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Thursday, January 22, 2009

Deadline Zombie, and a Question



The above is a current self portrait, except my hair is actually longer and I'm wearing socks.

And I have a question that anyone who uses drawing ink might be able to help me out with. I have a bottle of ink that's about to go bad; it has a slight sour smell that'll likely just get worse. It's the good kind of ink, Dr. Ph. Martin's High Carb, and I hate to dump it out. Is there any way to prevent it from spoiling? It's in a 30 ml bottle that I'd cleaned out, poured from a larger bottle, and I'm not short on ink. But these days I don't want to waste ink, especially the expensive stuff. Anybody got a suggestion?
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9 comments:

  1. UnknownJanuary 22, 2009 at 10:03 AM

    You're going to need a few easily obtained clearance documents from the EPA starting w/ form 3290B-2 and the phone number of the Nat. Parks service asking where they put 13 tons of Obama Inauguration schlock.

    As it happens, I just bought a 16 oz. bottle clearly marked HIGGINS WATERPROOF DRAWING INK. It is NOT waterproof. I need advice as well. And the number of this HIGGINS liar.

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  2. MikeJanuary 22, 2009 at 4:34 PM

    I think chlorine bleach kills most germs. Start at about a 1:3 ratio and let us know how things go.

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  3. Tom GoldsmithJanuary 22, 2009 at 5:20 PM

    First off let me say what an excellent self portrait you have posted..love it.

    Secondly I use the same ink in my work and often use a wash over top...when I notice that it is becoming a little less water fast I try and use it up quick ..by the time it starts to stink I assume its a gonner

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  4. David HagenJanuary 23, 2009 at 7:06 AM

    Being a lefthanded drawer, I'm always concerned with fast drying and waterproof ink. I'm King of the Smears! One of these days I'll have to learn to draw right to left. I don't have a solution for saving the ink, but I know that when it starts smelling funky, it's not stable. Perhaps an email to a someone in the Dr. Martins lab can bring it back to life! Good luck with the zombies, Richard!

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  5. BiraJanuary 23, 2009 at 11:59 AM

    Mr. Thompson, I'm really upset.
    Almost angry...




    Because, of course, I haven't met your blog before! It´s incredible! You have a very nice drawing and caricaturing style. Very nice and soft colors, handpainted, and you make cartoons, strips, comics and caricatures.
    Wow!
    What a stuff!
    I'm a brazilian cartoonist who has a lot of blogs!
    Nice to meet your work.
    Best wishes

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  6. zero hourJanuary 24, 2009 at 9:22 AM

    dump it dude...I used to use it , and had the same thing happen to me...STINK FACTOR wins over anything else.
    I'm LOVING FW acrylic artist ink...its WATer resistant. Higgins tends to smear and it's not to waterproof...
    for those that don't care if it is or not, NOODLERS makes a black ink I love ,very highly pigmented..(catfish on label) they DO make a waterproof black I think...go to their website.I used to sell this line and others at a penstore...so I have tested many an ink...lol

    Sennelier makes a nice line of tinted inks I'm digging as well.The neutral color is nice for anything...

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  7. angryparsnipJanuary 24, 2009 at 11:03 AM

    I used to store my inks in the frig, that was when we didn't have an air conditioner. When it smelled bad out it went. Thing went mucky an dried out fast in the west even if you recapped.

    Loved the self portrait. Hope all is better now ! cake helps !

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  8. TheophylactJanuary 26, 2009 at 11:27 AM

    Have you caught some of Steadman's or Scarfe's cooties? I believe single malt will cure that.

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  9. richardcthompsonJanuary 27, 2009 at 6:27 AM

    Thank you all for these suggestions. I'm just gonna use it up quick, then pour a new bottle full from the big bottle. Rina Piccolo advised ammonia, which works well as a thinner. If you make ink, like iron gall ink, you add something like oil of cloves to inhibit mold or bacteria, and it smells good too.

    Mike, yeah, Higgins is crummy, and finding out it's not waterproof is not a happy surprise.

    Mike, chlorine bleach might work, though I'm a little leery of it as it can wreck paper. But it might make the ink smell lemon-fresh, too.

    Doodle, thanks! You ever have a bottle of ink go seriously bad? It's like something crawled into it and died. eeurgh.

    David, yeah, my wife & younger daughter are lefties. My daughter's trying to learn mirror-writing, like da Vinci.

    Bira, sorry, and very glad to meet you, too! I'll go prowl around on your blogs.

    Patty L, yeah, I like Noodler's as long as I don't need waterproof. The catfish helps, too.

    Angry P, cake is the best suggestion I've heard.

    Theo, single malt is tied with cake.

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