Inktober 2022

All of a sudden it’s October and time for Inktober. There is an official prompt list that is adhered to by many artists, however I have not found these lists to be particularly inspiring - maybe I just don’t like being told what to do!

My Thursday class has a couple of artists who are keen to do some intensive drawing using various mediums. I found a some seed pods from the Streiltzia Regina in the garden. This plant is also called the Crane flower or Bird of Paradise. As each petal of the flower dries, it withers into fascinating forms and after a while the black seeds with a fringe of bright orange can be seen. 

This became my inspiration for some Inktober drawings. I have used a few different fountain pens and varied the inks as well. 

My daily park through local bush lands provides interesting leaves and pods. 

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Since re-discovering fountain pens for sketching and buying a Lamy Safari in 2011 (I have always had at least one pen for writing)I now have a rather large collection. 

Pens used for these Inktober drawings include a TWSBI F, a TWSIBI B and a Sailor Fude 55 deg nib. The latter is used for oriental calligraphy and has a bent nib which creates lovely line variations. 

Inks include De Artramentis Urban Sienna, Pelikan Smokey Quartz, and Standard Bindery Canyon Walk.