What's You Looking At?! - Ink and Wash - Stillman & Birn Zeta

Still working through Cathy Johnson's Ink and Wash mini course, I chose to use a dip pen and Noodler's #41 Brown ink in my new Stillman & Birn Zeta Journal.

I really had a lot of fun with this one.  The subject in itself for me was fun.  I sit outside on the porch and this wooden wind chime hangs to the left of where I sit.  It always seems the backside is to me (can turn all the way around as it hangs from a thick thread) and it makes me laugh with the way the neck and head turns as if looking back.  I did exaggerate a bit the turning of the head but what comes to mind is this guy saying "What's you looking at?!"

Best part was playing with this dip pen with the shape nib as seen in the illustration.  I have no idea where I picked it up but it's a load of fun to use.  The Noodler's #41 Brown is water resistant and bullet proof (which I'm still unsure just what that means); and stated under specifications on the Goulet Pen site it's slow to dry.   Add the type paper (Zeta) with internal and external sizing, the ink sits a while allowing you time to take a damp or wet brush and pull the color for shading.

Most is done with the ink to include the shading but added a little blue for the distant tubes and yellow for the beak plus a touch of Quin Bt Orange in the back area..

For this one I was going to sit outside and work the sketch to include the ink and wash.  No way!!!  At best I managed a quick rough pencil sketch using an HB mechanical pencil and then forced to return to the comfort of my table inside (reason noted on the page below).

In Celebration of Our First Hummingbird Here in WV

Last week we put out our hummingbird feeders.......one with sugar water and the others empty until evidence we needed to fill them all.

Today our first hummingbird appeared!!!  :-)

And also today is the first I've opened my new Stillman & Birn Zeta journal.  It's ironic I chose to do a watercolor sketch of a hummingbird for the first page same day as one actually shows up.  It was while finishing up the sketch my husband calls out "hummer alert, hummer alert." 

Some of you may remember this sketch I did months ago strictly in pen and ink in the handmade journal one of my friends from Africa sent me years ago.  The paper in that journal is brown made of animal dung plus whatever else goes into it.

Steps painting the hummingbird in my new journal:

1)  With HB mechanical pencil, worked a light sketch of the hummer sitting behind a rock on the bannister of our porch;
2)  Rock first, applied water and then dropped in a variation of Fr Ultramarine and Bt Sienna;
3)  While damp, spattered some paint;
4)  Hit the damp wash with a light spray of plain water and allowed to dry;
5)  Worked the hummingbird same way with water first and dropping in color.  Used a darker tone of the rock color mixes plus Aliz Crimson and Holbein Bamboo Green;
6)  Added the suggestion of the wood bannister with variation of the rock color mix leaning towards brown;
7)  Spattered again on wood and also the rock;
8)  After all was completely dry, used a dip pen and Noodler's #41 Brown for the wood and my Pilot Prera with Lexington Gray ink just in a few areas for added detail.

This new Stillman & Birn Zeta paper is everything I hoped it would be!!!  I love the Epsilon but had wished it was a heavier paper for how I work my watercolor sketches.  The Zeta is just that!!!  It's like painting on hot pressed watercolor paper with wet washes taking a while to dry giving ample time to work wet in wet........plus the colors I used lifted easily.  Glazing or laying additional washes on top was a breeze. 

With the Zeta, I should be able to paint on both front and back of the pages and scan without problems.  I look forward to being able to do that for 2-page spreads in the future :-)

CJ Ink and Wash - Using Hero 578

Here is another quick ink and wash still playing with the Hero 578 (bent nib) pen and Lexington Gray ink.

Stillman & Birn Alpha series journal.

Pen and ink first followed by the watercolor wash.

W&N:  Fr Ultra, Cob Blu, Raw Sienna, Bt Sienna, Light Red

#10 Round

The Light Red and Fr Ultra were used in the distant land area.  Cobalt was used only in the sky.

The boat is using the figure 8 method of drawing boats. 

All from imagination starting with the boat and then I just added elements around it to complete the illustration.

