Jan. Pen and Ink works.

Better late than never I guess, the above pen and ink drawing of a farm house is from the December WetCanvas pen and ink forum challenge images. I started it back in December and just never got it done. I even took it with me to Chicago but ended up not working on it, not feeling in the mood to do this type of pen work.

Size is 4 x 4 inches on Bristol Board Smooth. Done with my smaller nib technical pens. This is mostly line not cross hatch, the toning is just lots of thin lines close together. I am still playing with pen techniques, for this drawing I didn't use outlines just directional lines. Not sure about the trees in background, They don't exactly look like trees, but I am not sure it is necessary that they do. The house is the focal point, trees are just in the background and wouldn't really be noticed by a viewer.

The WetCanvas channels/forums have one dedicated to drawing plein air, or rather from life, no photo references. Part of their usual activities is to generate a list of things to draw from life, it isn't quite weekly since each "Scavenger Hunt" list runs for 9 days but it is frequent enough. I have been missing this kind of challenge. The Everyday Matters group used to have a weekly theme but new themes haven't been issued for over a year. Anyway I may not join this group very often but felt like it this past week.

So above is my own vegetable peeler drawn from life. This little guy is old, dating back to when I first went out on my own, oh over 40 years ago. But it still works just fine so I have never replaced it. Drawn in the sketchbook I had previously dedicated to the Everyday matters drawings I used graphite to show my peeler.

I haven't done a new bookmark for ages and figured it was time that I got back to making some, so above is the finished drawing part of a new bookmark. Done on Stonehenge paper with colored pens. Fish, more or less based on the fish I drew for #Inktober. Still needs some finishing details including a tassel, but at least I have it started. I worked on this while listening to an audible book I borrowed from the library. Need to get more books to listen to this way, lets me draw at the same time I listen.

I don't think the above is finished. I am thinking about adding color. All it is right now is a stipple background for the darks. I drew this first with pencil and then stippled around the drawn shapes. Once I had the stipple mostly done I erased out the pencil and made corrections. I just made up the design as I went along with no particular image in mind.

Still thinking about what colors to add. I will be using colored pencil as this is done on Bristol Board Smooth which doesn't like water. If I had used hot press watercolor paper I think I would be using some of my Inktense pencils, but because I didn't think that far ahead I think I will go the safer road and just use regular colored pencils.

A photograph from last week. We had a light dusting of snow on Friday morning, here is a photograph of the sky and rooftops showing clearing clouds and that snowy frosting. Looks monochromatic, but it is really a color photograph, just not a lot of color to show in this one.

That is it for today. I hope to get back to being more productive than I have been art wise. It does seem like I need to take these little breaks from creating. Anyway per usual comments are welcome.

More Doodles from Chicago

The above wasn't done in Chicago, this piece was actually made in the past couple of days after I got home. Not quite sure what I was thinking or tying out here, but the idea came to me to draw some flowers, then decided they needed some color so I added it. Various colored ink pens and one of my technical pens with black ink. Not very large only about 4 inches high, done in one of my sketchbooks, flowers are from my imagination.

I have something nibbling at the back of the brain that wants to be a project, eventually it will either come out into the light or go away, If it decides to make itself known you will read about it here.

During my Chicago visit my sister and I visited the Art Institute of Chicago. We often make a visit there at this time year. I enjoy seeing what they have in their drawing Galleries and usually we visit the Textile Galleries to see if there are any quilts hanging. On this visit we didn't make it down to the Textiles and instead went up to the Modern wing to check out the surrealists. There was a Dali painting I wanted to see, turns out it wasn't on exhibit but I did enjoy seeing some early Picasso, Chagall, and Matisse works. After the moderns we took a break for lunch then headed back toward the front to see the Drawing exhibit, Strokes of Genius, Italian drawings from the 1500's. It is marvelous by the way, if anyone reading is in Chicago prior to Feb 1, stop by the museum and check it out.

Anyway on our way to the drawings we wandered through an exhibit of Byzantine art, a couple of the exhibits were carved crosses, inspiring me to draw one of my own when I got back to my sisters. My drawing is very simple compared to the carvings but I had fun doing it just the same.  Drawn with Technical pens in one of my sketchbooks.

