Tag: fountain pen

Fifteen Years Blogging

No Comments

How many can claim a fifteen-year old blog? Happy anniversary to this little corner of the web where I’ve documented all the arts and crafts I’ve obsessed about since 2006. Even with that strong blogging habit, at some point over the past year I slowed down on blog posts and increased Instagram posts. Instagram is easy and popular, and it’s all too easy to forget about writing. Recently, I decided I missed keeping up this ancient blog and it needed an update—and perhaps Instagram needs to go away. Long story short, you cannot control reels on your feed, and I found many objectionable.

So, here’s an update on the ol’ blog. I’ve not been as artsy lately, but I’ve still managed several sketchbook sketches…

Caran d’Ache Neocolor II
Mars Lumograph Black pencils
Pen and ink on gray paper
More pen and ink, plus some water soluble graphite
Acrylic markers, Inktense, and Neocolor II

I also sketched this large landscape using Derivan Liquid Pencil tinted with blue and yellow.

Graphite, liquid pencil, Mars Lumograph Black, and Conte Pierre Noir. This measures about 14”x21”

A quick pen and ink landscape…

And a still life on Pastelmat.

Neocolor II and Pablo colored pencils

Here’s the question: Will this little blog still be here in another fifteen years?

Categories: Acrylics Art Ink marker Pen Pencil

Tags: , , , , , , ,

Pen and Ink and… Watercolor?

No Comments
My reference photo was blurry, taken in low light after the sun went down. Instead of putting in a detailed background and adding a lot of contrast to the deer, I kept everything soft.

Honest-to-goodness watercolor, something I set aside years ago in favor of pencils and fountain pens. I’m getting ready for a watercolor workshop, so I bought a few new brushes, some M. Graham watercolors, and tried a new paper, Canson rough. I think the break was needed. I’ve spent a lot of time sketching and taking a design course in embroidery, and I have a different process than before. It’s funny how much I enjoyed painting these deer, but using a brush! That will take some getting used to.

The truth is, only on occasion do I use fountain pens with sharp line work. Most of the time, my pen and ink sketches look like watercolor.

Pen and ink in a Strathmore 500 sketchbook. This is a rooster who lives at our new boarding stable. He’s a friendly fellow.
Monochromatic but still watercolor-ish. Pete, drawn with Monteverdi Blue Azure and the amazing Sailor Realo with a Zoom nib, my all-time favorite pen.

Categories: Art Ink Pen Watercolor

Tags: , , , , , , ,