CJ Ink and Wash Exercise 3

The exercises I'm doing is not exact or in order to the exercises as listed in Cathy Johnson's Ink and Wash mini course.  Don't want to give everything away that's included in the course or follow things exact with my posting publicly ;-)

For this exercise, I purchased a new pen trying it out in the Stillman & Birn Alpha series journal.

It's the Hero 578 purchased through Isellpens.com

The pen is a solid but heavy pen compared to what I've ever handled.  Not sure I could sit for a long period of time sketching or writing with it as it would bother my hand (which I have a history of problems with).  BUT.........I find this pen to be a lot of fun sketching with.

The nib is a bent nib that depending upon the angle the pen is held can deliver a thin to thick line of ink.  If you follow the link above, you can view what this pen looks like to include a close-up of the bent nib.

This illustration shows the variation in line thickness I achieved with a watercolor wash over top after the vine was sketched.  Ink dried quickly on the alpha paper surface (vellum).  Ink used is Noodler's Lexington Gray.

Cathy Johnson's (CJ) Ink and Wash Exercise 2

After playing with several pens just to see how they made marks on paper, I worked my first true exercise.

And the pen I chose wasn't even tested on the previous exercise as I forgot I had dip pens with two different type nibs.

Here are the steps I worked choosing a knife and sheath as my subject that belonged to my dad for many many years given to my husband when dad passed in 2007:

1)  Pencil using a Twist Erase mechanical pencil
2)  Dip Pen with Noodler's #41 Brown ink
3)  #10 Round taking water to the ink lines.  Notice how subtle the ink washes out.
4)  W&N Bt Sienna and Fr Ultramarine for the watercolor wash and #10 Round
5)  Dip Pen with Noodler's #41 Brown ink in some areas for final detailing.

* The little nib illustration is using the Pilot Prera pen with Lexington Gray ink; as is the writing on the page.  My pen was low on ink so was misbehaving a bit putting down ink.

Page in the Stillman & Birn Alpha series journal.

  

Cathy Johnson's Ink and Wash Mini Course

Although I have been working quite a lot with ink and wash for some time now, I jumped on Cathy Johnson's new mini course.

This lady is a jewel and I love her various ways of teaching between the books she has out, DVD courses, DVD course downloads, Online Classes, YouTube Videos, and her self paced Mini Courses.

Her work is spontaneous and her teaching methods extremely down to earth full of great examples for incentive.  To me her approach reaching out to folks is beautifully encouraging.  I think what strikes me the most about her is the fact she doesn't push her way as the only way to do things.  She shares her experience helping to lead or direct but leaving it up to the individual to be free with their own personal expression in handling the materials, tools, and methods she covers. 

If interested in this course or any of her other courses and instruction, please check out the following:

Ink and Wash Mini Course 

Other Mini Courses and Online Workshops

Cathy Johnson's Books through Amazon

YouTube Videos

Instructional CDs/DVDs


It's because of this lady I have changed direction by working in art journals.  To me this has proven to be the most gratifying for myself.  Fun and relaxing without all the fears of getting everything so perfect.  To be more spontaneous and free to express whatever one might wish to on any given day.  Learning it's OK and in fact a positive to make mistakes from which we truly learn from. 

Getting back to the mini course, I decided to take the newest she just released yesterday.........Ink and Wash.  I have received the first lesson which includes a pdf file and links to videos as well as links to some of the pens she happens to mention.

So far after reading through the first lesson, I've dug out my various pens and decided to do a quick play with them.  This is just the beginning..........a rough idea on standard paper before diving into my journal book.  From this I plan to sit and map out how I want to proceed practicing with the information provided in her first lesson.

Last Week's Doctor's Visit

Not much to say about this as it states on the page.  A lot of people sketch their surroundings when in a doctor's office..........I chose to sketch what I was there for.

Graphite - Mechanical pencil (HB) in Epsilon journal.  Stump used for the shading.

Stillman & Birn's New Blog

Stillman & Birn has a new blog that has just gone live.  To learn more about their art journal books plus view examples of what people are doing with them, you may wish to check them out.

