Gallery

Welcome to Our Galleries

The images within these 3 galleries have been made by a variety of artisans using only Ziller Inks or combining the Ziller Inks with other mediums.

We have chosen these creations from our collection of pre-production formula testings, as well as images created from final off-the-shelf formulations.

Many of these images were created with just an "off-the-cuff" flourish of the pen or brush as these artisans "became acquainted" with a new friend.

Other images were brought from the mind to the paper with a more studied and planned thought of presentation.

Gallery One is Composed of Many Artists.

Cecilia Sharpley

(Melbourne, Australia)

has artfully and skillfully created some wonderful images using our "Inks" to make paste paper designs. (I say "Inks" because these products are so versatile and can be used in a number of different ways.) The Flying Wings is one. And yes, you an easily overletter the paste paper art without worry that the base layer will lift and blend into what is being applied on top of it

Cecilia Sharpley

(Melbourne, Australia)

Cecilia Sharpley

(Melbourne, Australia)

Cecilia Sharpley

(Melbourne, Australia)

Cecilia Sharpley

(Melbourne, Australia)

has artfully and skillfully created some wonderful paste paper using our "Inks". (I say "Inks" because these products are so versatile and can be used in a number of different ways.) The Flying Wings is one. And yes, you an easily overletter the paste paper art without worry that the base layer will lift and blend into what is being applied on top of it

Elissa Barr

Cool Blue......an intricate pattern crystallized before our eyes using the plastic wrap technique. Elissa Barr was the first that I know of to try this technique and has inspired others to match her accomplishments.

Elissa Barr

Ssshhhhh!........Listen. Can you hear the sounds of the jungle coming from behind the leaves? Another example of plastic wrap techniques creating something to be used for another purpose, or just to be an art piece by itself.

Elissa Barr

Using plastic wrap.

Cliff Mansley

(Portland, Oregon)

stopped by our room one late night at the Discoveries conference in San Diego. Cliff is a very accomplished engrosser and does some beautiful work. Bringing his favorite pointed pen and a piece of black paper with him, he promptly sat down and penned this exquisite example of engrosser's script using the Northwind White. Note the fine hairlines and uniform letter forms. A very good job -- well done! This was Cliff's first chance to try the new inks. He had been scheduled to demonstrate the following afternoon at the conference and asked if he could use the inks we brought to demonstrate various letter forms. We said, "Why, sure. Thanks Cliff. We're glad you're enjoying using them."

Gemma Black

used a broad edged pen for the words Green Alpha, a pointed pen for the red inscriptiton and a balsa wood stick!!! for the broad letter strokes. The piece was done on a black paper stock.

Glenn Epstein &

Kate McKulla

collaborated somewhere in the cornfields of Iowa on the design for a series of ruling pen creations. Kate also did the pointed pen text. This one was done on a heavy black paper stock. Note the effects they were able to create -- from making a translucence to a solid opaque image by utilizing color mixing, color layering and tool application techniques.

Glenn Epstein &

Kate McKulla

Glenn Epstein &

Kate McKulla

This is a favorite of mine, not so much for the near likeness of me :-) but for the interesting design of the letters in the word rich. See the c on top of everything with a bright highlight at the top where it touches the h?

Glenn Epstein &

Kate McKulla

Glenn Epstein &

Kate McKulla

Glenn Epstein &

Kate McKulla

Sagittarius Rising......not sure where the inspiration for this came from. Glenn says there is a story here somewhere. The black portion of the design was done with Glossy Black which provides a nice sheen in the finished presentation. This one wasn't done it a flash!!

Pat Pleacher

I can tell Pat is a real experimenter.......on top a grained bonded leather look alike using the Bufalo Brown and a touch of the Soot Black for a combo effect .........but, on bottom - add some Northwind White to the mix -- which brings up the opacity and PRESTO it's a top grain cowhide ready to go. "Giddy yup little doggie!" .....oh I'm not talkintg about Pat :-))

Pat Pleacher

from Rineyville, Kentucky

makes leather!!!!!! Take some Ziller Ink and apply to Tyvek paper stock....(the white tough mailing envelopes or the stuff they wrap houses in now a days)......rub off and let dry. Depending on how you color or dye these you can come up with a variety of leather like looks.

