a touch of springtime

Back in April, near the end of our springtime explosion of wildflowers, I began to draw this collection of the five “main stars” that were near the end of their main blooming season.

Then I began taking an on-line journaling class, during which I filled three other small journals. Before I knew it, it was June — time for the 30 watercolor sketches in 30 days challenge! And one more separate sketchbook was filled while this one was ignored except for a page here and there where I tested various colors of the watercolor palette I used for the challenge.

Just as I thought I’d get back to this Stillman & Birn Beta journal, I found myself finishing the small blue Field Notes sketchbook that stayed in my purse instead.

Now I’m finally back to this being my only sketchbook journal . . . and I came across this unfinished page. So on the last day of a very hot month of July, I am painting early wildflowers and remembering the cooler days of spring.

comparing my fude fountain pens

On my previous post, I was asked how my new Lamy modified fude nib compares to other fude pens I have used. I’m rewriting my answer as a new post in case anyone else is curious about this.

My first fude nib pen was a Hero M86, a gift from my dear friend Kate (Cathy Johnson). The nib is wonderful to draw with, but the body of the pen is not balanced very well, clumsy to hold. Kate used this nib in her “Frankenpen”, modifying a Noodler’s Creaper with this nib. I’ve tried the same with my Creaper but I’ve never been crazy about the Noodler’s filling mechanism.

Next I tried a Sailor Fude de Mannen. It feels awkward in my hand and when I try to make the widest line, the feed makes an extra underline below my line. Tipping the pen for the finest line seems awkward as well.

Larry D. Marshall suggested I try a Duke 209 pen and I LOVE how this one performs! But it’s a metal barrel which seems to slip through my fingers. That’s why I prefer Lamy Safari pens over their higher priced pens — the plastic barrel is easier to maintain my grip.

This new Lamy fude modification is easy for me to hold and performs as well as the Duke. When I want a very fine line, tipping my hand feels very natural and I can smoothly transition to a wide line without awkwardness.

a Lamy Safari . . . Fude?

I have always loved the sturdiness and reliability of Lamy Safari fountain pens. I can totally ignore an ink-loaded Lamy for months and when I pick it up again, it writes immediately without any argument. The converters are easy to fill — and easy to empty if I wish to refill with a different ink before it’s empty. And, unlike some have found, the grip seems to fit my hand well.

Several weeks ago, I found Nina Johansson’s Instagram post about Daniel Novotny’s “Lamy Fude Mod” tutorial, turning a regular EF steel nib into a bent fude nib for sketching. A week or so later, a dear friend Kate gifted me with her old Lamy Safari pen she had found buried under a pile of stuff — she had never liked the Lamy and we both thought she had gotten rid of hers long ago, but there it was, hiding (I told her they tend to hide if they think your plans for them aren’t pure! 😜).

So I borrowed Bill’s small vise and turned this pen into a fude. And it works beautifully!

I also found Daniel’s tutorial on adjusting the Lamy feed to allow the pen to flow “wetter”, more like an antique fountain pen. My Lamy Joy with it’s flat calligraphy nib often skips, probably because the ink flow doesn’t keep up with the nib. So I would love to make this simple adjustment to the Joy . . . but the feed is in so tight I can’t pull it out, even with the help of a rubber cloth. I don’t want to use a tool such as pliers in case of possibly damaging the feed beyond use, so I’m stuck.

UPDATE: Apparently the original link’s site is no longer available. I first learned of this Lamy fude conversion from Nina Johansson’s Instagram page, https://www.instagram.com/p/BkIOAqoh1Y2/?hl=en — her Instagram identity is “nina_sketching”.

another bluebonnet meadow

I almost didn’t post this one. These are the final pages of my blue purse-size Field Notes Memo Book, which came in a set of three colors named the “Sweet Tooth” collection. I grabbed a travel set of gouache paints and just started playing in the above sketch, the idea coming from a photo I once saw of a local meadow with bluebonnets. I used the book’s blue paper for sky and pond, but the greens of the trees and shrubs dried too dark to see detail.

The last pages were used to play around with my favorite Celtic style of letters. I am not a calligrapher by any means; I just draw what I see, even fancy fonts I find in books or online.

the downside of a new kitten

The downside of having a new kitten join the family is introducing him to grooming tools.

I try to do this after they are well fed and sleepy, which works fine with Bardie MacRuadh.

Who knew Scottie Dubh, weighing hardly over 2 pounds, could put up a fight equal to a panther?

I prevailed . . . this time.

this morning’s cup of tea in gouache

This Scottie mug is old and chipped, but I still love drinking my tea from it, as it was a gift from a dear friend back in Kansas. I used to keep it at our small church to drink my tea from while the others enjoyed their coffee.

everyday stuff

Yesterday was a day to randomly draw whatever was in front of me. I had just phoned in for refills on these two prescriptions so that’s what I drew.

