INKtober is Back!

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INKtober is back! This one month challenge began in 2009, and was begun by Jake Parker. It's meant to help improve your ink drawing skills by challenging you to do one ink drawing every day for the month of October.

Day One was created with a Platinum Carbon fountain pen, a Pentel light black brush pen and a UniBall Signo white pen.

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Today I used a Tradio Stylo pen and the Pentel brush pen in light black. 

Last year I only made it half way through this year I'm hoping to go the distance!

Durham Fair Sketches 2015

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It is now officially fall, now that the Durham Fair is over. This wonderful agricultural fair, the largest in Connecticut always ushers in the autumn for me.

I've gone to the fair many, many times in my twenty-seven years living in Connecticut. However, this is only the second year that I have sketched at the fair. Children and sketching at the fair don't really mix well. but now my children are all grown and I can take an entire day to enjoy the fair through my pens and paints. 

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A big sketching outing like the fair takes some preparation to make the day really successful, I like to arrive early when the gates open on Friday to avoid the large Saturday crowds. Friday is the day for school field trips to the fair, and I think it's good for kids to see someone sketching in public.

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Wear the right clothing and shoes. I stand to sketch at the fair and our fair is on very hilly terrain so a good pair of light hikers is a must for me.  ( also Advil before I leave so my back is not totally screaming half way through the day) Light weight sweater which I can roll up and stuff in my sketch bag, and vest with lots of pockets to stash pens, brushes watercolors etc. for easy access while I'm sketching. I clean out my sketch bag and travel with a minimum of carefully chosen supplies.

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I've learned over the years that a big "in public" day of sketching is not the time for me to be experimenting with new stuff. That said I ordered a totally new sketchbook to use at the fair, one I've never used before. I had every intention of testing it out first but I was just too busy with other projects so I went in to this not knowing how the paper would be.  Fortunately, the paper was fine, not outstanding, but fine. Although it's 140 lb. hot press paper, I was surprised that it buckled a bit, not enough to be very concerned about and it flattened after drying I was just surprised and didn;t expect that to happen.  In case you're wondering the sketchbook was The American Journey Journaling Sketchbook from CheapJoes, see it HERE

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The journal is 9x12 and one of my intentions for the fair was to work large. I've been working in small sketchbooks since the beginning of the year and I really felt it was time for a change. I'm glad I did , as working large at the fair was very freeing and I think contributed to the bold character of the sketches. I also decided from the get go that the sketches would be large two, possibly only one per page. I didn't want to cram the pages with lots of little sketches, because then I might as well be working in a small sketchbook. So it felt really good to spread out and draw large, 

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My usual method for sketching at big events like this is to start with a loose, quick light pencil sketch, just to get my bearings on the page and get the basic shape and gesture of the animal. then I switch to a Tradio Stylo pen. This is not a waterproof pen and I use it for exactly that reason. I can very quickly get tonal washes, areas of shadow, and deep ink blacks as well as interesting fluid inky areas n my sketches. The black ink also mixes with the watercolors toning down things a bit which is perfect for earth, natural subjects like farm animals. That ink mixing in with the colors in every sketch also brings a consistency to the look of each page of sketches from the fair, so they work as a whole series of related images.

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Using non-waterproof pen also reminds me to only use minimal washes and not get caught up trying to do complex many layered paintings, and it reminds me to leave bits of white for sparkle. When sketching at the fair I always try and remember that less is more.

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I took along my QoR watercolor set, and a brown Sharpie ultra fine point to write in the animals names, breeds, farms and any other information I could gather.

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During the rest of the weekend at home in the studio I added the borders, backgrounds and the stamped lettering.

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All in All after sketching for 6 hours I had filled eighteen pages with thirty sketches!

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Keep scrolling down to see all the rest of the pages.

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Zoo Trip

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Always love a sketching trip to the zoo. I began the day with my favorite tiger, working some gestural studies with a Stabilo Woody pencil.

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Primates in the Rain Forest building and River Otters.  I didn't bring my usual paints with me today because I wanted the pre-prepared backgrounds to play a big role in the page. So I used a Tradio Stylo, and some Color Brush pens. All are water soluble and allowed me to fill in and create tonal washed quickly using a water brush.

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I went back to my favorite tiger several times throughout the day. He's an excellent model.

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The barnyard was fun. Everyone I met kept talking about the piglets, which I guess are really hoglets! (Actually not, they're still called piglets!) 

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This is my favorite page of the day, all these crazy contour sketches of the chickens. Fast and fun. Now I'm exhausted but really happy with the day and the variety of sketches I got out of it. 

Nature Sketching in Winter

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Winter. Over the years I've learned to make peace with this most difficult of seasons. Cold, dry air, snow, freezing rain, short dark days, long nights, staying inside a lot.  None of those are any of my favorite things,  I like being outside, sunshine, mild weather and loooong days.

Winter and it's rhythms of stillness, quietude, and natural turning inward for sleep and rest have taken a long time to charm me, but charm me the have (mostly).  I still dread winters when we get walloped with snow storm after snow storm, the power goes out, the plows don't come and the snow piles in the super market parking lot tower over you head form months at a time.

Good thing I have dogs, they get me out numerous times a day, starting at about 5am, so I can drink in some of the austere and minimal beauty of winter, even if it's only in my backyard.

Living near the beach is a special treat in winter as the beach takes on a whole other look when it's covered in snow. The top sketch is at a local beach. I parked along the bike path and sketched from the car.  I've found if your car is good and warm it will stay warm enough to sketch after you turn off the engine for about 45 minutes. I stay bundled up in the car, wear  finger-less gloves and take a hot drink with me.

The second sketch is of views from my windows.  On January 5th I was greeted with a butter colored full moon setting over the western tree line.  That was amazingly gorgeous. I was out with the dogs and couldn't get enough of it's soft roundness and buttery sheen.  So I called the dogs back in and grabbed my sketchbook and sat in front of the sun room window and penned a simple sketch.  Upstairs in my studio my windows face Southeast and I was also able to catch the sunrise (bottom sketch).

Because both these subjects disappear quickly and both depend on the contrast between light and dark to capture their essence I used a Tradio Stylo pen which has water soluble ink. When I add watercolor to the sketches the ink infiltrates the colors, deepens and quickly I can get the murky, shadowy darkness I need.