Scottie Dubh’s rose

Today’s ink sketch began as a continuous contour line. Then I added a bit of white gel pen. Then I tried adding some shadow with the gray ink felt tip pen. Overworked maybe? 

We grew wonderfully fragrant antique roses at our cabin near Lake Somerville. I drew this from a photo taken 6 years ago. Scottie is still as inquisitive as ever, but also an independent “touch me not”, not wanting to be held in any manner. He sometimes has vocal arguments with himself in the middle of the night. Our vet jokingly said maybe he’s autistic.

Grandma’s vinegar cruet

I cleaned out my ink pen drawer today. Among the things forgotten is this refillable felt tip pen with Kuretaki refill cartridges in its body. It still writes, with a soft gray ink.

So I jumped right in and drew Grandma’s vinegar cruet — without pencil guide lines!

It would have been more impressive if I’d included those bursts of light in the shadows and on the bottle itself. But for a quick sketch without any fuss, this was fun!

(The text turned messy, even with previously drawn pencil lines,)

UPDATE: Ahh! Mystery solved! I found the pen on jetpens.com — it’s a Kuretaki Karappo that comes with empty cartridges. I had apparently filled these with Noodler’s Lexington gray ink.

Old Baylor

Today’s ink sketch, a very old wall from a photo I took in 2021 while on the hunt for bluebonnets. This wall was once part of the original campus of Baylor’s women’s college, located in Independence, Texas. Not sure I like how this sketch turned out but we have happy memories visiting the site.

The second photo shows a portion of the old college ruin that still stands on what is now called Academy Hill. Baylor University was founded in Independence in 1845; the men’s campus was located a bit further down the road on Windmill Hill.

new toys

I love to draw. I have since early childhood. For many years now, I have sketched in an illustrative style, matching colors to whatever objects or scenes I’m trying to depict and trying to make whatever it is look “real”.

But recently I’ve been inspired by the art of Natasha Newton to get out of my comfort zone and try something new. Instead of ink lines and transparent watercolor, use more multi-media — a base of either watercolor or gouache followed by colored pencils or Neocolor II crayons. Maybe a bit more “folksy” in style (if I can break out of my realism tendencies). Not working so much at mixing colors, but using them “straight” (even gouache) and adding a few pencil details on top.

Not sure where I might go with this but I hope to loosen up and have some fun.

The folio palette above shows all the gouache I’ve collected over the years, plus a few recent additions. (One empty pan is waiting for Dick Blick to send the tube of elm green they left out of my order). I’ve played around with gouache over the years but haven’t posted much of it, not sure what I was doing.

The unusual colors in the smaller palette are similar to one in Natasha’s small travel kit, which includes a lot of colored pencils and some fine liners. Four of them, I mixed myself from other paints I already had.

a tiny kitty

I admit it. Sometimes I can’t resist an impulse purchase.

We bought some books at the bookstore in Brenham, where I saw this tiny articulated Siamese cat for $3 — and got it. I named her Egret after our half-feral Siamese rescue cat.

more tiny paintings

These are some of the tiny sketches I have been doing this past week, using the muted autumn palette that I recently put together. Only one is worked from a scene that I actually saw: the foggy pasture in the upper left corner. 

a taste of autumn

This small glass once belonged to my grandmother. It’s semi-transparent amber glass has a few air bubbles, but they just add to its charm.

Depression glass may have been inexpensive in its day, but glass is so much nicer to drink from than today’s plastics. I drank some apple cider from it before sketching.

lunch in Brenham

Today’s ink sketch of half of my Panini Caprese looks a bit weird. And I had eaten part of it before realizing they forgot to toast & press the sandwich! But the large pieces of fresh mozzarella, ripe tomato slices, and spring mix lettuce were just to tasty to complain.

We were in Brenham for Bill to have PT at the clinic, but we also walked a bit of the downtown area like we used to do when we lived just north of town, visiting a book store and one of the restaurants we used to eat at.

just a quick line . . .

I’ve been doing some tiny sketches, so my daily ink sketch is a continuous line of the supplies. I “cheated” a bit by doing a loose layout pencil sketch first — working on such a small page, I wanted to make sure it all fit in.

an autumn treat

Today’s ink-only sketching question: is it still candy corn & peanuts without the familiar yellow, orange, and white?

remembering violets

Bill once gave me a beautiful African violet plant which was very special to me. But when we moved from San Diego to Bremerton, then on to Portland, I had to fly (being 8 months pregnant at the time) — our things were moved up by friends. The plant probably would not have survived so I gave it to a neighbor.

