My seventh and eighth sketches in my Stillman and Birn Zeta sketchbook. I’m loving pen and ink. It’s also really fun to use watercolor techniques for backgrounds.
The Zeta paper will pill if I attempt to draw on it while it’s wet, but I’m really pleased with this sketchbook so far.
All of these sketches are in my 8”x11.75” Stillman and Birn Zeta sketchbook. I’m using fountain pens and ink on each. Someday, I’ll write a post about using fountain pens, a great eco choice for artists.
I love paint and I love pencil. Combine the two, and you probably get a marker, so what’s not to love? I’ve been using my Staedtler watercolor set quite a bit, like on the cow above. And I’ve ventured into the Faber-Castell Pitt Artist Pens. They use India ink, so the end product is permanent, water resistant, and lightfast. Both bird sketches are done with Pitt pens, and all sketches have a wee bit of a white gel pen here and there. Yes, I’m broadening my horizons and can now say it’s okay to use a white pen.
Maybe, just maybe, I’ve found a perfect medium, a cross between drawing and painting, the watercolor brush pen. I bought a cheap set and loved using them. I already have a set of Winsor and Newton watercolor markers but it never clicked. I’ll give them another try, but in the meantime, this set of 36 Staetdler markers are not lightfast, but they’re vivid and work well with a waterbrush.