I personally have come to love their brand of journals over and above any others I've worked in.  If you've been following my blog, you know I've been working in their Beta, Alpha, and Epsilon series.  Their newest series that has only recently been shipped out to retailers is called the Zeta.  I haven't tried it yet but from what I'm reading and seeing from those who have tested the paper, I'm going to love it!

To follow their blog and learn more about this fantastic line of journal books, do check out the following:

Journal Entires after our Little Snow Storm

After the last snow storm that hit Sunday night, we lost power, internet and cell phone service.  With nothing better to do, I worked a few exercises and pages in my journal along with notes with what was happening.  The Epsilon journal is almost full with only a few pages remaining.

This first was a memory exercise where I sat and studied the previous journal page quick sketching of flamingos flipping the page and painting what I could recall of one of the birds.  It's going straight in on page with brush and paint and then hitting a few areas with pen and ink.

 

This next page was done looking outside my window where we have a bird feeding station set up.  All the feeders were covered with snow with birds trying to work their way to the seed they knew was there.  

  

Next I worked a crocus representing the first Spring flower that was blooming and now buried under snow.

This last page is from another memory exercise quickly sketching with pencil and then I spent some time later adding the color and some other elements to complete the page.

The part I concentrated on and remembered was the main bridge and water.  It's from a scene viewed in one of the NCIS episodes I watched after getting the generator running.  The portion behind the tunnel and above the bridge I added later after I went back to review the scene showing this bridge.  It was full of people but I decided to exclude them.

I can't help but smile as I view how I managed to lean the suggested buildings in the background to the left.  

The one plus is the texture I achieved in the bridge wall.  It actually worked this time spraying water.  I watched as the initial wash was drying trying to time it just right.  Some areas had already dried but I did manage to achieve what I was hoping for in other areas.  

I was also surprised by what I DID remember of the bridge..........especially these days when I can walk from one room to the next and forget the reason I was doing so.

 

Quick Sketching Exercise

I'm used to sitting in the privacy of my home and taking my sweet time when sketching or painting.  It's my goal to gain enough courage to go out and sketch on location..........in public.  With that I want to feel I can capture a scene.......maybe capture moving objects like wildlife or people and to do that one needs to move a little more quickly to get on paper.  Or at least I would think so.  For me I'd rather not be at any one location for any real length of time for fear of people coming up on me to see what I'm doing.  Yes I'm a coward nervous around folks and especially watching me sketch or paint.  I'm not even comfortable with my family watching if that tells you anything :-))

Anyways.......I've tried some quick sketching exercises off and on but with no real goal in mind except to see what I could do without laboring over a subject.  To basically loosen up a bit.  Now with a goal in mind, I want to do some serious practice.

I found I had a book on Fast Sketching Techniques that has a chapter suggesting flamingos as a great exercise because of the simple shapes involved.  So here is a page I did of the same bird in three different poses.  Taken from photos of our trip in 2009 to Busch Gardens Safari in Florida.

Using a basically non-erasable pencil (to remove temptation) - Derwent Graphitone 8B - I quickly sketched each bird and suggestion of rocks.  Only took a few minutes for each.


Wanting to maintain that quick spontaneous feel, I used a 1/2" flat and just simply laid down a little color using W&N watercolors.

To re-emphasize the shapes, I went over with pen and ink.

Stillman & Birn Epsilon journal
Platinum Carbon pen with Black Ink
W&N Fr Ultra plus Raw Sienna and Opera with Raw Sienna mixed in it for the salmon/pink color.
1/2" flat

Handbag and Key Remote

Last night I chose to sketch and paint my favorite handbag.  I've carried this bag now for about seven years.  It's small so I'm not tempted to overload and oh so durable being made of denim.  It would have to be for me to still be carrying it.

I forgot to scan before painting.  I try to remember to do that as I like having both the before and after scans of my work (sometimes taking a scan mid way).

Worked in the Stillman & Birn Beta journal
#8 Round
W&N:  Indigo, Indian Yellow, Cad Red, Bt Sienna, Neutral Tint
Platinum Carbon pen and Black ink

Worked the handbag wet in wet charging deeper color, spraying with fine water mister for some texture, dabbing with tissue, and some scrubbing or lifting after the paint dried.  I lost the effect from where I used the spray bottle and realized I need to wait a little while for the paint to settle to give me the effect I want.

