Using a watercolor technique, acrylic ink is a very powerful and interesting art form. The bright colors are dense and need to be thinned with water before and during the execution of the painting. At times, I use a spray water bottle to give the ink “a path.” A good basic loose drawing starts the process and I draw in simple shapes, but nothing too definite. I use 140 lb watercolor paper to avoid buckling. The first wash is a very light and abstract one. This becomes the general overall pattern of the painting. After it dries, I use wax paper as a mask for the shapes that I wish to create and place it over my painting, using a permanent marker to draw in the shapes. Next, I remove the wax paper and using a razor blade or razor knife, I loosely cut out the shapes from the wax paper and place them carefully on top of my painting being sure the edges are flat against the surface. I splatter paint around the edges of the wax paper shapes and use my spray bottle to move some of the drops into different areas slowly working them and fading them off into the background. During this time, the wax paper is always left flat. When I think I have created enough background, I then lift the wax paper off. During the whole process, no brush is used although I do use the stick end of the brush to move paint around if I need a hard line. This process may take three, four or even five layers before you get the results you are after. It’s an experimental process and not every painting works. So, if you are planning on experimenting with this medium and method, it will take some time to perfect, but its lots of fun and quite interesting. The results can be remarkable and, of course, permanent. Once the acrylic washes dry, there is no moving them or lifting colors up as in watercolor. So, you must plan a little bit as to where you are going before you attempt a painting. I started with very basic colors as yellow, red, green and blue and later added a second set. When you are satisfied with your painting, you can either let it air-dry or force dry with a hair dryer. Either way, the colors will not bleed. It’s a most enjoyable method of creating a very loose and exotic painting.