side table art supplies

There’s a nice little art desk set up in our office / library / laundry room (tiny room that functions as all of them). Bill even made me a taboret on wheels that stands next to it. But most of the time I sketch from a comfy chair in the living room while talking with Bill or watching shows on TV. This might explain the smudges that appear on my sketches! 🫣  I usually keep an Art Toolkit loaded with my tools — easy to grab when we head out in our camper. But camping is on hold for a couple of months so I transferred the tools I’m currently using to this wooden box. Much easier to grab what I want!

The second photo was taken “in process”. I added a few colors to this daily palette (colors that show up better on toned paper) so I put a business card sized magnet in the mixing area to hold mixing pans and clip it to my sketchbook page.

(I drew the ink drawing several days ago, but took my time adding color.)

using color on toned paper

When I tried my new Grow Untamed palette out on both this toned Nideggen paper and on some white watercolor paper, I noted that these particular colors work much better on the white paper. So I did test blobs of all my watercolors on the back pages of my journal, including two more colors from Letter Sparrow which just arrived in the mail: quin. magenta and Paris green just because I love cool red and turquoise. I love how black inks and white gouache look on this toned paper, and brighter colors add a rich “pop” to sketches. I may change my style of sketching while working in this journal.

a new red toy

Bill knows I love a rich cool red, and I love collecting Pocket Palettes, so he gave me the Grow Untamed palette from Art Toolkit. Lovely hand-made desert-colored pigments from Letter Sparrow — These paints are so creamy to work with! Unfortunately, the deep red color of the palette can not be mixed from the colors in the palette, so in this wonky sketch I added a bit of quin. rose from my regular daily palette along with some white gouache on this tinted paper.

not camping this week . . .

Bill and I had made reservations for a Christmas camping trip this week. Average lows for our area are around 45° with daytime highs in the 70s, and our camper has a good heater. But this below-freezing weather that has gripped the nation quickly changed our plans — who wants to deal with a frozen camper? So we winterized the camper instead. 

And tonight we went with our daughter and son-in-law to their church’s Christmas Eve service. I did a quick sketch of the altar’s art before the service began and painted it later at home — with a too-large, clumsy brush. 🫣

Have a blessed Christmas, everyone!

Christmas pinch pots

In addition to the collection of pinch pots on my kitchen window sill, these special Christmas pots have now appeared. All of the pots and pottery dishes were made by our children when they were in school. The barbed wire star was a happy surprise from a dear friend in Kansas.

a parallel fountain pen

I recently bought a Pilot Parallel fountain pen along to play with. I knew the ink would not be waterproof, but I thought it might give a subtle gray wash when touched with a waterbrush. Wrong!! The ink in this pen is very wet and very intensely black! Just a light touch of a wet brush tip releases a strong black wash. Still, I was determined to see it in action with a quick sketch — I had to really work to keep areas of this Flint Hills farm scene in lighter washes.

The nib shape is similar to my Lamy Joy pen’s calligraphy nib, but the Lamy nib seems to dry and clog if not used daily. The flattened nib makes for interesting sketching lines. Packaging that this pen came in warns to not refill the empty ink cartridge with other inks — which was exactly what I had planned to do using my waterproof fountain pen inks. There is a converter sold that fits the pen but I’m curious as to why I couldn’t simply refill the cartridge with a syringe?

The Spice Merchant

We are now home from Kansas but I had one more sketch to finish and post. As long as we were in Wichita, we decided to do a bit of shopping at our favorite coffee / tea supplier, The Spice Merchant. The business has expanded since we moved to Texas, into the adjoining building. They roast their own coffee beans in the center of the main floor and the aroma is amazing, even for a non-coffee-drinker like me! There is also a Huge Selection of loose-leaf teas, something I’ve been unable to find in Texas. So many new choices to try!

The business is located in the historic Mentholatum building, one of my favorites of Wichita architecture. Silent film star Louise Brooks also ran a dance studio here at one time. 

an unexpected trip north

We had told ourselves that we would never return to Kansas for a visit in the winter. Weather can be too unpredictable, and for a man dealing with some level of chronic pain 24/7, cold weather can be especially brutal.

