Scots Pine Pen and Ink Study

Yesterday I decided to sit in the yard as the air was cooler and the bugs almost non existent.
Besides Winter loves to be outside with me.
I was looking at my old Scots Pine slowly coming back to life after the winter and thought it would be a good subject for a pen and ink rendering.

 Alan

Inktober to now... getting caught up !

January 2018

So that brings us up to date 

Alan

Inktober 2017 Day 8 - Day 14 aka "BOOK TWO"

Onward we go, here is book two, where I see changes (for the good) I think.
Maybe there is hope for me yet !

Day 8
Still in Algonquin I found my subject sitting on the table just in case you don't recognize them, Green Pepper and a Tomato..

Someone mentioned using non waterproof ink so they could add shadows by washing the lines of ink.
So I did it too

Lamy Safari with Lamy Black Ink

Day 9

Ch-ch-ch changes..
well I think so, I see a definite shift in my line work here maybe I am improving :-)

Pilot Metropolitan Pen and Platinum Carbon Black Ink

Labrador Tea

There was a time when Grant and I would make a 3 hr journey (one way!) into the backwoods of Algonquin just so we could enjoy a cup of this tea!
We still enjoy it but we don't have to walk nearly as far :-)

Day 10

A subject way more complex but boy I enjoyed drawing this one..
Pine cones, a bunch was knocked off a tree in Mew Lake (Algonquin) so I brought it home as my subject.

Very old Parker rollerball pen, it's even older than the sketchbook and that started in 1994!

Day 11

OK well somehow the day got away from me and as I was eating an apple before I went to bed I realized I hadn't completed my Inktober tribute :-o

So the apple core was it ..

The same old Parker Rollerball

Day 12

Remember the walks with Winter?
Here is another 'found' subject from one of the walks it is also the beginning of "just how many different oaks live in my neighbourhood anyway"

Same old Parker rollerball

Day 13

This would be the second of the Oaks leaves

Jinhao 750 "Frankenpen" (I swapped out the nib for a flex nib)
Diamine 'Ochre' Ink

Getting to like my lines

Day 14

Another Oak, thats three if you are counting..
Jinhao 750 "Frankenpen"
Diamine 'Ochre' Ink

This is a great combination for Autumn sketching!

Here endeth "BOOK TWO"

I have to go find a subject for today to fill in the Day 15 spot that will be in Book three
Watch this space!

Alan

Inktober 2017 Day 1 - Day 7 aka "BOOK ONE"

I've been lurking ..
I wasn't sure about being able to complete this years "Inktober" challenge but I started and kept it to myself but the month is half over and I am still going!

So it's time ..
I thought aboyt the format ;
1 a day was  bit much
All of them in one post seemed worse
So I settled on this ..

Here is Day 1 through Day 7

Day 1

I was in Ottawa with the Urban Sketchers and found myself sitting in front of Maman by Lois Boubureous
https://g.co/kgs/ctg5zG

There are 5 of these scattered around, I know of one in the Distillery District in Toronto the rest are worldwide.

Unfortunately for me I put my sketch in my sketchbook not knowing if I would continue or not or how I would keep track of my progress.
So Day 1 is all alone in my Moleskine Sketchbook while all the others reside side by side in my very old (1994) sketchbook that I am trying to fill.

Without further ado ...
Day 1 Maman

I used my little used Brush Pen to get the thick black lines that make up the actual sculpture.
Little used as it rarely comes out into the light but I am pleased with this

Day 2

Dalek
What ? you don't know what a Dalek is ?
Sheesh
Better start watching Dr Who all 40 plus years of it to get caught up !
This was created with a ballpoint pen while I sat on hold on the phone.

Day 3

Still struggling to find my way with Inktober this is a pretty quick sketch of one of my painting bags.
it was there and I needed a subject ..
I think it was done with a Micron .05

Day 4

Acorns.

I picked these up one my walk with Winter ( little knowing this was going to start a trend..)

Micron .05 pen

Day 5

Fall Mum's
Sitting on the picnic table in Algonquin

Rotring 1.5mm Art Pen

Day 6

Maple leaves (unfortunately I didn't have coloured inks or my dip pens with me) in Algonquin.
Pilot Metropolitan with Platinum Carbon Black Ink (I think)

Day 7

Still in Algonquin.
Grant threw a piece of wire into a tree and started talking to the world ..
Ham radio

Sakura Microperm 01 well used and scratchy and I like it!

