Belper Art Group

First a few words of warning the pens use Isopropyl Alcohol as the solvent and it is highly flammable, heavier than air and does not disperse easily. PLEASE: when using this system ensure you are in a well ventilated room, with no naked flames and ensure that any liquid Isopropyl Alcohol is stored safely, preferably in a metal cupboard.

About twelve of us set about trying our hand at producing artworks using Alcohol Pens. The top picture is of some of us gathered around a table looking at eachothers work. I have to say that for a first attempt I am very impressed, several of the results deserve to be framed. Well Done BAG! The picture alongside illustrates the point nicely and a frame makes all the differrence.

This next section is written by Cathy and contains amongst other things the information about the materials we used.

Thanks Cathy and to the team of ladies who led us.

As promised, here is a list of the items you used during the workshop. Most of it can be ordered on eBay or Amazon, I also use a couple of good online art suppliers artdiscount.co.uk cultpens.com Do shop around though as prices seem to fluctuate and vary wildly! I’ve ended up going into far more detail than I intended so first here’s a quick list of what you need, followed by more lengthy advice if you want to read on!

Yupo paper is available in 2 weights - 85gsm or 155gsm and is made by Frisk. You used the 85gsm yesterday. Available in a few different sizes as pads or loose sheets - 10 or 25 sheets usually. i usually buy from Amazon or eBay. On average one pack of 25 sheets A4 is about £15, but prices online do vary a lot. There are other brands such as Nara, but I’ve found Frisk is the best for this particular technique from the ones I’ve tried. Although, I’ve also since used an unbranded Yupo paper I quite like I bought recently on eBay - here’s the link for that one https://ebay.us/m/IHUHnn

The pens you mainly used at the workshop are alcohol based ink marker pens, double nibbed (fine/brush twinmarkers), the brand is called Deco Time and they come in that handy storage box you saw. As I mentioned, this spring they brought out a new box of 160 pens for £40 which you can buy from the art section at B&M, but they don’t seem to be around much now - I’ve tried various branches. There are quite a lot of colours I find I never really use (black, greys, browns, skin colours) so you’re not getting as many useful pens as you might think but they’re definitely still a good price generally. For the money these pens are fantastic, but the brush nib can wear out quicker than some of the more expensive brands. My advice is if you see any of the DecoTime twin marker boxes go for it as they not be around again for a while! Be careful not to buy the Aquamarkers tho as they won’t work for this method. It should say alcohol ink on the box in smallish type.

Promarker & Brushmarker pens by Windsor & Newton are the same sort of thing as above, just a bit better quality, more intense, vibrant ink colours and a lot more expensive, but you can buy them individually by the colour which is very helpful as your favourite colours are always the first to run out! They’re approx £3-4 each. There are loads of gorgeous colours in the range. Promarkers have a fine tip and a chisel tip, Brushmarkers have a brush tip and a chisel tip (definitely my preferred choice! I adore these pens!!) Copic also make the same sort of pen as a Brushmarker in 2 ranges called Ciao or Sketch. They’re refillable and have an even bigger range of colours but are a bit more expensive than the Brushmarkers, especially the Sketch range, which holds more ink. They’re lovely pens to use though. I’ve also had chunky fine/chisel alcohol based markers from both Flying Tiger, Søstrene Grene and Typo in the Derbion, and you’ll often find similar pens in other places too. Limited colours but nice pens about £2 each. The Works used to do some too, not sure if they still do. You’ll find various unbranded twinmarkers on Amazon and eBay which are chisel/fine nib at a good price. I’ve tried some of these before but the quality of pen body itself does vary - they’re nice ink pens & colours but the lids are more difficult to pull off and click back on so get a bit annoying after a while! That’s where a silicon grip comes in handy to yank the lid on and off!

www.ebay.com 91% isopropyl (rubbing) alcohol - this is the link to where I buy it on ebay, £7.99 for 250ml in an atomiser spray bottle.

I buy the glass bottles/pipettes we used from a trade place so to buy one would work out pretty expensive with the postage. You can probably find some sort of atomiser on Amazon/eBay if you’re not buying the alcohol in a mister bottle, although often they’re sold in packs of a few bottles. I sometimes use an old John Frieda hair Volume Lift travel sized spray bottle at £2 from Superdrug/Boots, although I’ve not seen any recently so not sure if they’re still available. Just empty it out and wash/dry well. I’ve tried various atomisers over the years and not all give a nice fine mist so test it out on a scrap piece first!

You can buy plastic disposable pipettes to draw up the alcohol if you’ve not got a bottle with a glass dropper like we used. I’ve recently gone over to the glass as I didn’t like using all that plastic as they do break frequently so get thrown away a lot. You can order them on ebay but you usually have to buy 100. They’re under £5 if I remember correctly.

Plastic straws (paper straws may go soggy with repeated use?) I feel it works best when the straw is cut shortish so you can direct your breath more! If you find it difficult to blow hard, you can buy an air blower/dust bulb from about £5 on Amazon or eBay. I use this method myself now in addition to using a straw as it gives a slightly different effect.

The last thing is an acrylic aerosol spray varnish with UV protection to seal your picture before framing and displaying. These are the 2 varnish sprays I use to seal my alcohol ink paintings on yupo paper. Tbh I feel I’m still looking for the perfect one, and quite often I’ve heard other people recommend Kamar, but I’ve personally not tried them yet. The Windsor & Newton one is available from The Range, approx £16, the other is available from various large DIY shops, maybe big craft stores too? I think it’s about £13, can’t quite remember now. I use one or the other, not both. Shake the can well for a full minute. I spray it all over lightly, then leave a day in between for it to fully dry (which may be a little over cautious but best to be on the safe side!) I usually apply about 4-5 coats in total. Take care to wipe the nozzle afterwards as it can easily block up!

Keep the pens themselves away from direct heat/sunlight as they are quite light sensitive and can fade over time. Same goes for your finished painting if you’re hanging it up (even if varnished you’re still best to keep out of direct sunlight). You can also use UV glass in your frame to help protect it.