How to make a triptych

1. Triptych paper

-    Tape the three sheets of mixed media paper onto your work surface

-    Protect the surface as necessary as inks can be messy!

-    Squeeze out White, Yellow Ochre, and Cerulean Blue acrylics onto a palette

-    Create a blend of white and blue across the top of the three sheets

-    Work down the sheets and at the halfway point, add a mix of Yellow Ochre and white

-    Roughly blend it into the blue tone to create a gradient

-    Continue to work across and down the pages and allow this to thoroughly dry

2. How to use drawing inks

-    Apply your drawing inks freely from left to right using the following colour order: Sunflower, Orange, Scarlet, Rose Madder, Mauve, Purple Lilac, Magenta, Phthalo Blue, Cerulean Blue, Teal, Phthalo Green, Sap Green, Chartreuse, and Sage

-    Overlap the colour groupings here and there to create a rough gradient

-    Blow the ink around the pages using a straw to allow the colours to amalgamate

-    Blow some colours across the page and others directly down to create a flower shape

-    Add more colours where you see fit to make the composition more interesting

-    Add drops of isopropyl alcohol to disperse the pigment in the ink and create interesting patterns

-    Let everything dry thoroughly

3. How to draw the trees

-    Once the ink colours are dry, fill a small vessel with black ink

-    Use a dip pen to draw lines down from certain flower and tree top shapes, suggesting stems and trunks

-    Vary the thickness of the lines to add more interest

-    Allow the black ink to dry completely

4. How to frame a triptych

-    Carefully remove the masking tape from the sheets

-    Frame each sheet behind glass in three separate, identical frames

-    Remove the backing board and cardboard from the frames

-    Place the mat over the artwork and adhere it to the top of the mat with clear tape

-    Place the work and mat face side down, refit the backing board, and hang the frames on the wall side by side