slapdash, super fast

Yesterday we had a lot to do before the builders came back on Monday (today) and yet I had that "got to draw" craving.

So this was a fast, standing in the hall, scribble it down drawing to feed my fix, then I went back to painting, mopping, scraping off wallpaper.

Line and color keep me sane amid the chaotic piles and scheduling crunch.

Tech pen and w/c on Canson sketching paper.

stroking the ink

Ink brush pens in the Canson sketchbook, dry brushed, water added, ink again, in a taped format.

The spiral on the sketchbook means I always get light leakage on the scan.

This image is what emerged after I participated in Earth Hour last night.

sturdy and self-reliant

I like the sound of the word euphorbia. And this one lives on and on with little attention from me. A care-free member of the family. Not near as cuddly as the cats though.

Tech pen and w/c on Canson sketch paper.

dramatic metering

Our city's parking meters aren't this color, but they'd be so much more attractive if they were.

Click the image to enlarge it a bit.

Tech pen and w/c on Canson sketch paper.

dark animal

Hunting before dark.

Or maybe a stumbling walk home.

what's in there?

I pulled out a basket of odds and ends from the kitchen drawer and drew the larger items.

Afterwards, I was intrigued to see how many were for cutting.

Fountain pen and w/c on Canson drawing paper.

comparing brush pens

My goal is to draw better with a brush (freehand, no pre-penciling), so I've been practicing with several kinds. Russ Stutler's Tokyo drawings, and philosophy for sketching, is my inspiration.

I've used:
1. regular water brushes, multiple sizes, filled with ink or w/c--not good flow,
2. Art Kure brushes, prefilled with ink--flow of individual pens can vary a lot
3. Pentel brushes, prefilled with ink--brush is too big, flow not great
4. Sigma Micron brush pens--tiny stiff foam brush, not that different from a tech pen
5. foam "brush" pens sold to be primarily used for Asian calligraphy--no real brush feel or flow. I have a Memory brand and another with a Japanese label, not sure where I got them (online).

The Art Kure were the best generally, except they're not refillable unless I try taking them apart. Was not a positive experience!

But I just discovered the refillable Sailor Profit brush pen available from Pendemonium. It's working really well, considering my unskillful technique so far: steady ink flow, using the Noodler's ink I like, and it has a natural brush feel with little drag and good variable line. And the brush tip is replaceable.

Learning to hold the brush above the paper, draw relatively accurately, and not smear by going back . . . it's a challenge! But I love the line quality and the direct process.

just before the muscles let go

There's a tension here where Chaucer is about to lose his upright hold and roll back into deeper sleep.

Pencil and w/c on Paperchase sketchbook paper.

cross and fire

May a warming fiery light keep you going through the trials of life.

Spring renewal is surely coming soon to New England's white world.

brush drawing

A couple years ago I discovered Russ Stutler's sketchbooks online. His work and descriptions inspired me to draw, and to aspire to drawing directly with a brush. Check out his site; he lives in Tokyo and has fascinating scenery to draw.

Stutler just posted an online version of his forthcoming How to Sketch book. Worth reading!

It's a sign of the weather that yesterday, on the second day of spring, I was still burning wood and drawing bellows. Sigh.

nets and grids

Playing with paint, watching the flow.

W/c on 140# Winsor & Newton paper.

reaching for the light

Doodling while I listen to an online discussion of Eckhardt Tolle's A New Earth. Something unexpected came out.

Fountain pen on index card.

time produces the point

To paint in slashes and swoops, then see what shapes emerge is my joy in doing abstracts. I often don't see a discernable concept until I put the scan the screen.

I did a little warping on this with Gimp and decided there's a campfire scene in this one.

140# Winsor & Newton paper.

juicy

Getting the perspective right on circular things is a never-ending challenge.

Not that I did it this time either.

Pencil, inked over, w/c on 90# Canson.

paintable paper

I moved into a Canson field book--ah, the pleasure of no lines and waterfriendly paper.

Tech pen and w/c.

burning it up

This is messy with wash and then a what's-this-tool? digital experiment for the wall.
Someday I really need to learn about layers, channels, and masks.