This is another drawing exercise from a library book, “Pen & Ink Techniques” by Frank Lohan. I chose to add a bit of purple watercolor. Ink lines were drawn with a Kaweco Liliput fountain pen filled with Noodler’s green El Lawrence ink.

no mail

No mail today. But then, we don’t get much “snail mail” these days anyway.

This is another drawing exercise from the “Pen & Ink Techniques” library book, with a bit of watercolor on the goldenrods — which doesn’t show up well on toned paper.

a different autumn palette

Recently I’ve been looking at the mixed media gouache paintings by British artist Natasha Newton. (see HERE). Her folk-art style in gorgeous muted colors really appeals to me! The colors look very autumnal — I wondered if I could put together a similar autumn palette of my own watercolor pans. It’s nearly impossible to mix a good purple or turquoise, but overall I like this combination very much.

UPDATE: I have decided that Jadeite is too bright for the muted look I was going for, so I switched it to Undersea Green.

thankful for hair

As I was taking care of household tasks, I wondered what I might draw in ink today. Then I spied the bottle of shampoo sitting on the shelf and I thought “why not?”

My hair’s post-chemo weirdness is gone now; it’s growing out at odd lengths but I’m thankful to have hair. A minor thing compared to being healthy again but it makes me happy. Still very dark though. At 71, I expected to be more gray but I take after my grandmother and her sister Lucille, who both also had dark hair until very old.

palette revamping

 

Today I was busy baking sourdough bread and cleaning these two palettes, so just a very quick ink sketch. I was liking the way it was turning out in black & white — until I added those stupid shadows. Oh, well . . . Tomorrow is another sketch.

remembering the Rockies

Today’s ink sketch is another exercise I did from “Pen & Ink Techniques” by Frank Lohan. It reminds me of the first time I saw the Rocky Mountains, in the summer of 1964.

reading in turquoise

Today I began a re-reading of Dorothy L. Sayers’ Lord Peter Wimsey series. I first read them several years ago as ebooks checked out from the library, reading them on my iPad. Now I have the illustrated Folio editions of the actual books. I grabbed the first book and my iPad, which I’m reading “Pen & Ink Techniques” on — and was struck by all the turquoise. So I sketched them.

Later, I saw the yarn I bought to knit a simple tank top, just sitting on the shelf — not turquoise, but it is a muted grayish blue. So I drew it as my daily ink drawing. (A down side of working on lightweight paper is that when I erase pencil lines, I sometimes wrinkle the paper.)

ink sketching 101

Though I have drawn in ink many times over the years — in late April 2018 I filled a small book with Navy-related ink sketches for Bill — I still don’t feel a lot of confidence using the medium. 

So I checked out an e-book from a Houston library: “Pen & Ink Techniques” by Frank Lohan, originally published in 1978. Today’s sketch is following one of the exercises in the book.

daily tools

I was asked about the tools seen in the background of yesterday’s posted photo, so I sketched my current tools today. The toolkit is an older version of the pocket sized kit from arttoolkit.com — I have it loaded with everything needed for doing tiny sketches or a daily ink-only sketch.

On the left side are a Mono Zero stick eraser, a Kuretaki very fine brush pen, a white Gelly Roll pen, a tiny mechanical pencil, my Pilot Namiki Falcon fountain pen filled with water-soluble ink, a #2 round paintbrush, a short Aquash waterbrush with a small brush tip, and a small binder clip. Underneath, there is a discarded cap holding different sizes of tape, a plastic viewfinder, and a handful of precut pieces of paper for mini sketches.

On the right side are a tiny water spray bottle, three Kaweco Liliput fountain pens filled with brown, green, and black waterproof inks, a bit of kneaded eraser in a small plastic container, and a Demi palette filled with warm & cool primaries, a green, and several neutrals. Underneath is a sweatband to wear on my wrist for wiping brushes — this one is unused; the dirty one has been tossed in the laundry. Just now I see that I forgot to add the layer of transparent red oxide to the copper Liliput — oops!

After finishing this illustration in my sketchbook, I went ahead and drew the closed toolkit and my passport sized Traveler’s Notebook for my daily ink sketch. From a photo, since my daily ink sketches are _in_ the Traveler’s Notebook.

another tiny sketch

While I am doing simple daily ink drawings and trying new watercolor techniques in my regular sketchbook, I have not stopped doing tiny sketches now and then. This one is of a neighbor rescue horse. He has a mostly white face so on very hot sunny days he wears a face mask. He can still see through it; it just protects him from sunburn. When Butters and I walk out in the south pasture, he usually comes running to great her. It seems he really loves dogs.

today’s frustration

My journal sketches usually reflect some part of my day, so why not this month’s ink drawing challenge as well? This page represents today’s frustration.