Yet here we are, sitting in an AirBnB in Wichita, Kansas.

Several family members are dealing with life-threatening medical issues and we decided that we really needed to come see them in person. There was a family reunion of sorts held in Manhattan, KS yesterday. Today I visited my father in a nursing home — he has Covid so I was masked, shielded, gowned, and gloved to nearly be unrecognizable. But we were able to have a wee bit of time together.

On Friday we had a lovely visit with my mom and brother, then met some dear friends for dinner later on. Tomorrow we head to Baxter Springs to check on another friend who was like a second father to both Bill and me when we were in our teens. And finally we will head home to our much-warmer though very wet home in Texas.

The AirBnB we are staying in is a tiny home in an old RV park. The owner is, bit by bit, building up a small community of tiny homes and a small trailer home to rent out at low prices to those needing lodging for a few weeks to several months. This one has an old Wichita Cowtown decor that fits right in with Texas as well.

new sketchbook

Another sketchbook, another sketch of my tools . . .

This time I’m using a small book I bound using a vintage book cover and Nideggen paper which is no longer made. This lightweight paper is made for printing, not watercolor, so it will take a bit of adjustment after using 140# watercolor paper!

After sketching out my currently chosen tools and inking them in, I already made one adjustment. I’ve been using a squirrel mop brush and a dagger, both travel brushes from Rosemary & Co. But the squirrel brush held way too much water and paint for this paper — so I switched it out for a #8 sable blend round brush.

The tiny pencil sharpener is not my favorite for Blackwing pencils which are great for holding elongated points, but we are traveling this week and this one fits in my Art Toolkit.

The large pan of white gouache is cracked but still usable. Recently I heard that if you add a drop or two of glycerin when filling the pan, gouache will not crack.

a Charlie Brown tree

One more sketch from Ratcliff Lake in Davy Crockett National Forest: one of several Charlie Brown Christmas trees we found growing from a stump. Many trees, when they die, are allowed to rot in place giving habitat to insects and small animals. But some trees endanger something nearby, requiring them to be cut. Out of several stumps in a tent-only site down near the lake, new growth has begun.

Painted in a 2” square Hahnemuhle ZigZag sketchbook.

two fellow campers

I haven’t had a Scottish Terrier of my own for several years now but I still dearly love the breed. These two charmers, owned by fellow campers, dropped by our campsite for a visit. So I sketched them on this, my final two-page spread of this Etchr sketchbook.

autumn leaf color!

Davy Crockett National Forest is a bit further north than we usually camp. The autumn leaves are still not as colorful as we had in Kansas, but we found some color here which I painted in my journal.

We bought this Apex camper used. The slide-out contains a couch but the original table was missing. So Bill built one with folding metal legs the same long narrow dimensions as the original. It’s beautiful, made with vintage cedar — that’s the table my sketchbook is laying on in the photo.

But while providing more work space for the kitchenette, it seemed to get in the way of sitting easily, turning the couch into a diner booth you had to slide into. So we now use that table outside and Bill designed a new one for inside. This one can be used two ways: as a divider between seats — great for sharing a movie on my laptop! — or with another set of long legs, it becomes a free-standing table to be moved wherever we want it.

forest floor

My 2” Zig Zag sketchbook came camping with us, sneaking into my regular Art Toolkit. This time we have returned to Ratcliff Lake in Davy Crockett National Forest, and my first sketch was a wee view of the forest floor.

Bill, who never hangs lights for Christmas at home (leaving that to our always festive son-in-law, Michael) has hung lights around the camper’s awning and is now sitting outside quietly listening to Christmas music. ‘Tis the season!

these boots . . .

Since moving to Texas 8 1/2 years ago, I wear sandals nearly year-round. I even have a pair of hiking sandals that I can wear socks with, especially nice for camping. But we are taking an unexpected trip to Kansas in early December — brrr! Winter in Kansas is something we left to avoid! So I dug out my leather boots.

