Fluid Art Delicate Flower Painting with Marabu Alcohol Inks

By: Raven Iacono, Artist Educator

Learn how to create stunning delicate works of fluid art with vibrant and versatile alcohol inks on a variety of surfaces, such as Grafix Craft Plastic or Yupo sheets. The wonderful thing about using Alcohol Inks on non-porous surfaces is that your artwork can be easily reworked until you’re satisfied with the result. If you want to change the colors or lighten the image anywhere, just add additional Extender or isopropyl alcohol.

Materials List

Marabu Alcohol Inks & Extender
Smooth non-porous surface
Isopropyl alcohol
Assorted brushes
Palette
Paper towels, cotton swabs

Instructions

To open the bottles of alcohol ink, remove the cap and use a push pin or other sharp, pointed tool to pierce the tip of the nozzle.

Brush some Extender onto your surface, then squeeze a drop or two of the alcohol ink at the edge of the Extender area, so the color spreads lightly. The Extender increases the ink’s open time, lightens and lifts colors, and increases transparency.
Dip your paintbrush into either the alcohol or Extender, then begin brushing the color across the top of the surface to blend the color and get a nice, light, airy effect.
Brush more ink into the alcohol or Extender to create petals. Repeat with another color while overlapping the two colors a little bit - the edges begin to get darker. Dip your brush into the Extender to remove color and add areas of lightness in the petals. Try brushing long, dramatic petals or sweet, round petals depending on your desired flower.
Use bright colors to make the stamens by dotting the nib of the bottle into the center of each flower, adding color one drop at a time. Don’t forget to include the popular Rainbow additive, along with the metallic colors to give your flowers some sparkle.