As you can tell by the notes on my page, I don't look forward to adding shadows.  For some reason I have a real mental block where shadows are concerned.  If I were to try to do the shadow over again, I would try to fade out the edges........next time :-)

Dogwood Flowers

This is the bottom of another page I had started but never finished in my S&B Beta journal. 

Using W&N watercolors I painted this dogwood using simple brush strokes trying to keep things simple.

I love dogwoods!!!  To me a delicate flower and beautiful in its simple form.  Come Spring I love looking across the surrounding woods seeing splashes of white as the dogwoods come to life.  They grow wild here on the mountain top tucked in amongst the towering tulip, oaks, hickory trees and unknown other species of deciduous trees.

Mixed Cameos - Watercolor

This page I had started weeks ago with the cabin but for some reason never finished it.  Going back through my Beta journal, I came across the unfinished cameo and page and decided to do something about that.

The boat was done using the figure 8 method I learned some time ago in one of my books.

Stillman & Birn Beta journal

Pilot Prera w/Lexington Gray ink

*W&N Watercolors:  Winsor Bl, Fr Ultra, Raw Sienna, Bt Sienna, Neutral Tint (forgot to incl on page), Light Red, Indian Yellow


*I'm sure the cabin was started with Daniel Smith watercolors but finished off using W&N.

#6 Round, Rigger, and 3/8" Angular

Brush Play - Mini Landscape Vignettes

I will always enjoy painting illustrations and one of my favorites are mini landscapes.

Tonight I chose to play with primarily my rigger brush and 3/8" angular, as well as a #6 round. 

Each are only about an inch to inch and a half tall and up to two inches wide.

Painted in my 5 1/2 x 8 1/2" Stillman & Birn Beta journal using W&N watercolors:  Winsor Bl, Cobalt Bl, Raw and Bt Sienna, Neutral Tint, Light Red, Fr Ultra Blue and Indian Yellow.

Is it Sprint Yet?

Stillman & Birn Alpha journal

W&N watercolors:  Raw and Bt Sienna, Light Red, Scarlet Lake with touch of Aliz Crimson, Cerulean Blue and touch of Cobalt plus Neutral Tint

#8 Round

Today is just one of "those" days.  Gray, icky, rainy, cold and just plain depressing.  We were supposed to get a couple inches of snow but it turned out to be rain and freezing rain.  If given the choice, I'd rather it be snow but at the same time I'm truly ready for warmer weather and sunshine.

I'll also be happier when this nasty flu bug Terry brought back with him from Mexico runs its course and goes away.

Playing with Watercolor Pencils

Here's today's accomplishment.

Using Albrecht Durer watercolor pencils and 3/8" angular flat.

Stillman & Birn Alpha journal

Pencil first applied dry and then wet wash with brush

Platinum Carben pen used for writing on page.

Bottom right was the last one I did.  I goofed on the back wings placing the dark winged tips too high.  By this time my concentration level had slipped and I was "winging it"  with what I thought it should look like rather than following with eyes and putting down on paper.  Shame on me :-))

Another Garden Gnome

Although I managed to accomplish something today in my journal, I'm not real excited about the results.  One of those times when maybe I should have stopped before I did.  Might be I just don't care for the background........not sure.  But upon completion I didn't feel real happy with it.  Maybe in a few days I might be able to view through different eyes.

Started out on a promising note.  First with pencil and then went over with pen and ink using the Pilot Prera and Lexington Gray ink.

W&N watercolors were used this time:  Fr Ultra, Raw and Bt Sienna, Bt Umber, Neutral Tint, Scarlet Red with Aliz Crimson and Sap Green.

#8 Round in the S&B Epsilon journal

Various Pots

Decided I wanted to play with my Winsor & Newton watercolors for a change.  I have a hard time deciding which I like better...........Daniel Smith or W&N.  I think it depends on subject matter and my mood more than anything.

Daniel Smith soften up so much easier than the W&N (at least true for several of the pigments) but they are a bit more opaque.  Just a toss up I guess.

