Recently, I shared a highly saturated, small-scale study of a boat docked on a blindingly bright summer day, done entirely with Zebra Sarasa gel pens. That initial piece was all about capturing the raw, vibrating heat and light from an old reference photo.
Today, I am sharing the larger, translated version of that same scene, completed this time using India ink.
It is always a fascinating process to see how a composition shifts and breathes differently when you change both the scale and the medium. While the gel pen study was built on tight, scratchy, directional strokes, moving to India ink allowed for broader, smoother washes of color.
You can see how the vivid yellows, reds, and oranges of the boat’s interior feel a bit more grounded and painterly in this version. However, I intentionally kept that fragmented, graphic, mosaic-like texture in the water to maintain the harsh, rippling reflection of the summer sun.
Taking a piece from a small, experimental study to a larger ink format is a balancing act—trying to refine the forms without losing the initial, spontaneous energy that made the sketch work in the first place.
Technical Details:
- India Ink
- Strathmore heavyweight mixed media 350lb 9×12
- Liquitex white acrylic ink