I’ve been trying to paint a watercolor landscape in my regular sketchbook, bound with Aches rough 100% cotton watercolor paper — the exact same paper as the artist whose demo I was following. A portion was to be masked out so I pulled out my small jar of masking fluid. It seemed a bit thick but went on the paper okay. 

But after drying, I tried to remove it with fingers or soft eraser — it is thoroughly stuck! Some came off but many bits are stuck deeply. The last watercolor wash didn’t turn out well anyway, so I plan to start over. But on different paper and with a different brand of masking fluid.

no playing today

Today I’m brushing and bathing my corgi. She would rather play ball but she is walking a bit odd so we’ll be checking her out at the vet’s. She’s had joint issues in the past; she fetches her ball with such abandon that she can easily get injured. Or fall in the numerous golpher holes out there.

After drawing this, the room’s lighting changed, casting that interesting second shadow. Maybe I’ll add that.

a wee hidey-hole

Today’s sketch is from a photo taken four years ago while we were camping in the forest. It made me think of an illustration from a children’s storybook. I wonder who might pop out of the hole at any moment?

I switched to my Pilot Falcon fountain pen with a black ink cartridge. Since I’m not using watercolor for these ink drawings, it doesn’t need to be waterproof ink.

this morning’s tea

Actually, this was my third cup — I had been up since 5:00 a.m. and it was still too dark to let the indoor pets out or feed the outside cats. So a good time to drink tea, read a book, or sketch . . . .

tree trimming time

All day yesterday, the tree dudes worked on trimming our trees, especially the twelve live oaks that line our driveway. Since moving here on our daughter’s acreage, many trees have been lost due to various storms. This work by professional arborists will hopefully prevent losing more. They did have to remove one damaged white oak that was threatening K. & M.’s roof. But next, we order some new trees to replace the ones lost.

This morning Butters and I were walking back from picking up a delivered package when she pounced on this leaf. So I brought it inside to sketch. I’ve never really been taught how to render drawings in ink line only — I just make it up as I go.

a simple pleasure

No, I am not participating in Inktober with its list of daily prompts. But I _am_ planning to draw simple ink sketches each day this month. No pressure, no unrealistic expectations, no fussing about detailed works . . . . Just the simple pleasure of applying an ink line to a piece of paper.

My current sketchbook is filled with rough watercolor paper — not the easiest for fountain pens — so I grabbed my passport-sized Travelers Notebook with an insert of Kraft paper. Maybe I’ll stick to just black ink with touches of white (and an occasional pop of color); maybe a different color of ink will make an appearance.

Recently I was officially diagnosed with Essential Tremor, which I’ve suspected for several years. My right hand (yes, I’m right-handed) shakes worse than my left, but not all of the time. Usually it has no impact on my sketching. But lines may get a bit wonkier or paint a bit messier. And I’m fine with that! After all, I do this just for the fun of it and that isn’t changing. Who knows? Maybe I’ll end up with a totally new personal style!

just playin’

Today I made a mess of my desk and just played. Following along with Art Toolkit’s workshop, “Playing with Composition with Meagan Dew” (HERE), I made a bunch of thumbnail sketches from two photos of New York — and even added loose splashes of color to some of them. More than the rules of composition, I was learning to loosen up and let go of niggling the details.

a new favorite

A couple of weeks ago, when Bill was still in the hospital, our daughter and I headed across the highway to eat at Freebird’s, a Texas burrito restaurant. But instead of burritos, we ordered “walking tacos” which consists of Doritos or Tostitos corn chips topped with any burrito fillings of your choice: rices, beans, various proteins, grilled veggies, lettuce, guacamole, cheeses, and sauces — perhaps not the healthiest base for fancy nachos but I think it’s my new favorite “junk food”.

A recent article in our rural electric magazine told the history of Frito Chili Pie, the forerunner of the walking taco commonly served at football games. Fritos were originally sold here in Texas c. 1930s as an ingredient for casseroles and the company regularly published recipes, eventually one that consisted of Fritos, chili, cheese, and onions layered and baked in the oven.

wild sunflowers

With all that’s been going on with us in the past few weeks, our bird feeders have been sadly neglected — I found this rogue sunflower growing underneath one of the feeders.

So far, I have only used Neocolor II watercolor crayons in this small nature journal I made (Ink lines are done with a Pentel Pocketbrush pen). Today, I tried regular watercolor to see how a more watery color looks on the toned paper.

a wee visitor

Today’s tiny sketch is from a photo taken last week. As I climbed into bed, I noticed this bright orange lizard climbing the wall. Our cats, Bardie and Scottie, were busy chasing tiny gnats they could hardly see yet they were completely oblivious to this 4” lizard just a few feet away. I’m sure he was laughing at them.

