Hand coloring block prints

[noverso]

Just wondering . . .

I've been using water soluble block printing ink and find that the dry black runs when I try to watercolor tint the prints. Does anyone have experience with acrylic printing ink (block or textile) and watercoloring? I'm hoping the acrylic will be water resistant when dry and also will not take forever to dry. Just don't want to use solvents.

Thanks,
Margaret

[MyMaineArt]

Acrylics are pretty stable once dry. Ever try to remove them? I have switched to oil based inks for prints I want to add watercolor too. Of course, fixative wuld probably stabilize the black but woutd hinder the watercolor. Another thing detrimental to success with acrylics is their tendency to skin over quickly.

Of course if you did your watercolor before you printed the black there would not be a problem. But that would mean you would need some sort of guide to go by.

[noverso]

Thanks! I've hand painted my latest cards over water soluble ink which worked fairly well (margaretdahm.com has a picture). I think I will try the oil based. It would be nice to just paint in swashes rather than so tidily.

Painting the color beforehand ... well, I'll just be happy to know my limitations.
Excellent answer. Cheers.