Currently Browsing: Pens 335 articles
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 […]
Sometimes You Want to Use a Fine-tipped Pen…
I love working with my various brush pens, but sometimes you have a subject that calls out for the use of a finer tipped pen. Besides that, Strathmore 500 Series Mixed Media paper loves a fine-tipped pen. It’s a win-win. Explore the fine-tip pens you enjoy using today—what types of papers do they pair […]
One More Thing about Tools Changing the Way We Draw
This is part three of a 3-part series on how our drawing tools change the way we draw. Part one is here. And part two was Monday and you can toggle back to it using the navigation links at the base of this post. I have focused on pens with different tips. You can expand your […]
The Kakimori Brass Pen Nib
This spring a friend told me about a new sort of dip pen: The Kakimori Brass Pen Nib. It’s shaped like a bullet. Channels all around the nib feed the ink to the point. (See the product photo at the left.) I thought it might be interesting to try it out because you can […]
Thinking about White Hair on Toned Paper
There’s nothing finished in this study of a man with white hair and a beard. It’s me noodling around experimenting with how to get the values of white hair on toned paper. I’m working in a handbound journal made with Zerkall Nideggen (it has a lovely fiber fleck of texture throughout). I guess paper nostalgia […]
I’m Learning More about Neill Rea’s Face
Season 8 of “Brokenwood Mysteries” started streaming in July on Acorn. I’ve been watching along as they release the new episodes; and of course sketching. I think I’m finally starting to get a little better feel for Neill Rea’s face. (His cheeks need to be a little plumper to catch his character’s kind but “I’m […]
Two Portraits, Two Different Pens
I am always amazed at the different line qualities different pens give the same hand. And how even the same pen dried out will render results so different from the first use of a non-refillable pen, or any tool that gets worn. In this page spread I warmed up with a sketch from one […]
Sometimes Even A Fun-to-Draw Beard Isn’t Sufficient Inducement to Watch a TV Show
I watch a lot of TV. This has always been true. And I often sketch while watching TV. The other day, before I canceled Comcast Cable TV (because for over 6 months they had been sending technicians to fix a pixelation and no-picture random-reboot situation) I caught a brief few moments of “Mud, Sweat, and […]
Take More Than One Look
When you’re sketching someone, whether it’s a month-long project like last year’s #MarchIsSketchAlunArmstrongMonth, or just someone you see on the street (if they stick around long enough) take more than one look. Here’s a page spread from a hand-bound journal I made with Fabriano Artistico 90 lb. hot press watercolor paper. (8 x 8 inches […]
The Fun of a Bold Brush Line
A new pigment brush pen and a fresh page in a smooth-surfaced lined paper journal: what could be better than that? This is one of my sketches of actor Alun Armstrong. I did a project where I drew him (multiple times) every day in March last year. (#MarchIsSketchAlunArmstrongMonth; look it up, a couple other people […]