More Inktober - the second half

As I write this, on 24th October, the end of the month is in sight. I have been able to maintain the discipline of doing an ink drawing every day. I must confess that I am now starting to get a little bored and I’m looking forward to November! 

All drawings, with the exception of the collaged portrait, were done in a Stillman & Birn Zeta sketchbook A5. It’s a favourite for ink because of the smooth plate finish. At 270 gsm the paper is tough and even where there is crazy, heavy cross hatching there is no show through on the  back of the page. 

Amellie from Sktchy - Black BIC ballpoint pen

Amellie II. Using the same Sktchy muse as the previous portrait - this time with watercolour, collage and ink.

Rick N from Sktchy - Pilot Metropolitan F nib, Faber Castell brush pens on gesso. 

Jul Zus  from Sktchy - Pilot Metropolitan F nib with water brush for the wash. 

Pink Roses - Pilot Metropolitan F nib with Daimine Hope Pink and water brush with coloured ballpoint pens.

Mike A from Sktchy - Back to the trusty Black BIC ballpoint pen

Chris Mathews from Sktchy - Black BIC ballpoint pen

Umgeni Reeds I - Lamy Safari 1.5 mm nib with Pelikan Smokey Quartz 


Umgeni Reeds II


Umgeni Reeds 

Gary Dadd from Sktchy - Black BIC ballpoint pen

Spot from Sktchy - Sailor Fude with Sailor red-brown ink.

For the last four days of Inktober I have decided to do a larger drawing, posting as I completed a corner.

Pink Roses - Top LH corner of the last Inktober drawing. 

Bottom LH  corner 

Top RH corner 

Bottom RH corner
And here’s the completed drawing:

Pink Roses - Pilot Metropolitan with Daimine Hope Pink and Waterman Inspired Blue. Water brush for the washes and assorted coloured ball point pens.

I have to admit that last few days have been a struggle. What I have found, though, from the discipline of regular daily drawing, is that I really do enjoy losing myself in an image. The meditative state induced by cross hatching is addictive. Portraits using a simple ballpoint are the most satisfying since the marks have a subtlety not easily achieved with a fountain pen or felt tip pen for that matter.

I think I have found the solution to keeping my interest high and completing some worthwhile drawings. 

I would still plan to draw every day but to do fewer drawings with a more holistic theme. I could perhaps take a few days or a whole week to complete each drawing. At the end of the month I would have a coherent body of work with a meaningful theme instead of 31 disparate drawings. 

My current sketching kit

It has become second nature to carry around some sketching materials with me where ever I go. It means that if I have to wait anywhere I can use the time to sketch. In fact, having to wait almost becomes a bonus.

It’s always good to review what one uses and here are some of my current tools. A number of years ago I treated myself to a Waterman Fountain pen and ballpoint set. The ballpoint was appropriated by someone fairly early on. Fortunately the fountain pen didn’t fall prey to the same fate and I still use the fountain pen at home every day.

For some years I used fibre-tipped fine liners - mostly the Uni-Pin. These have different nib sizes, ranging from 0.005 through to 0.8. However, I tired of them running dry and becoming scratchy. So a few years ago I started using fountain pens filled with permanent ink.

Here are some of pens that I use for drawing.

Two Lamy Safari pens, one with the EF (extra fine) nib and the second has an Italic 1.1 nib.

A Noodler’s Konrad Flex pen - currently filled with Noodler’s #41 brown making lovely expressive lines, easily turned into ink and wash.

  

Hero 812 eight running horses - a bent nib calligraphy pen - good for very thick/thin line combinations.

      

Pencils and watercolour pencils

Derwent Sketching pencils are water soluble and come in Dark wash 8B; Medium Wash 4B and Light wash HB. These are useful for quick sketches of people.

Caran D’Ache watercolour pencils - these are a recent addition to the roll although I bought these in Hong Kong a number of years ago and have only used them occasionally.These can be used when it’s not practical to whip out the watercolour palette.

All of these fit into a pencil roll I found at Officeworks (Australia) for the princely sum of $5. It has pockets along the bottom, elastic running along the centre of the roll and a flap at the top, keeping everything safely inside.

I keep my two Lamy pens in a separate pouch in a zipped compartment in my handbag. The thinking is that if either goes AWOL I still have what’s in the other pen roll.

These sketches are in a new sketchbook - Stillman & Birn Gamma landscape. Ivory 150gsm Vellum surface. The colour is more creamy than the Alpha so I'm testing the paper along with various sketching tools.

Here are some useful links to product suppliers.
DISCLAIMER - please note that I do not receive anything from these suppliers for mentioning their products

Click on the highlighted name.
Rosemary & Co for brushes - very high quality and good value. If you are out of the UK remember the Vat % comes off.

Fountain pens - Goulet Pens have a comprehensive range and in addition many videos on pens and their maintainence. Regular Q&A sessions will answer all your quaetions.

Australian readers can also check out LarryPOST in Sydney for pens,ink and sketchbooks.

Notemaker, based in Melbourne is another stockist. 

To be continued - My watercolour palette and brushes.

Sketching people

Sketching people is often something I avoid. Recently I have been making a conscious effort to remedy this omission. 

In Pensive mood

Ink & Derwent watersolouble sketching pencil in a Strathmore Mixed Media 500 sketchbook

Here are some quick sketches. 

I took my granddaughter to have her hair trimmed. I skipped the gossip mags and sketched the hairdresser instead. She was too quick. No sooner had I got into the groove than she was finished.