Above is another small drawing inspired by a museum visit. The museum this time was the Chicago Nature Museum and its butterfly room. They raise live mostly tropical butterflies in this room. I spent a fun hour or so trying to make some photographs. Not terribly successful but it was fun anyway. The museum is a great place to take kids, they have a wonderful interactive exhibit on rivers and water flow where kids can dam a "river" and see what happens. In another room they have live frogs and other animals on exhibit.

My butterfly with the rose is totally from my imagination, and isn't really based on any one butterfly. Just needed to exercise the technical pens. Another drawing in my sketchbook.

Another drawing from my imagination, this time I used a brown ink pen. The goal was to see if I could draw clouds and portray distance in a landscape. I consider this only semi successful, some of these clouds are pretty oddly shaped, and have a bit too much outlining. Was also trying different strokes to create texture, my conclusions I need to do more of this type of sketch to further develop my skills in this area, right now they are sadly lacking.

As a close a couple of photographs. Above are two of the butterflies in the Butterfly room at the museum. These were thinking about mating, but for one reason or another didn't actually do so.

For the above image I have one comment, Baby it is cold outside. Our outside temps this morning when I got up were about 1 degree F, cold. And yes I know Chicago is probably even colder, still for us this is cold, and made me reconsider my plans to travel into Boston today. Think I will put that off until tomorrow when it will be warmer. Anyway the above is a photograph of frost on one of my storm windows. I enhanced it in Photoshop so there is a bit more contrast, But frost does make pretty patterns on glass. As I write this the frost has melted so I am glad I was paying attention and made the photo earlier.

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

Pen and Ink Dwgs from Christmas Vacation

I usually go to visit my sister in Chicago for Christmas, this year being no exception, though this year I decided to take the train instead of flying. Flying has gotten expensive and no longer fun, what with the hassles with security, having to be there 2 hours early, and since I can't afford first class, seats that are sized so that only a kid under 12 would be comfortable in them. Anyway I thought why not try the train, so I did. I won't deny that it takes longer by train, but other than that I enjoyed my trip. I would have been happier on the trip out if I had taken more liquids with me, and I should have checked my luggage, but having learned on that trip I did both on the return trip and was much happier. Since I have retired the one thing I have is more time, and I enjoyed being able to look out a window to see actual scenery instead of clouds.

So what does the above have to do with artwork, nothing. But planning for Christmas and then travel did get in the way of my making art and updating the blog in December. Course once I was in Chicago I did have both the time and energy to do some art work. Nothing fancy or elaborate, I just wasn't in the mood, but I did make several pen and ink drawings. Actually more than I want to put in one post so I will spread them out over a couple of updates.

The one above is the only one I used color on and these are colored inks. My sister loves pineapple (well I do also) so it has become a tradition that we have one for over the Holidays. I borrowed it for a bit along with an apple and a pear to set up a small still life to draw.  It is my usual small size (4 x 4 inches) but worked in one of my sketchbooks instead of on Bristol Board. I used various pens for this and am not dissatisfied with how it came out. The pineapple was kind of fun to draw. The apple is sitting in a small glass basket that was really only big enough for the one apple. The oblong fruit in front was a red pear, Red pears don't have the typical pear shape so I suppose I would have done better to use another apple instead. Ah well done is done and it is what it is, too late now.

I had taken my technical pens along for my vacation, and if you have used technical pens you know that they need to be "exercised" every few days to keep the ink flowing. Above is one of my pen exercises. Done with all of my technical pen tips. Just a doodle I didn't have any particular plans for this when I started and just let it develop as I went along.

The star above is another technical pen drawing. This one I did do a bit more pre-planning on prior to starting and have to say that I like this one better than the more free formed doodle above.

Since I arrived prior to Christmas Day and still had a bit more shopping to do we spent one day in the loop at Macy's (former Marshal Fields store) shopping and eating lunch. The photograph above shows a decorated down town Chicago with crowded sidewalks full of Holiday shoppers dressed for the season.  I will be sharing more of my Chicago photographs both here and on my facebook page if you are interested.

That is it for today, my next update should be in a couple of days instead of the weeks between my last one and this. I want to extend to my readers a belated Seasons Greetings and wish you all a Happy and Healthy 2015. Hope that you all got at least one gift during the Holiday's that you truly wanted. In the meantime per usual comments are welcome.