Hello Everyone,
I hope you had a fabulous holiday season and are enjoying the start of the New Year! For my friends in the northern part of the U.S., it’s a good time to be indoors and painting given the frigid temperatures outside.

In early December, I came across a YouTube video by Myriam’s Nature introducing Kielty Inks from Ireland. It certainly peaked my interest. The colors looked rich, and the company had developed products that were advertised as non-toxic. I quickly went to the website to find the company offers: inks; a retarding mixative to extend the working time of the ink; layer solution that allowed for inks to be layered and not mix together; blending solution, and a porous surface converter. Of course, I had to try most of it and pre-ordered an ink set and some porous surface converter. This is a small company, and I did have to wait patiently until mid-January for the entire kit to be in stock and mailed. Whoa, once it was mailed, the inks arrived in three days!

Now, the company is based in Dublin, Ireland, so the shipping fee is hefty unless you order over, I think, $126.00 and there is a minimum order of $57.44 USD. For my friends in the UK, Ireland or elsewhere in Europe, this ink may be less expensive than shipping from the US. And, these inks are more expensive than inks produced in the US. Open to experimenting with inks, despite the cost, I had to have these.

So now to experiment and see how I can use these products in my artwork.

I am starting a project to make 3×3 cradled panel paintings and decided that instead of painting on yupo paper and adhering that to the panel, I would simply seal and paint the wood and then use the porous surface converter. I did experiment a bit and decided the two coats of the porous surface converter are needed. With one coat, the ink seemed to soak into the panel a bit, and I didn’t want that effect.

Using two coats of the porous surface converter seemed to allow the inks to
flow more freely. Even with this layer, I found that the inks do not move as easily as they do on yupo. But this is all about trying new substrates and ways to paint!

I am so happy to share my learning with you that I made a short video demonstration. CLICK HERE to see the video and learn more!

As I experiment and learn more about all of the Kielty products, I will pass on learning to you!

As always, Happy Inking!
Korinne