Pat Pleacher

from Rineyville, Kentucky

Not to be stopped by just making plain leather look alikes, Pat needed colorful ones too. See the two toned ones in there? Midnight Blue and Wild Viola Violet -- the Sunflower Yellow and Sweet Grass green? Pat is the first to try this innovative technique with these "Inks"

Pat Pleacher

from Rineyville, Kentucky

Pat Pleacher

from Rineyville, Kentucky

Tyvek Paper stained with Ziller Ink.

Jane Gillis

Medford, Oregon,

“I enjoyed talking with you at Discoveries about your inks, and I am enjoying using them now that I’m home and back to work. The Midnight Blue is rich and intense, and I love the mix with North Wind White. I’ve been mixing colors while testing and making the name tags for the All Oregon Calligraphers conference coming up in October, and I have really enjoyed using them. Oh, they work well both below watercolors and on top of watercolors. Acting somewhat like a resist. We’re looking forward to introducing the inks to the conference attendees.”

Karen Ter Haar

Melbourne, Australia

Paste Paper

Karen Ter Haar

Layering it out" by Karen. Multi layer the color using paste paper techniques..........then over-letter with ???? dealers choice here!

Here is the gist of what Karen had to say about this piece:

This was not a particular attractive piece of work, but it was done specifically to evaluate application techniques. When making paste paper experts say that in order to write on the surface you must add gel medium (which is expensive). To test the Ziller Ink, we left the gel medium out......and after the first pasting, when it was dry, Karen wrote with a veneer pen and Higgins Ink ( a thin ink).....but no bleed. She then went over the top with Ziller black and found no shifting of either the sub-strate, or Higgins letters.

Karen Ter Haar

Melbourne, Australia

Paste Paper

Karen Ter Haar

Melbourne, Australia

Paste Paper

Karen Ter Haar

Melbourne, Australia

Paste Paper

Karen Ter Haar

Melbourne, Australia

Paste Paper

Karen Ter Haar

Melbourne, Australia

Paste Paper

In one of Karen's classes, they decided (if I remember correctly, I think Diane Ting and Cecilia Sharpley had a hand in this too) to see what could be done mixing various mediums with the Ziller Inks. So, with several adept hands, I am told that this beauty was created in about 15 minutes using various real gouache mixtures and various Ziller Inks. Not bad for just foolin' around!

Karen Ter Haar

Karen Ter Haar (from Melbourne, Australia) has been extremely instrumental in helping us to learn about these " inks' " capabilities. An accomplished instructor and commercial calligrapher, Karen has the inquisitive mind to want to learn about, how to apply and how to create beauties that become legacies. Here she tries out the Midnight Blue in an Automatic pen point. Note an interesting technique she uses - application of pressure to force a thin outline edge of ink on the outside of the strokes.

Gwen Weaver

Gwen used our Northwind White, slightly diluted on a black paper stock to create these looks with two sizes of round pens, a felt pen, a ruling pen and a #1950 (Highly Recommended pen nib!!) pointed pen nib. Note the fine hairlines and welll balanced letterforms.

Gwen Weaver

(from Virginia beach, Virginia) has quite a talent with a multitude of wrting tools. These musings were done on a speckled brown envelope at a testing session late one night. Can you pick out which tools were used?

Gwen Weaver

Stephen A Ziller

Written with Ziller Cardinal Red Ink when he was 84 years young.

He spent a long time designing this signature - in that the starting point for each capital letter begins at the same point!!

Sheryl Hirsch-Kramer, Calligrapher, Lettering Artist,

"The only thing that comes to mind tonight is how I mixed the Glossy Black and White to make the charcoal gray ink I needed to do the last-minute IAMPETH auction piece. I had brought Australian machine marbled paper to write on, neither black nor white looked right on the paper, but they mixed together beautifully to make the perfect charcoal gray. I used my Richeson Series 9000 brush to do the writing, and it took to the ink perfectly. I was delighted, I got uniform results, excellent hairlines, and good coverage. The ink performed better than I would have hoped, it was thick enough to cover in one coat, but thin enough to give perfect hairlines with a small brush."