One is eye drops to treat glaucoma and the other is a scalp solution to fight a type of psoriasis.

Isn’t getting older fun?

Scottie ready to sleep

Bardie likes to sleep near my feet, but Scottie chooses to sleep on top of this cat cubicle, next to my side of the bed. . . . Bardie also likes waking Scottie up by tipping the cubicle over!

bobcat

Eddie’s crew of carpenters used this wee bobcat to lift 4 ginormous beams into place when building our new carport.

Scottie, old and new

Scottie paused for a nano-second and I snapped a quick photo of him sitting in front of my favorite quilt . . . which happens to have Scottie patches on some of the flannel squares. I love Scottish terriers, I love all things plaid and I love flannel — so my mom sewed this quilt for me.

As soon as I snapped the photo, Scottie Dubh was bouncing off again, full of kittenish energy.

The next “pause” was on the cat tree — he surely can’t be comfortable like that?

He likes sleeping in that cubby, snuggled up to Bardie’s old baby blanket.

busy at work

When we bought this cabin there were 2 ugly car ports; this spring we tore them down and had carpenter Eddie and his crew build one new one in a better location that matched the cabin better.

Days were already getting hot yet Eddie wore 2 shirts as well as fingerless gloves!

I drew this from a photo, thinking it sort of fit the quote I found online.

kitten whiskers

Though we fed Scottie from a low-rimmed dish, he was only tasting a bite or two before running off to play. He had been given vaccinations on Friday so at first we thought his appetite might have been affected for a day or two. But he continued to not eat as much as his energetic activity needed. I found that if I placed some kibble on the floor, he’d eat it . . . one at a time as I put it before him. He’d still rather play than take time to eat! Bill commented that he had extraordinarily long whiskers — so maybe he wasn’t eating much due to whisker fatigue? (Cats with very sensitive whiskers don’t like their whiskers touching the sides of a dish.) So I pulled out this tiny flat saucer that our daughter-in-law gave us and tried feeding him on it — Success!

Scottie played hard with one of Bardie’s crocheted toys, then snuggled it as he went to sleep.

breakfast with a new friend

After each of them finishing up their own breakfast, Bardie and Scottie each tried the other’s leftovers. (It’s a good thing that Bardie’s food is good for both cats and kittens.)

playing with gouache

After a wee disagreement last night between our Scottish fold straight, Bardie, and his new baby brother, Scottie, Bill took the kitten into the bedroom with him while I stayed in the cabin’s main room with Bardie just hanging out together. I want him to understand that the kitten is not replacing him. If cats even think in such human terms . . .

Anyway, I sketched a bit of a grapevine as we quietly sat together, using a Duke 209 fude nib fountain pen. Then I decided to play with some gouache for color. The idea came from the Bible verses I had jotted down earlier in the day while at church.

This morning things are relatively peaceful between the cats as they continue to check each other out and explore boundaries. They are a good match in energy level, but Scottie obviously needs to learn when to stop pushing Bardie’s buttons. Kitty detente continues . . .

boredom sketching

I am sitting in the back seat of my car; daughter Kristen is driving and granddaughter Mikala is in the passenger seat, operating the selections of music (15 year old choices!) — so I read or sketch . . .

Odd how both of these photos were taken at the same time, same lighting, yet the first shows this Field Notes memo book’s true color and the second is yellowed a bit. Curious!

pocket palette update

Now that the 30 x 30 challenge is behind me, I switched the colors in this pocket palette back to colors I’m more familiar with. Except I chose to keep the “grey of grey” from the 30/30 palette and switched the pyrrol scarlet to transparent pyrrol orange . . .And I grabbed the manganese blue hue for a cool blue simply because the pan was already filled . . . And I added raw umber violet to paint interesting shadows . . .

copying Kate

After completing the 30 direct watercolors in 30 days challenge, I took a break from sketching for a few days while taking care of non-art related stuff. But after seeing a new video posted on YouTube by my good friend, Kate (Cathy Johnson) of her updated travel sketch kit, I played around with one of my own . . . then drew it in my long-neglected Stillman & Birn Beta sketchbook.

Kate’s pen case is a different design made by the same company as mine, LIHIT Lab, Smart Fit. Mine can be found at this link, although mine is an olive color. I chose this style because it can stand up during use. It holds less than Kate’s (found here) but then I don’t usually carry as many tools as she does. I chose a larger palette because it’s longer length makes it fit the deep pockets easily, though a flatter pocket palette would also work.

The far left section, including my updates to Marc Taro Holmes’ palette, was jotted down last month during the 30/30 challenge and has nothing to do with this post.