A quick Wednesday night project

Now that spring is coming and it's still light out when I get out of work, I don't feel like I need to throw on pajamas and call it a night as soon as I get home.  So this Wednesday I did some experimenting with tape drawing and inking. 

I did a simple illustration of a bird (because I really like birds) onto an 8.5"x 11" heavy stock paper.  The masking tape actually worked great for this subject because it tears into long triangular strips that resemble feathers.

All taped up

Using a brayer I rolled a bright yellow waterbased ink overtop, and then peeled the tape off.  The results are below. 

Just chillin

Next time I might use a darker ink because the image is hard to see at night when my room is dimly lit.    

If you want to try your own but don't have ink and a brayer, you could easily use paint instead.  Just avoid using tempera/poster paint because it tends to chip easily and you don't want to be pulling off the paint along with your tape.  Pull the tape off when the paint is about 80% dry to avoid chipping anyway (except with watercolor or spraypaint where it doesn't matter).  If necessary use tweezers or a blade to help kick up the tape edge. 

Overall the project was fun and took only about an hour.  This techinque is so simple and versitile that the possibilities are endless.  Decorate your walls, make stationary, or use fabric paint to create graphics on clothes.  I plan to try it again on a canvas tote!