in hope of leftovers

I snapped a quick photo of our granddaughter’s hound, Molokai, just before we sat down to eat Easter dinner. But I didn’t get around to sketching him until this morning.

This is the final sketch in this tiny sketchbook. My next purse-size sketchbook will be a bit bigger: a watercolor insert that fits the passport sized Traveler’s Notebook.

remembering Lake Raven

For one of the final spreads in my tiny 2” square sketchbook, I tried painting from a 2022 from camping on the shore of Lake Raven in Huntsville State Park.

The watercolor seemed bland so I added a bit of colored pencil. Still not quite what I was going for . . .

teasing the Lumos Duo and Tom’s inks

Today I inked up my new Lumos Pro Duo pen to see what it can do. I definitely prefer the fiber brush nib! Maybe I’ll replace the chisel nib with the bullet nib. It’s extremely easy to switch out the nibs, cleaning the used one with just a bit of water.

Filling the reserve with ink couldn’t be easier! To change ink colors, you can insert a clean reserve (extras available from Tom’s Studio), storing the old one in a small bottle until needed. Or the reserve can be rinsed clean under tap water and refilled with the new ink color.

The ink colors I bought from Tom’s are only slightly water-resistant, the Dove Grey bleeding a bit more than the Peaches & Cream. Both colors can be deepened by layering a second or third layer of ink.

I especially like how colored pencils work over the Peaches & Cream ink. I think the pen will work great for my purpose: quickly getting down basic shapes to later add colored pencil details when away from home, leaving my Pitt Artist Brush pens for using when at home. Tom’s inks are water-based so I might try diluting the Dove Grey a bit with distilled water. Or maybe try my De Atramentis Document inks, diluted with that brand’s dilution liquid which I already have on my shelf.

As for how smooth the tips write? I’m seriously tempted to sometime order the Wren writing pen from Tom’s! 

By the way, the Lumos only comes with one end cap. I bought an extra one to have both tips available rather than having one stored inside the end of the other.

almost like Christmas!

We arrived home from our camping trip to find a pile of mail and packages, among which was this Lumos Pro Duo pen from Tom’s Studio in the UK. It seemed like the package was delayed in customs forever! I ordered the pen and 2 bottles of water-based ink; they also sent me a “cheeky little ink sample” in a rich teal color, and the pen came with its own sample of ink and eleven interchangeable tips, plus they stuck in a tea bag so I could enjoy a cup of tea while trying out the pen!

Most of the tips are various sizes of tips like the disposable Pigma Micron pens, plus there are brush-like tips which are the ones I will mostly use.

I took four Pitt Brush Pens on our trip for getting shapes down quickly as an under layer for colored pencils. But they were bulky in my Mini Sendak tool roll, and when they eventually run out they will be disposed of. This one Lumos Duo fiber tip pen is refillable and has two tips in one pen — easy to fit in one pocket of the Sendak with two ink color choices, plus the extra tips fit in the zippered pocket.

I chose a pale earthy coral color and a light gray — a warm and a cool base for whatever colored pencils I choose to layer on top. 

Also in the mail was a parcel from UK illustrator, Kriksis, that was also delayed in delivery by the US. I ordered a couple of zines from her, one full of sketches she did in the forest that I particularly wanted. And we also received a few household items ordered from Amazon.

I can’t wait to fill the pen and try it out — just as soon as I get through the small mountain of laundry and give the dog a bath!

tree forms

While here in the woods (our RV is literally surrounded by trees on 3 sides!), I have been slowly collecting sketches of the more unusual tree forms. Lots of post oak, cedar elm, and bald cypress in unusual growth patterns. The main tree on the left seems to be standing tiptoe with a patch of grass growing underneath it! I’ve included a photo of it from the other side.

The trees in the center share a large common root between them. The front one also seems to be parting its “skirt” to reveal an underlayer. The tree on the right has what appears to be a wee doorway at the end of one of the roots.

Drawn with Pitt Artist brush pens and colored pencils; fountain pen ink and gouache for the bluebonnet bloom.

early morning at Fort Parker

This morning, after a gentle rain most of the night, Butters and I took a walk down the road at Fort Parker State Park where we are camping. We spied this heron who decided with a very loud squawk that it did not wish to have its photo taken.

Further down the road, we found it again. Nearby ducks left in a hurry but this time the heron stayed, posing for me as it munched on fish. Perhaps it felt more protected under the trees.

bluebonnet time

On Thursday I got together with a good friend but we spent more time catching up with each other than sketching. She happens to live surrounded by the most beautiful of Texas wildflowers but I only sketched a couple of them while we chatted; the rest, I drew from photos later at home, including some fun decorative bits from her new kitchen.

The second photo shows only a small portion of their land of wildflowers.

a little bit of play

Here, I was trying new ways of sketching some wildflowers seen on a walk yesterday.

First, simply drawing with Pitt Artist brush pens. Then, details in colored pencils but it didn’t show well on this toned paper.

So I broke out my safari green Lamy filled with Noodler’s El Lawrence green ink. Overworked, probably, but I had fun trying.

peach blossoms

A couple of weeks ago I snapped photos of trees in our front pasture while out with our corgi, Butters. But I didn’t get around to sketching from one until today. This is the baby peach tree’s blossoms; I was too late to get shots of the apple trees.

bits of last week

Just some bits of nothing much sketched in my journal . . .

My vision has been a bit fuzzy lately. I have glaucoma and early macular degeneration, for which I am under treatment and have regular checkups. I was relieved at last week’s check that the slightly out-of-focus fuzziness was part of the seasonal allergies I’ve been going through. Very irritated dry eyes (which sounds weird when my eyes water so much!) and lots of oak tree pollen. Hot compresses and extra eye drops, including one for allergies — simple fix!

I also played around with new palette arrangements, just for fun. And tried out my new Kaweco Brass Sport fountain pen. As reliable as my beloved Liliputs but slightly chunky and heavier, better for benign tremor shaky hands.