At the Hairdresser - ink

At the Hairdresser - ink - Hero 812 calligraphy pen

This one was done in a café while having a cup of coffee. I decided that instead of reading the newspaper - the news is really depressing anyway - I would try to draw people.. Since people move (a lot) of necessity many are unfinished. I think that's part of the charm, a rapid impression, trying to capture a gesture.

I have been working with pen - and using a Hero 812 calligraphy pen which has a bent nib. Used in the conventional way the line is thick and chunky, flip it upside down and the line is thin and delicate. It does take a while to change one’s hold on the pen for the different lines - good exercise for one’s fingers! 

Some drawings are with my usual Lamy Safari EF nib 

Deja` Bru Cafe`

I had been living in my home for about a year when Deja Bru Café opened in the shopping centre a couple of hundred meters from my house. One day while I was having coffee and chatting to the owner, somehow the conversation turned to what I was doing - working as an artist and teaching art. Jess asked me if I could do a painting with a French theme as she was looking for something for the wall of the Café. 

Back in the studio I did a few ink sketches of Paris scenes in my sketchbook - the Eiffel Tower, some Parisienne buildings and a few French pastries. A few days later, when having another coffee, I produced the sketches.

 I was asked:

"Can you do some café  scenes? - And "The painting needs to be quite big... "

So the process for creating the large paintings for Deja Bru began. You can read all about it  here, and here and view the completed painting here. 

Better still if you live in Brisbane drop in for coffee. Deja Bru Cafe` is in McDowall Village Centre on the corner of Hamilton and Beckett Roads, McDowall 4053.

A few weeks ago I was at Deja Bru and had my large Zeta sketchbook with me. I decided to do a sketch, and remembering Tommy Kane’s approach to drawing, this was the type of drawing where I could take my time. Also, I could include all the many little details that make this such a unique place. 

The drawing was done over a number of visits, whenever I could get a table with the right view. After a few visits, I often found that some items were moved to a different shelf as Jess tweaked the décor! In desperation I took a couple of photos for reference so I didn't have to move them in my drawing!

Deja Bru Cafe - ink and watercolour Zeta sketchbook 300mm x 420mm

Once the ink drawing was complete I started adding watercolour. Some parts have remained black and white - I like the contrast between the splashes of colour and the stark ink lines.

Deja Bru Cafe` celebrated its second birthday last week. How time flies, and how lucky am I to have this little treasure on my doorstep?

And I have an extra reason to be so grateful to the team at Deja Bru - last week while having breakfast with some friends, I dropped my pen case containing both my old and precious Waterman and my favourite Lamy Safari pens! I was frantic as you can imagine and searched high and low re-tracing my steps that day.

Fortunately for me, when the boys were clearing up they found my case and kept it safely for me. Thank you, boys, for your honesty.

Serenity Falls, Buderim Rain Forest Park

This weekend I joined my family up the Sunshine Coast at a resort near Buderim. After a delicious breakfast on Sunday morning, the family went off to visit friends nearby. I had been checking the area to see what I could find that would be good to paint. I discovered the Serenity Falls not from the village centre in the Buderim Rain Forest Park, only a ten minute drive away.

The day was cool as I set off down the path to the falls. I was glad I had packed walking shoes as the path was steep, with many moss-covered steps. Often downhill is more challenging than up!

Serenity Falls I -  ink and watercolour in Zeta Sketchbook © 2014 Carol Lee Beckx

A wooden bridge gave a wonderful view of the falls, set into the rocky hillside, surrounded by lush tropical vegetation. A pool below provided a place for families to paddle in the cool water. I did one watercolour from the bridge, using a few pencil lines and then going straight in with watercolour.

I used my A4 Zeta sketchbook for a double page spread. I do enjoy the smooth finish which makes watercolour even more unpredictable. One has to relax and let the paint and paper create their own magic. Once the painting was dry I added some ink with a Lamy Safari and Noodlers Black ink.

Serenity Falls II ink and watercolour in Zeta Sketchbook © 2014 Carol Lee Beckx

After walking down a few more steps to the bottom I got a different perspective of the waterfall. Using a rock as a seat, it was lovely to sit in the shade and take my time with a second painting.

While waiting for the painting to dry, I had a chance to unwind and enjoy this little piece of paradise before climbing back up the path to my car.

Sketching out and about in Noosa

I've learnt a couple of things in the last few days. I need to be better organised to sketch...

Sketching at Organika

• My lovely Lamy Safari pen has just run out of ink and the bottle is sitting back at home :(
• I forgot to pack clips to hold the pages when it gets windy;
• I forgot that my Moleskin sketchbook is lovely for pencil and ink but doesn't like watercolour at all.

I did learn, however, that Inktense pencils are great on the Moleskin paper so I will continue to use the sketchbook.
I discovered Organika five minutes down the road for delicious coffee....

Posted with Blogsy

Sketching out and about

The 13th October was The 37th World Wide Sketchcrawl, members of Urban Sketchers get together to go out and draw. I am aware of a group here in Brisbane and they were going to meet and draw in the city. As I had a class until 12 noon, I was unable to join them. In the spirit of the day I went off on my own. 

Top Nosh Café in Aspley, in addition to tasty food, has an array of interesting clothes, jewellery, antiques and gifts. This provided me with plenty to draw while having a cup (or two) of coffee.

Drawing with my Lamy Safari pen, Derwent Inktense pencils and Pentel waterbrush.