Inktober 2017, Part 1

How’s inktober been so far? If you haven’t started yet, just jump on board and start today! Here’s a roundup of my little inked pieces.

Many use an Iron Gall ink I bought from Goulet Pens last year. I really love  the ink but it can’t be put into fountain pens (unless you will clean the pens thoroughly very often). I’m using either a glass nib or dip pens  with it.

Colored pencil and ink.

Brushpen & ink and then watercolor and white pastel. Los Alamos, New Mexico.

More iron gall ink. Some colored pencil. The clouds in New Mexico are something else.

At the International Folk Art Museum in Santa Fe. There was so much color here, it actually helped to switch to just black and white and look at just shape and form.

A drawing based on an exquisite painting of a bone by Georgia O’Keefe.

Georgia O’Keefe’s abstract work was highly influenced by the teachings of Arthur Wesley Dow who wrote this book.

Back to brushpen for this simple study of a man in a restaurant. Those colorful hot air balloons hung everywhere in New Mexico this week to celebrate the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta. That reddish adobe-colored wall is from smearing chapstick on paper. Anything works as an art tool!

Heading home. Sketch on the plane. Dip pen on a Stillman & Birn Alpha sketchbook (all of these sketches are in that book)

Back home. My afternoon chai. 

And one last inktober sketch for the week, Big, brushed-in ink shape. Details with a glass dip pen.

If you’re doing the inktober challenge, remember to tag your sketches with #inktober and #inktober2017. Until next week, happy inking!