Fall Trees

Tis the season of spectacular foliage.  The trees in the parking lot at work all turned yellow and red and orange from the top down, not sure I have witnessed such a thing.  They all looked as if their tops were dipped in color and let to set.  Pretty cool.  I snapped a few photos for reference and decided to do something simple in their honor.  




                                      Watercolor in etchr sketchbook

Inktober 2019 - Oh what a feeling

A day late but not a dollar short. . .So this was my most successful Inktober with the most posts and most views.  Yay!!

Below is based on the cover of a VHS cassette tape (yes, you read that correctly) for an aerobics workout.   You cannot see it from the scan, but this ink has a pretty cool red sheen.  It looks better "live".

                                      Robert Oster Aqua ink in Stillman & Birn

Inktober 2019 - Hellboy

I love brown/sepia inks and I love Hellboy comics.  Turns out that they go great together. 

This is based on a panel by Duncan Fegrado from Hellboy: The Wild Hunt comic series.  The most recent Hellboy moveie was loosely* based upon.

                                Birmingham Ink Jonas Salk Serum Umber


*And I do mean loosely based upon.  I mean, it would be like doing all three Lord of the Rings books into a single, one hour and 45 min movie.  The collected graphic novel is over 500 pages long and culminates Mike Mignolo's nearly three decades of Hellboy stories that started with the first Hellboy comics from the early 90's.  Sheesh!

Inktober 2019 - Crocodile

I am often asked, what is the difference between a crocodile and a gator.*  Below is a crocodile with its tell tale V-shaped snout.  If it had been a gator, it would have a U-shaped snout and wearing several national title rings, duh.

          Pen & (Robert Oster Crocodile Green) ink etchr sketchbook







*only kidding, this never happens.

Inktober 2019 - Greg's Bear

This painting of Greg's bear (not to confused with Greg Bear, author of Dinosaur Summer) was based on a photo from his front yard's animal cam.  His. Front. Yard. Animal. Cam!!!  Time to move, I say.  :-P

                            Watercolor in etchr sketchbook

I was going to give the bear crazy, glowing white (or yellow) eyes to demonstrate the tapetum lucidum, but decided not to do so.  He can be crazy all on his own.

Again, I love all the lovely effects of the granulating Lunar Black watercolor paint (Daniel Smith).

Inktober 2019 - That darn camel

That darn camel stood perfectly still every time that I walked past him (three times at least). . that is until I decided to try and draw him.  And then that darn camel decided that he could not stand still. . .

                   Sacura Pigma Micron pen plus Stabilo Fineliner pen in an Etchr sketchbook


I tried twice to draw him when he appeared to be standing still. . .only to have that darn camel move once again.  Now it looks like his head is literally coming out of his @$$!  You cannot unsee it now, can you?

Le Sigh.

Rectumus Camelus in watercolor

The initial ink sketch using a Sakura Pigma Micron sepia waterproof marker

Hatch lines and shading using a Stabilo Point 88 Fineliner marker that produced the wonderful washes when exposed to a water brush.  I do kinda like the effect of the hatch work and almost stopped there.  Glad that I did not.

Inktober 2019 - Neighbor's Tree

Okay, so the final picture might be more watercolor than ink drawing, but it still counts (see below).  

I return once again to my favorite subject and tree ('my neighbor's tree").  This time of year, the early morning light hitting the tree is just magnificent.  Unfortunately, I did not capture its ethereal contrast between light and darkness.  Oh well, I am sure I will paint/draw this again (it is the view I see from my easel). Drawn with the Stabilo Point 88 markers (#45 Brown).

Final mixed media: watercolor and ink

Initial ink sketch

Ink washes

And some watercolor washes