I do miss the Fr Ultramarine and Light Red combination.  There's a chemical reaction with these two in the W&N line that I've not seen with the Daniel Smith.  And although Daniel Smith's Burnt Sienna is similar to the W&N Light Red, it doesn't behave the same.

Stillman & Birn Epsilon journal
#8 Round
W&N:  Winsor Bl, Cob Bl, Raw and Bt Sienna, Neutral Tint, Light Red, Indian Yellow and Scarlet Lake.
Platinum Carbon pen with Black Ink

This and the last few watercolor sketches have been practicing quick wc sketching.  Not trying to be precise but to just capture the subject without a lot of fuss.

United Kingdom Memories

Here I am reminiscing our trip in 2010 by going through more photos and capturing in my journal book.

This first one I really didn't know where I was going with it when I started.  It was that small boat that I mainly wanted to sketch and worked around it.  Lost in thought, I didn't realize I had started smack dab center of the page.  Although I know in keeping journals there should be no pressure following rules or guidelines, I still try to place things off center somewhat following the rule of thirds.  Not in this case.

The left side is definitely outside my comfort zone so only suggested that area saving it for some written description.

This next one is of a home across from where my friend lives we stayed with for two weeks.  I just loved how looking across the field, you only saw parts of the house with the rest tucked in by surrounding foliage.  This really doesn't represent quite the amount of trees around the house.

Both watercolor sketches worked in the Stillman & Birn Epsilon journal.  1/2" Flat and #8 Round used along with Daniel Smith watercolors.

The greens were mixed with Phthalo Bl, Quin Bt Sienna and Raw Sienna.  Then added a touch of Sap Green.  I'm still undecided on the blue/yellow combination..........at least in the Daniel Smith line of pigments.  Sometimes I turn out OK looking greens and other times I'm not so sure.

Also using the Platinum Carbon pen with Black ink.

People Gesture Practice

Had an itch to practice people again.  First used pencil scribble lines to get the shapes down and then tidied up with pen and ink.

Think what I need to do is a page of hands and feet....especially hands.

S&B Epsilon journal
Mechanical pencil
Platinum Carbon pen with Black Ink

Memories

Last year I came across this garden gnome ornament on Amazon and just had to get it.  It sits outside my bedroom window and lights up at night.  It's a solar light where the hats light up at dusk.

It's a daily reminder of when my youngest and I sat each day and watched David the Gnomes children's show.  I loved that show as well as the Lit'l Bits.  They both held beautiful messages passed on to children that today's shows seem to lack.  I'm glad my three sons were young at the time they were and when TV hadn't quite reached the ick we see today.  I see what my granddaughters watch these days and it makes my skin crawl :-(

Stillman & Birn Epsilon journal
Platinum Carbon pen and Black ink
#8 Round
Daniel Smith:  Fr Ultra, Perm Red, Aliz Crim, Raw and Bt Sienna, Bt Umber, Indigo, Sap Green

Another Quick Watercolor Sketch

With this sketch I used the Carbon Platinum pen and then watercolor.........trying to keep it fresh and simply rendered.  I have a tendency to over-do (or so I feel at times) and wanted to refrain from doing so with this.

Stillman & Birn Epsilon journal
Daniel Smith:  Sap Green, Fr Ultra, Raw and Bt Sienna.
#8 Round, 1/2" Angle Bristle and 3/8" Angle Flat

If there's ever a subject I could sketch and paint over and over again, it would have to be old buildings and barns.

More Quick Sketching

Last couple of days I've selected some of my favorite subjects and continued working on quick watercolor sketching in my Alpha series journal.

Quick Watercolor Sketching

Today I thought I would return to some exercises and my choice was quick watercolor sketching trying to keep things spontaneous.  No pencil guidelines this time........went right in with brush and paint.

Worked in the Stillman & Birn Alpha journal.  Brushes and paints used mentioned in body of the page.

You may recognize these scenes from a previous post where I sketched using pen and ink only.

From photos taken while in Rockport, Texas last year.

Greens this time were mixed rather than using Sap Green as a base green.

