Fun with Ink

Trying out my new glass brush (yes, glass).  It is super cool and you can get an amazing amount of line variation by changing the angle of the brush to paper.  Here is a quick sketch of a horse in ink.  I like this Super 5 ink (Delhi), it is as soft yellowy-orange.  And it is yet another three legged horse, of course, of course.

                             Super 5 Delhi ink (glass brush and blue pumpkin nib)

And here I am just having fun with a high shading ink (Apache Sunset), blue pumpkin nib and some water.  

                    Noodler's Apache Sunset ink (blue pumpkin nib and pilot parallel pen)

Labor Day - Washington Rock

Sitting at the base of Washington Rock, NJ and looking up.  In 1777, This is where General George Washington watched the troop movement of General William Howe in New Brunswick, NJ.  The high ground of this natural rock outcropping provides an unobstructed view of over 30 miles.  You can still see NY City today.  I thought about painting the vista, but looking up at the stone wall was more interesting.

                                        Watercolor, pen & ink 5.5 X 16.0

Scotland Vacation - Edinburgh and the Highlands

After staying in Glasgow, we headed north to Edinburgh and the Highlands.

In Edinburgh, We had a fantastic view of Edinburgh Castle from our hotel room.  Drawing buildings is not my thing but I I could not pass up trying.  We toured the castle for day before taking a three day tour of the Highlands with Haggis Adventures.

                            Edinburgh Castle watercolor pen & ink 5.5X16

Our first stop at Dunkeld Cathedral was not as long as I thought (a theme that would repeat itself through our tour), which is a shame because this is probably the best drawing of a church I have ever done, even the perspective seems correct.  T took photos and I may one day complete the painting (though probably not; too many other photos references waiting to be painted).

                                     Dunkeld Cathedral watercolor pen & ink

Another quick stop and another quick sketch.  I cannot remember the name of the river but the meat pastries I ate there were awesome.

                                    River watercolor on paper 5.5X8.5


This is one of my favorites sketches from the trip.  I sat sketching the ruins of Old Inverlochy Castle with an elegant writer pen (while a swarm of midges made midge-meat out of my legs; sometimes we must suffer for our art).  I love the simplicity of this piece, from the washes the pen creates (the blue-gray and pinks) to the limit grass

                             The ruins of Old Inverlochy Castle elegant writer and watercolor


And finally, the Isle of Sky, looking across the Sound of Raasay toward Scotland.  I could have stayed here for hours.   I could have stayed at just about every stop on the Isle of Sky for hours.  There were gorgeous vistas, in every direction, as far as the eye could see.  And the sky changed rapidly, from a deep cerulean blue to somber clouds of grey.  But I knew we only had a short time so I could only manage a small painting.  The famous Kilt Rock was off to my left, but there were too many tour groups and photographers milling about to get a good view for a painting, so I chose the opposite vista instead.

                                   by Kilt Rock watercolor pen & ink on paper 3.5X11

Two Points for Gryffindor

London is a wonderful city for architecture.  Unfortunately, I am not always inspired to draw and paint buildings.  But there was a park. . .and there was a statue.

                                                   pen & ink on paper

Next up, more from Scotland.