Currently Browsing: Hahnemühle Travel Book 14 articles
When Do You Throw A Pen Away?
When do you throw a pen away? Evidently I don’t do it often enough! I love the way some disposable ink pens get a thin dry line as they run out of in, but lately it’s ridiculous. I need to put out some new pens!
In Context—Painting on Drawing Paper
Two page spreads today from one of my Hahnemühle Travel Journals. (These are hardcover books that look like Moleskines, but these have more pages and a toothy drawing paper.) I used a Sakura Pigma Professional Brush Pen FB, watercolor, and a 1/2 inch flat brush. Take a moment to look at all the pieces in […]
Sketching Faces: When You Feel You’ve Hit A Plateau
I sketch a ton of faces. I look back over the years and see how my approach to sketching faces has changed, how it’s constantly evolving. Often students write to me about experiencing a plateau in their drawing efforts. They feel that they have achieved a level of skill at which they remain […]
What Am I Going to Get Up To Now? Trouble?
We’re months out from my cataract surgeries. At last month’s eye doctor visit we learned more. I’ll write a detailed post about what’s going on soon. I won’t kid you, it has been a frustrating time. Not a day has gone by since January 30 (when they pulled off the first eye patch) when […]
My Friend Tom Won’t Stand Next to Me in an Electrical Storm…
It’s official, after Sunday’s event my friend Tom said “You have the most awful luck! Remind me not to stand next to you when lightning is threatening!” I don’t blame him. I wouldn’t stand next to me in that situation either. And recommend that you don’t as well. Sunday Dick and I went house hunting. […]
In Context: A Show, a Sketch, a Note
I hate it when a show has only a season. I don’t seem to stop myself from watching. Then when there are no more episodes I’m hooked, but bereft. This happened was going to happen with this show, so I stopped early. One of the many wonky sketches I did in April when I […]
Sketching in Family Situations: Creating New Family Contracts
If you desire to sketch at family gatherings and visits but it seems impossible this post is for you. If you already have sketching integrated into your life I suggest you stop reading and go sketch. Recently a blog reader wrote the following to me I love your posts and your portraits! How do you […]
Don’t Sweat Ink Blots
Look if you’re making an illustration for a client or inking a piece to hang on the wall, an ink blot can be unfortunate. But if you’re working quickly in your journal and you get a blot—laugh, smile, take a big breath, wonder at the unique shape that the ink made as it fell […]
The Property Brothers Make Change Seem Easy (with Hard Work)
I’m probably the only person on the planet who sees “Property Brothers” as a show about change, adaptation, and living in the present moment. (As I write this I’m also including “Property Brothers: Buying and Selling,” as I watched them all simultaneously; and I have since started watching the new, “Property Brothers: Forever Home.”) While […]
In Context: Whacky Sketching Mistakes
Sometimes the hand zigs when you want it to zag and something odd, like a dictator’s stare, seems like an intentional message from our subconscious.