Well thats "BookOne" stay tuned for "Book 2"
Where things start to change ....

Alan

Urban Sketchers in Elora

Yesterday I joined a group of like minded people in Elora for an afternoon of sketching.

I mixed up the times so while I waited for the same 'like minded people' to show up I worked on other people..
I'm not good at this so ...

Bissell Park - Market Day

Bissell Park - by the river

Finally everyone showed up and I wandered off into town ..

Mill St to be precise 

There were  few sprinkes of rain so we sat under an umbrella in an outdoor cafe :-)

2 pens, 1 ink

Alan

Westfield Village - A grand day out

Westfield Village is a great place to visit if you love old buildings.
Yesterday I took my friend Karen for a day out to sketch and draw a few of them.

Gillen House - pencil 

This took a while, especially with the steam tractor rumbling by spitting oil, smoke and dust. I had to stop and cover my sketchbook each time ! 

I didn't notice the slight lean until I scanned it...

Cathcart School - Pencil

I decided on a less formal study of the old school. This was drawn quickly with a 'fat' (2mm) mechanical pencil .

Albrecht Seip Boot Shop - Pencil, Pen and Ink

Trying to stay off the roadway (that steam tractor again) I was 'forced' to work on my perspective drawing.

Boy the day went fast, before I knew it we were given the 10 min warning as it was 4:00pm already!

A weekend in the life or I should be so lucky..

This last weekend I was camping at Valens Conservation area, with a couple of side trips!

Saturday morning I was greeted with Ms Snapping Turtle laying her eggs in the middle of a driveway to a campsite!

That was before I headed out to Doon Heritage Village in KItchener to meet up with my "Sketchy Friends"

That was a great morning and I managed to get back to the campsite before the storms came through !

Sunday dawned bright and clear or so I thought...

After lunch my friend Karen and I visited Westfield Village in Rockton for a couple of hours sketching. We each chose our spot and went to work..

I fell in love with this rally old homestead that stood apart from the main attractions

Hmm not a very good photo but you get the idea!

This was completed in about 20 min so I wandered off to see wht Karen was up to .

She wasn't quite finished her piece so I sat down and did a quick sketch of the old church though the tree's

To round off the weekend on Monday morning I decided to sketch my breakfast :-)

 Cinnamon Bun and coffee ...Mmmm


All done in pen and ink some with the addition of water soluble graphite

Continuous Line Drawing

Having watched a few tutorials from Sketchbook Skool
http://sketchbookskool.com/blog/draw-tip-tuesday-urban-sketch-continuous-line/

As I was sitting in Valens campground with no internet I decided to practice what I had learned.
I was really surprised how using this technique really sharpened my 'seeing' so I did more !
I didn't move more than a few feet from my trailer to do these ... LOL

Broken Windows ..

A lesson from Peter Sheeler.

This was drawn with a new dip pen that I picked up yesterday. Actually I got four of them for $12 nibs and holders!
This one, the first I tried is awesome, it holds so much ink I did the whole drawing with one 'dip'
Strathmore Watercolour Sketchbook
Sennelier Watercolours

The original looks better 'onest

Alan

Wandering again ...

This weekend with the 'nicer' weather rolling in I was out and about.
Yesterday I participated in a Shinrin Yoku (forest bathing) outing to the Huron Natural Area in Kitchener.
Yes we kept our clothes on and yes we had a great time!

At one point we could sit by a stream so I took the opportunity to pull out my sketchbook and recorded this pencil sketch ..

Then this morning I met up with a friend and after Bagels and tea we headed out to sketch an old house that is slated for demolition to make way for our new highway.. AKA progress :-(

Two totally different approaches but both equally satisfying

Alan

Moonlit Winter Farm

Continuing to follow lessons by Peter Sheeler, this one is a Moonlit Winter Farm scene.

It is an important one because I am continuing to work with the Platinum Carbon Ink I received a couple of days ago.
My first test was an absolute disaster, a quick sketch of Winter sleeping on the couch and a quick wash.
The wash reactivated the ink that was supposed to be waterproof!
I wasn't happy

Yesterday I tried it on a different paper and it worked!
Today I tried it on two more papers and it worked!

It looks like it didn't like the original paper for some reason.

Anyway I am happy with this one except for the crop ..
Pen and ink and watercolour wash on Saunders 200# HP