Currently Browsing: pen and ink 36 articles
Shakespeare and Hathaway: Private Investigators (And More on Magnani Portofino)
After my initial tests with Magnani Portofino I tried different pen and ink only tests. For today’s post I did a quick pen sketch of actor Mark Benton who stars in “Shakespeare and Hathaway: Private Investigators.” It’s a fun mystery show set in Stratford-upon-Avon where everything is Shakespeare-related. Benton plays Frank Hathaway, and the […]
Let Yourself Push Your Sketch Marks Now and Then
OK, we can’t get the whites of the paper back when we are working in pen and ink (unless we resort to the X-acto blade, or ProWhite gouache), but it’s still a useful endeavor to keep pushing with the lines. I find that working with a dried out pen pushes me to be a little […]
More Hairstyles
If you’re unable to look away from hair like I am, well then you’re just going to have to watch “Perry Mason” (Original series with Raymond Burr; you can watch the newer series set in the 1930s for hair as well, but there is only one season of that—I hope more shows up—but there […]
More Alun Armstrong and More Messing about with a Dried Out Pen
I keep returning to Alun Armstrong the subject of my 31-day March 2021 project—I keep finding more drawings that didn’t get scanned because my backup equipment failed. (Issues still not resolved, making it very interesting here.) I just wrote a post last week about using a dried out brush pen and if you missed that […]
In Context: Bridge Jokes
I collect bridge jokes. Or bridge anecdotes. Why is a little more obscure and not found on this journal page spread. Background: My parents are excellent bridge players—competition level in their heyday. In their 90s they are still talking, card for card, about hands they played in 1960! I don’t enjoy playing cards with my […]
In Context: The Beginning of One of Those Emotional Entanglements…
Another Delano Ames quotation. (Hahnemühle Travel Journal.) “He gulped sentimentally.” Ah to have written that, what a perceptive way to see a dog.
In Context—Quotations from Revisited Books
The one highlight of going through my books and culling things out is that I’ve been able to re-read books out-of-sight for 20 or more years. It’s like saying hello to old friends. With Delano Ames it’s a very insightful friend.
Coming Up in July on Patreon
During July I’ll continue my discussion of dog portraits. Subscribers can watch me sketch this ink portrait. I’ll also look at minimal line and wash approaches to sketching a white dog. I hope you’ll come and join the conversation.
Get Serious about Pen Health
OK you’ve read over and over on the blog that I love drawing with pens that are drying out. BUT… Someone has to get serious and march around the house and throw out all the really dried out pens. It’s time to start fresh. On the evening of this drawing if a fresh pen had […]
It’s Simply Fun to Sketch Alun Armstrong
Actor Alun Armstong has one of the best noses on the planet. His face is simply fun to sketch. Last year I had just started watching “New Tricks” (a detective series that is available on several streaming platforms), when I sketched this brush pen sketch (Pentel brush pen with ink wash. Sometimes when working working […]