Sharpie and w/c on Aquabee superdeluxe, then Gimp 2.0.

cozy by the fire

A chilly day makes drawing the fireplace a natural choice. A friend's fireplace yesterday, with a surround of iron panels and glassfront doors in the center.

We are lucky to have them in this white wintery corner of the world. And yes, it's snowing again this morning.

Tech pen on Strathmore drawing paper.

yet another backside

Brown fountain pen (soluble) and w/c on thin lined journal paper. But it all worked well enough to document the view!

Colors completely random. He had on a brown/black plaid shirt, black jeans, and the cushion has tans and blues. But only I know that . . .

something of a campfire

To paint in slashes and swoops, then see what shapes emerge later is my joy in doing abstracts.

I did a little warping on this with Gimp and decided there's a campfire scene in there. Something to warm the white winter (after snow yesterday).

wicker chairback

Pencil on paper.

It's snowing again. Got to go splash bright colors to give me strength for this never-ending white.

creeping along

The snail is nothing special, but I liked how the blue flowed on the paper. It looks like a splashing wave.

I did the background by dribbling a bit of Liebfraumilch (random clear liquid sitting nearby) behind the snail, then swooshed on phthalo blue and some yellow ochre.

Tech pen and w/c and w/c pencil on 140# Canson.

something's working

Sometimes I can capture the whole cat before she moves even an ear. I was thinking she's moving less, but then I suddenly realized--I'm actually drawing her a lot more quickly.

Drawing the same cat 2000 (give or take a hundred) times, day after day, week after week, month after month, really does result in discernable progress. Doing the happy dance!

Staedtler liquid pen and w/c on Superdeluxe Aquabee.

glass snail

It wasn't until I drew this glass snail from all angles that I saw how his shell tilts off to the side one way, his neck leans the other. Asymmetry gives him a personality.

True of all of us?

Soluble pens and pencils of various kinds on 140# Canson

ugly influences

This is what came out of painting with the mud pools on my palette while listening to pundits argue and spin on CNN.

Yuck.

W/c on 140# paper.

opening, turn by turn

Our best and only can opener. We never went electric when others were buzzing 'round their cans. I guess this is now called the green method. But of course, I like pull-tab cans best!

Positive Thought: Every time we use muscle power instead of electrical, we step away from needing another drop of oil.

The top and bottom drawing were done with a water-soluble pen. I like the way the ink wash creates the feeling of light on steel, with absolutely no effort from me.

The one in the middle is watercolor pencil. Not successful at indicating a metallic surface.

All on Canson drawing paper.

another back side

I doodled my earring, another beside it, and the composition became a tiny rearview scene in a mirror. Reflected in a strange way, though.

Why are mirrors suddenly emerging in my drawings? Hmmm.

Sakura gelly roll glaze pen (it dries to a raised line) on Strathmore sketchpaper.

another rear view

Waiting in the car, I saw that house coming up behind me. Slow mover, though.

Tech pen on Strathmore drawing paper; painted later.

heat-powered fan

This fan sits on the woodstove and when the stove gets warm, it blows the rising warmed air out into the room. No electricity, no batteries! Off the grid!

A thermocouple converts the heat to blade-spin. If the fan slows down, I know the fire needs another log.

Tech pen and w/c on Strathmore recycled drawing paper (called Windpower paper--appropriate!)

still burning

March is the month I usually stop boosting the house temperature with the woodstove. But the snow is still deep outside, with melting only promised.

This woodrack has been filled hundreds of times this winter. Glad to have the renewable energy source!

Nexus pen on Aquabee superdeluxe.

electric elimination

I want to expand my thin range of drawing techniques, so tried this one: drawing on a midtoned paper. In this case, I created the midtone myself on white paper.

I covered the paper with pencil (HB), then erased out the light tones and added the darks. I found my ever-reclining model on the fleece catshelf and used that scene for my test.

Pencil and for the first time, an electric eraser--fun!--on Paperchase drawing paper.

the line-up

Vitamin bottles and the energy they radiate. Drawing an alternate view of reality.

The ability to imagine colorful possibilities is simultaneously a curse and a blessing.

Tech pen and w/c on Raffine paper.