as you well know, you can do just about anything that you want to do in art. So what if most artists don’t use ink on canvas? That doesn’t mean that you can’t do it. Isn’t art about learning and exploring while expressing yourself. But, isn’t art all about finding ways to challenge yourself and then overcome those challenges? But, if you’re hoping to create a detailed drawing with fine lines, then that’s going to be considerably more challenging. If you are interested in creating a highly textured piece, you can get some interesting effects while drawing on canvas. But pen and ink are usually used on a smooth surface, so canvas is hardly ideal. This texture is great when you are painting with oils or acrylics because it helps the paint to grip the surface. The problem with drawing with pen and ink on canvas is that canvas has a rough texture. Will you get the type of results that you are hoping to get? That depends on the type of effect you want to create and how you prepare your canvas before working on it. After all, that's how the jellyfish catches his pray.Can you use a pen and ink on canvas? Of course. In the water, the tentacles would be moving. The last thing I want is for them all to be in a neat row. I made sure to have the tentacles overlap each other. I started with a lot of ink in my brush at the top and purposely kept going without reloading my brush so I the lighten would get lighter going down. For some reason, painting those and those little loops at the top was the most fun part for me of this whole project so far. Then it dawned on me to use my spray bottle, the same one I used to mix water into acrylic and watercolor paint, to spritz water straight into the ink! That really helped to lighten it and I don’t know why I didn’t think of it before.Īnyway, I thought the piece really started to come together when I added the tentacles, which I did with a combination of my smallest watercolor round brush and my liner brush.

I utilized a tissue to dab the ink and lighten it. I continued to paint shapes, copying my reference photo. I learned to use the dropper to put out just a little bit of the ink onto my palette, but it was still going on way darker than I wanted it. Today was day two of painting my jellyfish.
