Random Paintbox Imaginings

Sitting in front of a fan playing with cheap children's pan paint and a nylon brush, I filled 12 squares with popsicle colors. Impromptu coloring book.

Image rescaled to load fast.

EDM challenge 12, dinner

This is an imagined lunch in the sun: roast beef on rye, with pineapple. Mainly I had fun fingerdaubing the tablecloth.

EDM telephone challenge

The 70s-era phone at work and my cellphone.

I attempted to use line weight to convey the relative weights and, one might say, energies of the phones--heavy black marker vs blue Micron brushtip, on Strathmore drawing paper.

EDM fruit challenge

I felt blue calling me this morning, so chose to draw blueberries--remembering the fun and deliciousness of picking them.


I did a fragmentary outline with .005 tech pen, then watercolor on 140# paper.

EDM tool challenge

Ink with watercolor wash, on thin sketch paper--which wrinkled, then shadowed in the scan to add a "moving air" quality. Another accidental pleasure.

And a fan qualifies as a tool because I couldn't work on these hot days without one.

EDM hand challenge

This is the hand from a religious icon, raised in blessing. It looks so much like crossed fingers for good luck!

EDM lamp challenge

Marker plus watercolor shading
--just the pole of a floorlamp
is enough, I say.
I never did a partial before
this, should do another!

EDM glasses challenge

Mine, drawn with brush and watercolor.












Two imagined pairs, with Nexus pen and watercolor on Aquabee. Scanned image worked this time!

Favorite supplies

Sketchbook: Super Deluxe Aquabee, because of the 93# paper and double-sizing it can take a lot of water compared to every other brand I've tried. (only available at dickblick.com, not locally for me).

Other brands are ok if I'm not using water. Pro-Art, Strathmore, etc. Standard Moleskines' paper is too thin, the M. sketchbook paper is too resistant to water.

Permanent Ink Pens: Koh-I-Noor Nexus--because they work well at an
angle. Others like Pigma Micron or Staedtler need to be held at a straighter
angle. I like the Pigma or Faber-Castell Pitt brush pens a lot, though. Or my Namiki or Waterman fountain pens.

Soluble-ink pens: I love these for using the ink line as a wash source. How wet the line stays depends on the paper--if the ink is absorbed immediately, wash doesn't work. But if the ink takes a bit to dry, the wash works fine. For soluble ink pens, especially Pilot Precisegrip, 1.0 mm (broad) width, Pilot Varsity fountain pens, or the Zebra Sarasa on the right paper. Marvy markers dissolve well too.

Paint: Just to color a sketch lightly, any decent watercolor works for me: Winsor Newton or Van Gogh mini-kit pan paint. I don't try to do much lifting or glazing. I like to work quickly and be done with the sketch, not go back after drying for another layer.

I like to do a sketch, turn the page, and do another. Drying time is frustrating. For me, drawing is all about process and seeing, not much about product.

Mindfulness, not artistry--that's my excuse.

Foot challenge

For this week's EDM challenge. Done with a Marvy marker (water soluble for quick shading) on SuperDeluxe Aquabee paper, plus watercolor for the green. I tried not to think too much about the shadows and just let them flow.

Making progress

Went back to replace the bad digital pics with better scans. Doesn't improve the drawing, but makes the color better. I stand by my first comment, though: I refuse to
spend more time updating the blog than I do drawing.

Rocking chair

Rocking chair, watercolor sketch

Imaginary still life

Imaginary still life, experimenting with paint flow.

Kripalu room

A quick watercolor sketch of my room at a meditation retreat.

Rattan chair

Slow study of a rattan chair, ink on watercolor.

Diving In

Just what the Web needs, one more blog. But how can I not join in the fun? This blob--whoops, I mean, blog--is for sharing sketches with the Danny Gregory Drawing Group and random comments and stories that interest me.

Here goes.