Author: horsenettle

Ink, My Favorite Water Media?

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Somehow, watercolor took a step back in my art journey and ink shot to the front. It’s permanent (when using permanent ink), it’s lightfast (when using lightfast ink), it’s translucent, it layers beautifully, it mixes brilliantly, and it can be used with a brush, in a fountain pen, as a pencil or pan/block like Inktense, and even as a marker.

A work in progress: ink wash, fountain pen, and Faber Castell Pitt Pens in Strathmore 500 illustration board, 8”x12”.

I’m definitely someone who has to learn and relearn things over and over, and somehow I keep forgetting how much I love using ink. I’ll try to remember it the next time I decide I need some new art products.

Categories: Art Ink Pen

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Phenology Art

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Autumn is done, and I’ll do the rest throughout the year. This is ink washes, Faber Castell Pitt pens, and fountain pen, 15”x18” on Strathmore 500 illustration board.

I went to a workshop that focused on nature drawing, and I decided to turn mine into a seasonal painting. October, done! I’ll wait until January until I revisit it.

My plain air sketches on the right.

Categories: Art Ink Pen

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Graphitint Sketches

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Color mixes from the 12 colors of the paint set. I don’t understand the first column. It’s almost as though I didn’t add the other colors, but I’m positive I did. The grazing sketch is done on paper, and the portrait is done on mineral paper, two very different effects.

I’m dedicating one of my Fabriano watercolor sketchbooks to Graphitint. Honestly? I like the look of Graphitint a little more on a smooth surface like mineral paper, but a nice, hardcover sketchbook is a pleasure to work with no matter the paper.

On the left is mineral paper, on the right Fabriano watercolor paper. The colors are stronger on the smooth surface, but the overall effect is softer on paper.

Having a dedicated sketchbook is always fun and educational. There’s nothing like completing numerous sketches to really understand a medium. I’ll never understand reviewers on YouTube who confidently praise or dismiss a medium after using it for ten minutes.

A few fast sketches.

Categories: Art Pencil Watercolor