About This Style
This is the most restrained thing in the catalogue and the one designers keep picking.
Ink and wash is two decisions. First, the drawing: a black brush pen, varied line weight, a small number of confident strokes rather than a large number of careful ones. Lines are left open in places so your eye closes the shape itself. Second, the colour: a single muted wash laid over the top, deliberately allowed to sit slightly outside the lines, the way it does when someone is working quickly and well.
What makes it modern is the discipline. There is no scene, no costume, no background, no gradient. Just your pet, drawn, on off white paper. It hangs happily beside architectural prints, photography and plain typography, which is why it tends to end up in home offices and hallways rather than living rooms.
It is also the style that survives being small. A lot of portraits need scale to work; this one reads perfectly at eight by ten on a shelf, because the information is in the linework rather than in fine detail.
The single colour is chosen from your pet's own coat, so a ginger cat gets a warm rust wash and a grey dog gets a cool slate one. That keeps the piece connected to the animal instead of becoming a generic illustration.
Frequently Asked Questions
How is this different from The Watercolour?
The Watercolour has no linework at all; it is pure pigment and soft edges. Ink and Wash is drawn first in black brush pen and then washed with one colour, so it is graphic and defined where the other is soft and atmospheric.
Can I choose the wash colour?
The wash is taken from your pet's own coat so the piece stays tied to the animal. If you have a strong preference, tell us in the order comments and we will work with it where it does not fight the portrait.
Does it work for cats?
Very well. The economy of the line suits a cat's shape, and the open unclosed strokes read as the animal being caught mid movement rather than posed.