Archives: Utne Reader 1992
Sep 25th, 2009 by J. O'Brien
This is an illustration I did for the Utne Reader in 1992, just before or as I was going digital. This was for a story about oil fields and Indian reservations, if I remember correctly. This image was done using watercolor and ink. I lightly penciled the drawing onto watercolor paper and then inked it, followed by watercolor washes. Occasionally the watercolor would cover up the ink creating an interesting translucent effect. Some of the line work remains in this piece which now actually bothers me a bit but at the time fit into the unfinished happenstance method I’m still using as a part of my process.
I love the broad ink strokes, muted colors, and symmetry of this piece.