I have been drawing the mugshots using black ink on to a 60lbs cartridge paper. The problem is that the paper has been warping quite badly with some of the washes of colour. This will be partly due to me diluting the ink with water which makes the paper very wet. To overcome this problem I bought a heavy weight, textured acrylic paper. I soon discovered this is not suitable for inks! The paper quickly absorbs the ink and any tiny ink splash cannot be washed away with water. Also that lovely translucency and shine you get with inky washes is totally lost on a thick paper with a rough surface – lesson learnt. I do have a heavier smooth cartridge paper (100lbs) but I think the only way to stop the buckling is to stretch it. Another solution might be to use a Hot Pressed watercolour paper. Anyway, I’ll post my latest mugshot on acrylic paper for you to see, however, I think if I have time I will draw her again.
Drawing on the acrylic paper
Ink and chalk drawing on acrylic paper
