Currently Browsing: Brush Pens 431 articles
Blick’s White Sulphite Drawing Paper
The other day a friend stopped over with some of Blick’s White Sulphite Drawing Paper. She was going to do some gel printing on it, but she thought I might enjoy testing it. I did. I videotaped my first drawing session using this paper. You can hear my opinions about the paper and learn other […]
A Look at Stoneground Gouache Pans
Everyone who reads my blog knows that I love gouache. I have since childhood. So I was excited to see a new gouache, Stoneground Gouache, bring out a line of gouache in pans. Who doesn’t like the ease of having pans of paint when out and about? I’ve done a video product […]
Stubble
Sometimes it is fun to sit down and draw stubble. Lots and lots of stubble. I find this entertaining, and joyful. I find noting the growth direction, the length, the density—all fun. But then I sat in the Bell Museum for a whole afternoon years ago, drawing every line of fur on a deer. This […]
Leftover Paint
Sometimes I’m just in a mood. I might have a lot of paint leftover on the palette, I might start drawing with a tool I don’t usually draw with and want to cover it up; I might… On this day it was a little bit of all of that—just exploring and experimenting. When the red […]
This May on Patreon: Choices for Working Loosely
In May 2023 on Patreon I’m going to be demonstrating and discussing working loosely. What choices do you make? How do you go forward? How do you train your eye to be comfortable with looseness? You may have seen a speed video of this sketch on my Instagram account. On Patreon you can see […]
For the Love of Negative Space
I hear all sorts of things from my journaling students. “How much negative space should I leave on my journal spread?” “How much space should surround my focal point?” “How much text and how much more illustration should I put on my page spread?” “How should I arrange these 5 things on my page spread […]
Studies: Observing the Subject Over and Over
Studies are something all visual artists do, pretty much every day. Studies are about cementing the observation of a subject into a visual approach you can apply to your paper or canvas. But studies don’t always happen before you make a more finished piece. On this page spread, which is in a Canson 180 Sketchbook […]
Journaling Predictions and Creative Momentum
Even after all the decades I’ve kept a journal I am still amused by the lack of accuracy in its (i.e. my) predictions. Constantly surprised in humorous ways how things don’t turn out as I suspect. Always amazed at how the conscious mind might be working at something and all the while the mind’s creative […]
In Context: Spur of the Moment Decisions Because of Paper
The end of 2022 was was a bit exhausting for me. And I made some spur of the moment decisions all because of how much I love working on Strathmore 500 Series Mixed media paper. You can read about it by clicking on the image. Sometimes we speed up to slow down. And sometimes we […]
Drawing on Scraps of Paper
I love to draw on scraps of paper. As a bookbinder I have a ton of paper scraps leftover after any binding session. There are trimmings of course, but typically because of the way I want my handbound books sized, I fold and tear away bits from the main paper sheets before I start making […]