Currently Browsing: Portraits 307 articles
A Little Bit of TV for the Pandemic
I’ll have more to say about television for the Pandemic, but today I want to recommend something I watched while recovering from cataract surgery in 2019. If you haven’t watched it now would be a good time: “Godless.” (On Netflix.) Scott Frank who created and wrote “Queen’s Gambit” wrote it. It’s a Western. The acting, […]
It’s Official #MarchIsSketchAlunArmstrongMonth
Yep, #MarchIsSketchAlunArmstrongMonth. It seems the best way to improve the current situation. I woke up this morning to icy rain. By the time I finished cycling (inside of course) there were fat, light flakes of snow falling quickly past the window behind me. The Minnesota State site for Covid vaccination eligibility said it would be […]
In Context: Wake Up and Sketch
I couldn’t resist the title to today’s post—I think everyone needs to sketch of course. But also, if you end up waking up because of outside street noise, don’t stress, just sketch.
Feeling Around A Face
I did this sketch of Bill Bailey in a hand bound journal I’d made with 90 lb. watercolor paper (8 inches square). I was watching one of the several British comedy shows he turns up on—which is the best way for a US-based viewer to catch him. (It was probably an episode of QI which […]
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 […]
Painting on Drawing Paper
In this brush pen and watercolor sketch I painted on the drawing paper contained in a Hahnemühle Drawing and Sketching book. (It’s about 8.5 x 9 inches or so). As I mentioned in a recent post, I enjoy sketching on drawing papers, well certain drawing papers. Why? Because I enjoy the drag of the pen […]
Bookbinding and Journaling, I Can Be Contrary In My Choices
I started the new year with one of the journals I bound in the fall of 2017. (I made 50 plus journals in a month while in a cast [foot and ankle] due to a fall down some stairs. Another contrary choice I see in hindsight—but the orthopedic surgeon had cleared me for activity.) It […]
In Context: Small Details Matter
In this brush pen and watercolor sketch in a Hahnemühle Travel Journal I’m working with wet media on a drawing paper and loving it. (I’ll have a counter opinion about using non-watercolor paper coming up another day on the blog.) You can click on the image and read the in-context text, me cooling my heals, […]
A Little Dip Pen and Watercolor
At the beginning of the month I had a pen sketch of this muse from Sktchy. Here today is another sketch, from the same muse with different facial hair. I’ve used a different painting approach: dip pen and watercolor. (See the caption for additional media comments.) This is actually a painting made on a sheet […]
When Your Brush Pen Dries Out…Keep Drawing
There’s a moment when your brush pen starts to run out of ink, but it’s not quite dry yet. In fact if you let it rest for a little bit part way through a drawing it seems to get a second wind in only a few minutes. If you can’t wait that long, simply have […]