Mike Kesceg

(from Chicago, Illinois) tried his hand using the Midnight Blue on a tan paper stock in a pointed pen. His specialty and his creation ------ the Pointed Pen Variation style. Also an accomplished engrosser, Mike has made some nice letter forms and created good hairlines too!

Norma Marshall

(Kansas City, Missouri)

creates designs using Ziller Inks and pen strokes in various colors using both colors straight from the jar and mixed together.

Judy Kastin

created this one day while visiting with Joanne in Florida. On a heavy piece of Arches cold press paper stock she created the Galactic Swirl. Note the depth, luminosity and clean colors brought to you in the darker opaque like framework of the swirl in this piece.

Judy Kastin

from Merrick, New York has a background in card designs. Rather evident here! An intricate cross hatch pattern supports the shaded g -- with a pair of loving hearts floating at the top. This was done on the same heavy Arches hot press paper.

Judy Kastin

Brushes clean easily with water and a bit of ammonia or better yet, we highly recommend - for a pure clean brush, even if the brush is dirty and dry -- "The Master's Brush Cleaner and Preserver" made by the General Pencil Company.

Judy Kastin

Drop shadow lettering --- POPS! off the page at you.......doesn't it??

Joanne Fink

has created a whole work of art in just this simple rendering of the alphabet. In this version the inks were diluted to a thinner consistency with distilled water to achieve a bit of a thinner medium to letter with.

Joanne Fink

graciously agreed to testing our new inks. We had tried to build these inks so that when they are mixed properly you can easily achieve a gouache like look. Her specialty is a beautiful Rainbow Writing technique. She told me she was very surprised at how well these handled.

Joanne Fink

Kate McKulla

Mountain Lakes, New Jersey Kate conducted a workshop in Kansas City and taught her techniques for ruling writers and butterfly pens. By thinning the inks down you can arrive at a watercolor effect. These inks are loaded with pigment and will "stretch" a very very long way.

Kate McKulla

Mountain Lakes, New Jersey penned this work rather skillfully I'd say -- mixing and blending color forms and styles. I wish that I would have had time to scan the entire piece of art........but, hopefully this gives you a taste of those beautiful warm and rich color tones that are just waiting to be put down on paper.

Kate McKulla

Jo Chynoweth

I had begged Karen Ter Haar to send me something from the paste paper trials she had been involved with. This Jo Chynoweth creation comes from a rather large sheet some 16" x 18". They were very nice to send the scrap edge of the page -- there was a big cut out hole in the center !!-- they lifted the best part!!!! Oh well, I found ......peace....... and wanted to share it with you. Still not for sure what the middle looked like...it would have been a multi color effect. Jo is credited with creating Karen's enthusiasm to try the new Ziller Inks with paste paper techniques.

Jim Chin

decided to try the Soot Black in one of his famous brass butterfly pens one afternoon while taking five at the Discoveries Conference in San Diego. It was penned quickly on an almost onion skin like translucent paper stock. Jim said he thought it worked well for him.

Kate McCulla

"Something I learned (never tried or used before) while working on the lettering: I tend to do shadowing along the base of my calligraphy, typically with a Pantone grey marker. I knew that wasn’t going to work on this piece, as there is a heavy acrylic medium base, and the marker wouldn’t stand a chance of adhering to the surface.

What did I do? I l looked around the studio for my one jar of Ziller Thickener. I’ve had it since receiving my first set of Ziller inks. Never opened it. Never used it. I mixed the thickener with my palette’s base tone (custom mixed thinned Ziller ink), and it worked beautifully with a long pointed script brush. Very satisfying!

All the lettering on the painting was done with Ziller inks. They will stick to just about any surface."2

Gallery Two is Karen Ter Haar's Marbled Paper