Unless snow is expected. Then maybe I’ll take my rubber mucking boots.

my minimalist kit

It seems like such a very long time since I have used my tiny sketch kit that lives in my purse. The few times I’m out running errands, I might not even carry a purse — just grab my ID and go. So I took it out yesterday and sketched it.

This kit is made up of a 2” square ZigZag sketchbook, a Demi Palette (mine is the limited edition that came with Greenleaf & Blueberry’s CMYK palette), a tiny paintbrush that came in a Winsor & Newton set years ago, and a mini waterbrush — held together with a small silicone cross band. Art Toolkit now markets this combo as their new Ultralight Sketcher Set.

I also made a color chart card of the four CMYK (cyan, magenta, yellow, and black) paints to keep with this palette, a quick reminder of colors I can mix. I have since added apatite green, monte amiata natural sienna, transparent red oxide, and white gouache.

Kristen’s pumpkins

Our daughter Kristen grew quite a garden this year, including abundant squash and pumpkin plants. The pumpkins were a variety that is hardy even in a hard freeze.

So why in the world did they wilt and die when temperatures only dropped to 40°? Perhaps because it had been in the upper 80s all day?

These two are the only survivors. They are now living in our sunny south-facing windows in hopes of ripening.

With the colder temperatures, I have traded my earthy granulating “autumn” palette for one of simple warm & cool colors plus neutrals.

to ink . . . or not

Yesterday I drew both of these trees from photos I had snapped while camping a few weeks ago. The woodpecker holes were oddly lined up on the tree located on a terraced bit of land leading down to the fishing dock. The cypress tree had quite an impressive set of “knees”; it was down at the lake’s edge next to our campsite. Grasses next to the water were flattened, probably by the younger alligators wallowing there.

I was planning on adding watercolor today, but Bill saw these and said he liked it as ink drawings — or possibly just add a bit of color to the background but leave the trees ink-only. Now I’m not sure what to do . . .

UPDATE: I decided to strengthen some of the ink lines of the two trees in these sketches and not add any watercolor.

BTW, these were sketched with a Duke 209 fude nib fountain pen filled with Noodler’s Lexington Gray ink.

and once again they are gone . . .

Bill designed our little barn-house with huge windows front and back where bird feeders hang. He also keeps binoculars handy for birds out in the pasture and in the tall tree line beyond (such as falcons and pileated woodpeckers), but bird feeders are literally 15’ from where we sit inside. Our hummingbirds are here making us laugh at their antics for 8 months of the year, with many more in March and October as others pass through during migration. 

I drew this last week after cleaning the feeder for winter storage, but didn’t get around to adding color until today.

Bill’s “ears”

Just felt like a simple continuous contour line today — these earphones and TV remote happened to be the closest victims. Sometimes Bill wants to watch TV but I would rather read. We live in a small 800 square foot space so he plugs these into his smartphone and listens to his show while I read.

Meanwhile, the ink used here is my sample of De Atramentis Cyan Blue Copper which is supposed to have shiny copper bits show up as it’s used. These would not show up in a photo anyway, but they simply were not there at all, even in person. This ink sample “failed” in my book.

one final sketch from camp

We have been home from Lake Raven for several days, but I didn’t get around to finishing this last sketch until last night. This trip was for Bill’s 71st birthday and a new hammock was his gift — so of course I had to add a sketch of it in my journal!

The longest hiking trail, which neither of us are in shape for, takes you to the northernmost tip of the lake, across a marshy area, to the wilderness on the other side (the distant tree line in this sketch). It was there that a band of coyotes were spotted one evening during our stay, coming down to the shore to drink.

a younger alligator

Yesterday we took a walk to the fishing dock, which has been partially rebuilt since we were last here, in hopes of seeing our friend, the old 15’ alligator who lays claim to the dock as his own territory. He was not there, but we found this young 5’ ‘gator. Not quite as accomplished as his grandfather yet — he tried to steal a lady’s fish as she reeled it in but missed. The old ‘gator gets them, every time.

I wasn’t as happy with this alligator sketch as I was with the previous one I did of the old ‘gator in a previous sketchbook.

yesterday rain, this morning sun rays

Yesterday we had rain off and on here in the forest. So I sketched what I saw from the bench seat inside our camper: our wee teapot and Bill’s French press coffee pot.

