Pen and Ink, doodles and sketches

Nothing very finished to post this time, the above is mostly stipple work with various colored pens, size is small only 5 x 5 inches on Hot Press Watercolor paper. I started with the flowers and just kind of went from there. It needs something, but of course it is too late to add anything to it at this point.

Another of my pen and ink "exercises" Not sure where the spiky bit came from and the bird is very weird, I wasn't using any references and it ended up looking a bit strange. The bird was sort of an after thought, but I knew I needed to add something up in that corner and that is what I ended up drawing.

Done in my sketchbook with my various technical pens.

The next two images are pages from my small portable sketchbook. The above was done on one of my bus trips, A couple of faces of people I saw, and at the bottom two trees were sketched mostly from memory as they were based I trees I saw by the side of the road when the bus was making a stop. I am trying to work more quickly and more from memory. So far not having a lot of success, but I will keep trying.

I was in Boston earlier this week, mostly to make photographs of the end of winter and arrival of spring, but I also visited the MFA and was able to spend time in the Hokusai exhibit which was open for members only. Some of the Boston photographs I posted to my facebook page.

The sketch above I made while resting my feet in the gallery exhibiting the prints of his views of Mt. Fuji. I really need to go back to see this show, as I only spent real time with the first couple galleries, the others I just glanced at. Hokusai deserves more study than that.

I love this piece, not sure you can tell but the two figures appear to be tumblers or actors, and I am sure they illustrate the poem written on this scroll. Hokusai may be more famous for his prints (wood block colored prints of original works) but I loved seeing the commissioned works that are included in the exhibit.

I am feeling a bit frustrated. Now that I have caught up with the illustrations I needed for my nature journal, I wanted to start working on new pages. However the nature reserves and parks still have so much snow covering the ground that there isn't much to write about. Spring has yet to start arriving in many locations. It can't be much longer but I am truly feeling impatient.

The photograph above I made yesterday at Borderland State Park, and is of the major road/path through the park. There were a few spots that weren't snow covered but for the most part it wasn't easy walking, and the garden where I hope to see Trout Lilies and Bloodroot flowers is still buried under snow. It is supposed to hit 60 on Friday, so with a bit of luck the snow will soon be gone.

That is it for today, per usual comments are welcome.