"Runnel" is the latest slideshow in the alcohol ink drip playing series...

1. Runnel
A beginner’s play in alcohol inks, alcohol
markers, colored pencils, India ink,
crayon, gel pens, and whatnot,
(non)synthetic papers,
light compositing,
neural filters,
and digital image editing…
Shalin Hai-Jew
Mar. 2022

2. 2
Mist

3. 3
Black Ice

4. 4
Sentinel Plots

5. 5
Sun Reflectance

6. 6
Cities, Ideas of Cities

7. 7
Open City

8. Runnel
• “Runnel” is the latest in the alcohol ink drip playing “common art”
series (started in January 2021) to provide stress relief from the global
pandemic. At this moment, there is a pseudo-normalcy while we all
wait to see what happens. Hard to guess odds with so many wildcard
factors.
• I am still in the process of learning about the essential nature of the
various neural filters and how they interact with a seeding visual
(photo, diagram, alcohol ink painting, drawing, or other work).
Anticipating effects is useful given the time required to run various
neural filters (on my fairly new machine).
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9. Runnel(cont.)
• There are various sequences that may be worked in neural filters, too.
And the sequences can muddy pretty quickly, too, particularly in the
filters that blur the visuals.
• This slideshow sketchbook includes some experimentation with the
depth blurring neural filter. Even with an identified spot for focus, the
background is not necessarily blurred effectively.
• Each physical work now results in several workable digitally edited
pieces, but in general, I am only using one or two because I am still
interested in hiding what the original may have looked like. Perhaps
this is like keeping a backstage (and backstage machinations) in order
to keep the magic of the mainstage.
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10. Runnel(cont.)
• The neural filters are powerful. Full stop.
• There are additional powers given the parameters (with slider inputs)
for each effect.
• The applications do reveal and conceal simultaneously and selectively.
• What is human vision and intuition is not necessarily reflected in the AI-based
neural filters.
• Here, pre-processing helps to get the visual effect that one wants.
• If one can’t quite imagine what something might look like, it is negligible to run the
technological processes to get the desired outcomes.
• That said, the more inputs one changes, the longer the processing time (of course).
While I know that there is heavy-duty computing going on, a little part of my brain is
paying attention to the time sink (which is only moments).
10

11. Runnel(cont.)
• I am seeing that sparse seeding images can be used with the neural filters
for various effects because the “style transfer,” for example, fills in some of
the gaps depending on which of the styles are being referred to.
• The drafts of late are qualitatively different than many of the prior ones.
• I have experimented with some simple shape-building based on simple
shapes. This involves using primitive shapes to create complex ones by
layering and cutting.
• The type of visual thinking required for that is not something that comes naturally to
me. Perhaps I can make it more familiar with some practice.
• I am experimenting with luminous grays.
• I am using various painting techniques…including wet on wet, dry on dry,
wet on dry, gradated washes, and others.
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12. Runnel(cont.)
• Some of the titles are reflective of the challenges of our times. For
example, I had not known “open cities” were a thing until very
recently. Google it.
• I am learning new art terminology along the way, such as “fugitive
colors”—those pigments that fade with exposure to various
environmental factors (light, moisture, heat / cold, dust, and others).
• Almost all analog colors are transitory and fugitive (think unprotected
watercolors), but digital ones are likely more “color fast.”
• Alcohol inks look to be more colorfast and less fugitive on synth paper, but I
have not seen works older than a year and a few months, so it is likely too
soon to tell.
12

13. On white synth paper
13

14. 14
Hopes

15. 15
Camouflage

16. On translucent synth paper
16

17. 17
Emerging

18. On digital variants
18

19. 19
Glowing Path

20. 20
Feelers

21. 21
Sweet Sap

22. 22
Shimmering Night Tree

23. 23
Magic Door

24. 24
Deep Well

25. 25
Mountain Pass

26. 26
Hot Breezes

27. 27
Woven

28. 28
Mountaintop

29. 29
Crashing Waters

30. 30
Dreamscape

31. 31
Sunsetting

32. 32
Runnel

33. 33
Pining

34. 34
Verve

35. 35
Komorebi

36. 36
Still Point

37. 37
Windblown

38. 38
Scorpion

39. 39
Blue Bouquet

40. 40
Original Tree

41. 41
In Flames

42. On born-digital variants
42

43. 43
Rocky Shore

44. 44
Snowfall

45. 45
Beyond Water’s Edge

46. 46
Heavy Snow

47. 47
Streetlamp

48. 48
Snow-lit Tree

49. 49
Green House

50. 50
Better Days