Acrylic Ink on Canvas Board

Today I thought I would start work on my next piece for the Frank Hornby Exhibition.

My intention was to use vibrant and translucent acrylic inks to create a painting of meccano, one of his inventions.

I spent a couple of hours this morning carefully applying acrylic ink, using salt and vinegar to create texture in the background. Vinegar repels the ink and creates some wonderful results, but you must make sure that you wash it off very thoroughly or the acid will affect the longevity of your artwork.

I very diligently took photos at each stage so that I could show you how the painting developed - so far, so good. Imagine my horror then, when the ink washed right off the board!

I ran a couple of tests, and sure enough, the acrylic ink simply wouldn't stick to the board. So I have put away my inks for now until I want to work on watercolour paper or stretched canvas, both of which I have used without problem before.

Please share your experiences in the comments box below - I'd love to know if (and how) you have been successful with acrylic inks!