This morning, though a bit foggy at first, brought glorious sunshine — as seen from Bill’s camera phone. As much as I love my iPhone, I must admit that his Samsung takes the best photos!

a might big critter

As Bill was finishing getting the camper leveled, I looked around the campsite — and found this ginormous caterpillar slowly crossing the fallen leaves and pine needles. Not having my sketchbook in hand, I took a few quick photos. A tent camper in the next site over called his wife over to see it but by then it completely disappeared. Perhaps burrowing into the ground?

At fully 6” long and so colorful, it was easy to find in an online search: it is a Hickory Horned Devil — as fierce looking as a Samurai but actually quite harmless. I read that even chickens, who love eating caterpillars, avoid them. After pupation in ground burrows, they emerge as Regal Moths, the largest moth north of Mexico.

Later, we watched from under our awning as two juvenile pileated woodpeckers literally danced around a nearby tree, oblivious to passing hikers and vehicles.

our frozen treat

It’s the time of year — the approach of Bill’s birthday (also known as Halloween) — that we indulge in a couple of treats that, for some odd reason, we think of as autumnal. One is FROZEN Reece’s Peanut Butter Cups (hard to get that bright orange packaging with my muted, earthy palette — I cheated by adding a bit of Hansa Yellow medium). The other “seasonal” treat is mixing lightly salted dry roasted peanuts with candy corn.

one wee rose

While shopping in Tomball, I saw this tiny rose growing on a shrub near where we had parked our truck — so I pinched it to sketch later! 🤭 The actual colors were more pink but I painted it with my earthy granulating palette instead. The actual rose is smaller than the sketch, the bloom being only 3/4 of an inch.

Einstein

This poor sketch is of one of the coolest cats I’ve ever met — Einstein, the Scottish Fold who fathered my two rascals. Drawn from a photo taken by his owner, Marina Yurskaya of Kiss a ‘Fold Cattery, it really doesn’t capture what a truly magnificent cat he is.

My cats are Scottish Fold Straights, meaning that they have straight ears. Each litter can have either folds or straights, or both.

When we went to pick up Bardie as a kitten, Einstein had to “check me out” first, making sure his baby was going to a safe home. He’s such a good Daddy!

granulating palette, tweaked

In my previous sketch, I had trouble painting the plastic scrubber and red rock using my current palette made up of earthy, granulating watercolors. There are not many red pigments with granulating properties to choose from.

I had seen reviews in the past year of Schmincke “super granulating” watercolors. Most reviewers were not that impressed since most of these are convenience colors easily mixed from more common pigments. But when I saw Volcano Red, I definitely wanted to try it. It’s made from a single pigment (PR108) but it’s the prettiest cadmium red I’ve seen — more subtle than I remember from years ago.

I bought it in a set of three small tubes; the other two are Volcano Violet and Volcano Brown, both mixtures containing Volcano Red. Not sure either of them are worth buying again, but I think the red be will remaining in this and my regular palettes from now on.

I also wasn’t happy with Lunar Blue in this palette. Though lovely, it is a weaker paint that takes a lot of work to get much color. In the super granulating line, Schmincke has a Tundra Blue made from ultramarine blue (PB29) and a brown (PBr7). Instead of buying it, I mixed some ultramarine blue and raw umber in one of my pans, stirring well with a toothpick. A great, versatile blue that is still a bit earthy and more granulating than ultramarine blue by itself.

I also switched the burnt sienna out for the more vibrant transparent red oxide. The color swatch card in the upper left shows the previous colors.

everything . . . including the kitchen sink

When we converted this barn into a home, Bill filled the north (kitchen) wall with windows to let in lots of light. This wall and the south doors and windows once formed the central alley of the old pole barn. I had planned on filling this window ledge with tiny succulents. 