Direct Watercolor tiny sketches

These are the tiny paintings I did while Bill was at the hospital — thank the Lord, he’s home now! Taking the correct antibiotics and healing from a successful back surgery.

These were done directly with watercolor (no pencil or pen) and a tiny waterbrush (Pentel Aquash mini waterbrush with the brush tip from the regular sized small) from photos on my phone. The sunrise was over our barn home last November; the bluebonnet pasture and lake shore from photos taken in April 2022.

a mini sketchkit

Due to an unknown low-grade fever, Bill is still in the hospital. He is walking well and feeling pretty good considering he just had major surgery. This delay is frustrating, but they don’t want to send him home just to have him return. I drive in each day, then home to deal with animals.

This morning before heading out, I threw together a kit for some tiny sketching while I wait with him. A zipper case holds tools, and the tiny clipboard from Bluestar Crafts (HERE) holds my pre-cut pieces of paper. More pieces of paper are taped to a plastic sheet from Travelers Company USA. I keep bits of skinny tape wrapped around a discarded plastic cap because it takes up less room than a washi tape roll. I usually do quick sketches with the clipboard, and tiny paintings with a border on the plastic sheet.

So while Bill snoozes, maybe I’ll do some sketching . . . 

this week’s “adventure”

I’ve been a bit too distracted to sketch this week — except for one very long wait in a hospital waiting room where I did the above sketch (loosely interpreted leaving out a lot of the details). My husband went through a 5-hour lower back surgery, then we waited 2 more hours. Apparently there was an issue with another patient in the recovery room so we had to wait until he was taken to a room. The surgery was successful, he’s doing extremely well, and will be coming home tomorrow.

simplifying

While my other Folio palette now holds a standard sized pan of every granulating watercolor I currently own (30 of them!), I reconfigured this Folio for simplification. Both of the large palettes live on my art desk. I decided to try this one with just a limited palette in double pans arranged around mixing pans — similarly to how I arrange mini pans in a Demi palette.

As much as I love unusual pigments, it would make an interesting challenge to stick to only 9 colors. Two of those I included are new to me: cobalt blue and moonglow. Just giving them a try for now. Normally I would have cerulean blue chromium instead of cobalt blue.

From the lower left working around, the paints are quinacridone rose, hansa yellow medium, green apatite, cobalt blue, ultramarine blue, moonglow, monte amiata natural sienna, transparent red oxide, and burnt umber — all from Daniel Smith.

Here’s a look at my other Folio palette filled with granulating watercolors. I am not a paid representative for Art Toolkit, who makes these palettes — I just love their versatility and compactness! All sizes of pocket palettes can be found by clicking HERE.

more tiny sketches

A few tiny sketches, three of recent baking. The other one is a wall shelf Bill built me years ago that holds miscellaneous sketchbooks and papers ready to be filled — and my Irish tweed cap hanging on the top corner.

The peanut butter cookie is mom’s recipe, absolutely the best flavor! Just 1 cup natural peanut butter, 1 cup sugar, 1 egg, and 1 tsp. vanilla. Roll balls in sugar, cross with fork, and bake @ 350° for 12 minutes.

painting with Neocolor II crayons

Probably my final sketch of our granddaughter’s cow, Sierra — she goes to her new home tomorrow. Mikala raised the blue roan mix Short Horn during her senior year in high school and showed her at the Houston Livestock & Rodeo. Since then, she has lived on this wee farm with F.F.A. rescue goats and 2 rescue donkeys.

Recently we had some maintenance done on our RV by a man and his son, Jimmy, who owns a red-brown Short Horn and was immediately drawn to Sierra. He wants her to go with his other cow but also intends to breed her, something Mikala had always wanted for her but it just didn’t work out. So she is selling her to Jimmy. Sierra is very sociable and, though the goats and donkeys are companions, she gets excited when she hears other cows in the neighborhood. We all think she’ll be much happier with other cows and hopefully a calf or two of her own.

This is the second spread done in my little toned paper pocket sketchbook I made for doing nature studies. The first spread, seen in the last photo, is done from Art Toolkit’s workshop “Pollonators in Ink” (HERE) — worked in Pentel Pocketbrush pen and Neocolor II watercolor crayons. I have played with the crayons before, but never exclusively lifting color from them with a damp brush. Colors were even mixed in this way, touching the brush to 2 or 3 crayons before applying to paper.

(Those smudges are because I wrote the text with a fountain pen filled with water-soluble ink — then forgot that fact and laid my damp hand on the page.)

That’s our barn-house in the background, with 3 of the goats beyond Sierra.