Indian Ink Inspiration: Leonard Baskin

Using Indian ink to create a number of textures and images was great fun and it proved to be a very versatile medium. Unsurprisingly, it also happened to be one of the preferred materials of one my favourite visual artists: Leonard Baskin. Baskin (1922-2000) was an American printmaker and sculptor and I first came across his work because he collaborated with poet Ted Hughes on numerous occasions, whose writing is one of my special academic interests.
The two famously devised a brilliant collection called 'Cave Birds', a truly collaborative piece (sometimes Baskin would illustrate poems by Hughes, sometimes the latter based his writing on the printmaker's drawings). Its interplay between word and image is fascinating and, I think, especially interesting to graphic designers for this reason, but it also demonstrates the power of black ink. 'Cave Birds' features 29 black and white drawings of demonic bird creatures and the number of different textures and patterns Baskin was able to come up with using just the one medium is astonishing.
Have a look at the following examples (please note that the copyright does NOT belong to me):

Baskin managed to create both clean black surfaces and intricate detail (and everything in between!), impressions of stillness just as well as movement and drama. Fantastic!
His other work is also very interesting and demonstrates his great skill of combining intricate detail with great simplicity.