Tag: brush

Inky Black Cats

One thing about having to clean up and discard damaged items from the flood is that I found a lot of things I had lost, buried in the debris. I also cleaned out the garage for 4 hours the other day, reorganizing my loads of loads. My muscles are sore and my mind is blank. There are still some things in the living room, but as the bins are full, I am forced to take a break. That’s good.

One thing I found was some sumi-e ink and thin paper for practicing traditional painting strokes. I still had a bit of a knack for ink painting – one of the founding subjects of this blog, too – but don’t have quite all I need. Nonetheless, I decided to try my hand with my ink stick, suzuri, brushes, and rice paper.

Nothing spectacular. I managed to remember a few things. I also realized I had to find a few other things, like a felt mat and some paper weights to hold my paper steady. Easily done.

From there, I drew a cat in purple ink, thinking about painting cats could be fun.

And easy.

And I found out they are not easy!

So, I tried to follow a few “how-to” videos on YouTube, I got frustrated and had an epiphany: I much rather paint in my own way, not following traditional formulaic representations. And this is not to put these traditional ways down – they are amazing in their own right – but I find it very frustrating to paint like someone else. Learn from someone, from tradition, but ultimately go on my own path.

So, I painted some cats. I copied some, I looked at photos of cats, and that is when I realized I need to learn more about controlling my brush and the shades of grey and black and manage the moisture on the paper. So, inky black cats, some of which may give you nightmares, but working on their shapes and using my brush has opened my mind to a lot of potentials. That is the exciting part!

The Black Cat Rebellion is here.

Deep in a Canyon

In the corners of southwestern canyons, near seeps, there is always something growing. These places are subject to harsh conditions, but somehow nature has evolved and beautiful trees and plants provide food and shade and protection for wildlife. And me.

I was really drawn to the contrast of the dark trees and shades of green against an ochre canyon wall. The shadows and the trees and brush create complex patterns in what is often a very barren landscape.

Watercolors, Arches 9×12 140# CP paper.

Inktober 2019: #13 Ash, #14 Overgrown

I still have #12 Dragon to do, but that is going to take a bit of effort.  Hopefully it will work!

Here, playing more Ketchup, but not too far behind.  I also returned to a better bit of paper, the same sketchbook that contains the first seven of this year’s Inktober.  Much happier with paper, pen, and brush.  Especially the paper!

#13 Ash:  I thought of a tree . . . an ashtray (ewww) . . . a fire (as in what we had over the weekend, which was awful) . . . but decided on a different natural crisis:  the volcano!  Shades of Mordor, shades of hell.

#14 Overgrown:  So many things can be overgrown, but I like the idea of an overgrown, abandoned railroad track.  There is something romantic and nostalgic about these, as well as something very sad.

I am rather enjoying the density of the iron gall ink.  It makes me think of India ink, but it is so much easier to use.  If I remember correctly, India ink does not lend itself well to dilution with water, but the iron gall does beautifully.

 

Inktober 2019: #3 Bait

Today’s prompt for Inktober 2019 is “bait” – bait?!  Jail bait.  Cut bait.  Click bait. Take the bait.  Switch and bait.  Crow bait.  All kinds of bait.

I went for the obvious:  a fish lure and a mouse trap.

I also decided that I would use my homemade iron gall ink that I made earlier this year.  Iron gall ink is present in manuscripts, old letters, and the sketchbooks of yore.  It’s something I haven’t done yet, and thought it could be a fun (and very messy) project for the month of Inktober.

So, a fish lure.  I didn’t decide on the iron gall ink until last minute, so the initial drawing was done with a fountain pen and the washes done with the iron gall, sometimes directly applied, other times diluted.  I am using a throwaway brush because iron gall corrodes things, such as pen nibs, so it will most likely do a number on the brush.

A mouse trap with a really generous bit of cheese – and probably an unrealistic amount at that!

So, baited we are.