But the roof over the back patio blocked too much light from the plants, so they were moved to an outside container. And in their place? Some pinch pots our kids made when they were in school! One turned pot holds some rocks painted by three of our grandkids, and there are also two rocks our daughter brought me from Scotland. Over to the left side are Bill’s grandmother’s child-sized cast iron skillet and sad iron. The largest pot holds scrubbing tools.

I first painted the kitchen sink with the burnt sienna and raw sienna in my granulating palette. But it looked too dull, so I added a wash of transparent red oxide with a touch of Daniel Smith’s original quinacridone gold that’s no longer made. These two colors made a huge difference!

playing with the negative

I drew some old jewelry and watches here, just to practice painting a smooth background negative space. But #1: the color I picked was not enough contrast from the ink lines, and #2: the color I chose is a granulating blend of blue and black (Daniel Smith’s Lunar Blue) which jumps from blue to black in unexpected ways. More practice needed . . .

The watches belonged to Bill’s and my mothers, the pearls and small child’s ring were his grandmother’s, the man’s ring we think was his great-grandfather’s, and the brooches and ruby ring were my grandmother’s.

St. Joseph’s Church

We returned home from camping a few days ago, but I didn’t get around to finishing this last sketch until this morning.

The first couple of days camping the temperatures were in the upper 90s, too hot for a campfire. But Tuesday brought cooler temperatures and we planned to cook over a fire — just in time for the camp host to drop buy to say that a burn ban just went into effect! 

So we decided to drive into New Waverly to eat at the local diner. Across from the diner’s corner, I saw this lovely gothic-style church so I took photos to sketch from later. This is the third structure built on this site (in 1905); the congregation originated with a group of 40 Polish families who immigrated in 1867.

oak leaves

I don’t know what variety of oak tree this branch fell from — there are perhaps a full dozen different types of oak trees native to this forest known as the “piney-woods”. But it was in my path so I drew it.

some tree bark

This week we have returned to camping at Cagle in the Sam Houston National Forest. Sitting under the camper’s awning, the differences in these nearby trees’ bark caught my eye. The left one is a sweet gum tree and the right one, a long-leaf pine.

Sketched with a seldom-used Pentel Pocketbrush Pen that came with sepia ink. I had hoped that the ink would be waterproof like the black version of this pen but it is not. For this sketch, that works fine — I worked the washes with just a bit of water.

UPDATE: looking closer into the canopy above, I now think this pine is a Loblolly; a Long-leaf pine is about 10’ away.

flamingo pond

About three miles from home (as the flamingo flies?), we pass this beautiful home on Magnolia Road. A complex bit of bridge leads to an artificial island full of flamingos. Not the live kind though — area flamingos are more likely to inhabit Galveston Island.

some favorite tools

These are two of my absolute favorite fountain pens, though my tough Lamy Safari pens are still my daily “workhorses”. The Pilot Namiki Falcon was a gift from Bill and has a very flexible nib. The Kaweco Liliput, a gift from our son Matt, isn’t described as having a flex nib but the more mine has been used, the looser and more flexible the nib has become.

I chose to add this bottle of ink, J. Herbin’s “Lie de The”, because I love the classic bottle shape. Mostly, I use De Atramentis Document inks in my fountain pens.

This morning was a bit cloudy when I took this photo, causing it to look a bit gray. But I’m also using my more muted granulating watercolors, giving this sketch a bit of an antique feel.

testing ink and welcoming autumn

This is the last of 4 “shimmering” ink samples I bought, looking for an ink that would change color while writing text. Not much variance with this ‘Emerald of Chivor’ from J. Herbin but the color is lovely!

And just because autumn has arrived, I switched to my “earthy granulating” palette for everyday use. And drug out this Derwent Graphitint palette to play with as well. 

Then drew it directly in ink while I was at it.

my “Earthy Granulating” palette

another ink sample

This text was written in another “shimmering” ink: Diamine Arctic Blue using  a Lamy “F” nib. The color-changing effects would be more pronounced using a bolder nib. This one doesn’t really shine, but changes from teal to turquoise to blue while writing — this color-changing is the reason I bought these ink samples!

The cat toy is our Scottie Dubh’s current favorite, and he was a bit miffed that I withheld it while drawing. 😾