pen – Page 17 – Ink, Yarn & Beer

Joshua Tree

Joshua trees are a strange and wonderful plant. The US National Park Service runs the Joshua Tree National Park, which is now closed because of the government shut down.

Joshua trees are amazing. You see a flat desert, and then these odd plants, which are members of the yucca family, popping out in all sorts of strange and eerie shapes. Driving through the southeastern part of California, along the Pear Blossom Highway, they are everywhere. David Hockney immortalized them both. Be sure to take time to visit the park and drive the highway when you are next in SoCal.

Jellyfish

Would you like my jellyfish? I’m Not sellyfish. – Ogden Nash

The Rest of Inktober 2018

I’ve been really running around like a nut of late, going hither and thither, but I haven’t really had time to sit down and do much other than a quick post here or there. It’s hard to believe we are nearly through with November! And, Inktober ended 2 weeks ago. I did a lot of the sketches for Inktober, and it was really fun. It also helped me focus – given subjects – and improve on some of my old skills. So, here are the rest of the sketches I did for Inktober 2018, not in any particular order.

In the Woods

Inktober is done and gone . . . this past week I’ve been sewing like a fiend, last night there was a mass shooting down the road from us with a thirteen people killed and eighteen wounded – more – there are fires to the east and west of us, and the wind is blowing like crazy. There is peace in ink.

Inktober 25: Prickly

Today I present you with the teasel. These plants were once harvested to make carding brushes for wool. They were mounted on wooden boards when dried, and the wool was placed between the carders, and combed or brushed back and forth until the clean wool was aligned, ready to be spun.

After I initially posted the ink-only drawing, I decided to play once more with the InkTense pencils. This time I mixed colors together, such as a red-violet and a blue to make the lavenders of the flowers, and yellows and greens and browns in different areas before applying a small amount of water with a water brush. I’m not sure if I am happy with the colored results, but you never know how something works until you try it, right?