"Surge" is the most recent work in the "alcohol ink drip playing" series in a time of the SARS-CoV-2 / COVID-19 pandemic, as much of humanity works to address this issue in a time of various turmoils.

1. Surge
A beginner’s play in alcohol inks,
synthetic papers,
and digital image editing… Shalin Hai-Jew
Aug. 2021

2. 2
Off-Trail (6 Colors)

3. 3
Particulates

4. 4
Chop

5. 5
Footing

6. 6
Ground Mist

7. 7
Depth

8. Surge
• “Surge” is the most recent slideshow in the “alcohol ink drip playing”
series (started in January 2021), which was started as a form of
“common art” to provide emotional comfort in a time of duress,
during global pandemic, which continues.
• From writing, I’ve learned how much time (that particular slice of time, and
some pieces of prior history) informs the respective works.
• The person who is making the work also changes, so into the future, it is a
different individual who is looking back on what was created. While there are
throughlines, the differences are also clear.
• That said, I cannot fully articulate how time influences these works because
the human mind consists of the conscious and subconscious and
unconscious…and because these works are fairly abstract.
8

9. Surge (cont.)
• I am learning how to create sufficient complexity to hold the eyes. It
is important not to stop short. Excessive complexity can turn to
muddiness, so there are extremes on both sides.
• Some who know their digital image editing tools can see my
obsession with “image trace” (in AI 2020) and the computational
color reductions, which result in cool visual effects.
9

10. On white synth paper
10

11. 11
Rock Pile

12. 12
Daggered Sun

13. 13
Peach Black Tea

14. 14
Breeze

15. 15
Off-Trail

16. 16
Airborne

17. 17
Coalescing

18. On translucent synth paper
18

19. 19
Scrub

20. 20
Morning

21. 21
Ephemera

22. On digital variants
22

23. 23
Signs

24. 24
Dots and Dashes

25. 25
Moon Reach

26. 26
Grid Hill

27. 27
Fall

28. 28
Portal

29. 29
Blades (grass)

30. 30
Netting

31. 31
Cored Sample

32. 32
Morning (6 colors)

33. 33
Cornfield

34. 34
Pinnacle

35. 35
Splash

36. 36
Sweet Mint

37. 37
Digital Trellis

38. 38
Rain Curtain