Clowning Around

4 x 4" camvas

Rainy day fun here in FL today...includes working on tiny canvas.  These are 4" x 4" gallery wrapped canvases and I am doing a series of 4 clowns.  I am using pen and ink first and then watercolor and a touch of acrylic here and there.  They will be sprayed and perhaps covered in gloss mat medium...I haven't decided.  

Canvas can be prepared for watercolor several different ways.  These were just scrubbed down with water and soft cloth to pull up the pre-primed gesso and smooth it down a bit.  I added the gold/yellow wash while the canvas was still wet from that. After completely dry I drew the image using .03 Micron black ink. The paint came last.   

Another way to prepare it is to thin some Daniel Smith Watercolor Ground and coat the canvas.  When totally dry,  lightly sand with a fine tooth sandpaper.  I have prepped a few more of these that way just to compare how that works with the ink.  I have not done much ink on canvas but I sure saw a lot of it at the outdoor fairs this winter.  

As I work I am wondering how to display these.

They could actually be hung separately with tiny bits of wire.  But I am thinking of mounting them together on an 11 x 14 canvas that I have prepared as a background in a circus theme (multi media).  But this is all in the thinking stages yet.  If any of you have worked with ink on canvas and have ideas or hints, let me know.