Early Morning Fishing

Not only am I thinking Spring.........I'm looking forward to getting back out on the water fishing.

Fabriano Artistico 140lb Cold Press
Daniel Smith:  Raw Sienna, Bt Sienna, Bt Umber, Paynes Gray, Fr Ultra, Sap Green, touch of Cad Red and touch of New Gamboge.
Sterling Edwards bristle slant brush, rigger, and 3/8" angular

Painted wet in wet primarily with the bristle slant.

Spring Around the Corner

Here is a journal grid of Spring Flowers.  After several days of gray skies and continuous snow showers, it's bright and sunny today.  Just warms the heart and soul and put me in the mood to paint some flowers.

Using the Stillman & Birn large Alpha journal
Daniel Smith: Cer Bl, Cob Bl, FrUltra, New Gamboge, Aureolin, Quin Rose, Aliz Crimson, Cad Red, Sap Green, Raw Sienna, Bt Sienna and Bt Umber.
#2 Round, #8 Round, 3/8" Angular Flat

Pilot Prera with Lexington Gray ink

Let it Snow - Please

Back in early 1995 we were living in Texas.........prior to that, Waynesboro, VA.

Before the move to Texas, we would get some really nice snow storms; as would my dad who lived here in West Virginia.

The year we moved to Texas, Dad sent pictures of the snow storms they were hit with dumping close to 3 foot of snow followed by another major snow storm.  In Texas, we just didn't see that; although we did get hit with a huge ice storm that was unbelievable.

Almost a year and a half later, we moved to West Virginia and in almost 17 years living here, we've yet to see that kind of snow.  I think the most that we've seen at any one time was about 22 inches.  All the rest have been multiples of small accumulations.......just enough to cause hazardous conditions but not enough to really keep people off the roads.

I miss seeing the big snow storms.  They always seem to go around us for some reason.  Even a foot of snow would make me happy :-))  To me there's nothing more beautiful than looking across the landscape blanketed in snow before anyone or anything disturbs it.

Stillman & Birn Epsilon journal
Daniel Smith:  Cerulean Blue, Indigo, Fr Ultramarine, Sap Green, Raw Sienna, Bt Sienna, and Bt Umber
#8 Round and 3/8" Angular Flat

Noodler's Flex with Lexington Gray for writing.

Taking a Stroll

Practice with people using Pen and Ink plus Watercolor

Stillman & Birn Epsilon journal

Daniel Smith:  Fr Ultramarine, Cerulean Blue, Indigo, Perm Red, Raw Sienna plus Aliz for skin color, Bt Sienna, and Sap Green

#8 Round and 3/8" Angular

Pilot Prera with Lexington Gray ink

Started out using watercolor pencils but then changed gears and went to watercolor.

Need work on hands..........the hands on this lady turned out a bit wonky :-))

TV Series Inspiration - Old Cabin in the Woods

My eldest son and his wife managed to get me interested in watching The Vampire Diaries a few weeks ago.  I've been watching through Netflix trying to catch up on all the previous episodes.  Finally I managed to get myself brought up to date with the present series.

In the last episode, there was a scene in the woods with an old shack or cabin that grabbed my attention and inspired me to do this next sketch and watercolor painting.  It's not exact to the one in the actual film but definitely close.

The sketch is done in the Stillman & Birn Epsilon journal using my Pilot Prera and Lexington Gray ink.

Using Daniel Smith watercolors, I applied color using Raw Sienna, Bt Sienna, Bt Umber, Fr Ultramarine, Sap Green and New Gamboge.

Brushes used were my daVinci #20 flat, #6 Round, and 3/8" Angular.  The flat was used primarily throughout with the other two brushes for finer detailing.

My version is definitely cleaned up from all the debris around the cabin and how dark the scene was in the film.  

A Little Bit of Color

After days of gray skies and snow showers or ice/rain, I was definitely in need of some color.  I'm sure many others feel this during the drab winter days.  My worst time is after Christmas during January through about April.

Today I managed to do a little sketch of a calla lily using Faber Castell watercolor pencils.  After I finished, I debated on taking water to it but gave in for that richness of color my spirit needed.

Stillman & Birn Epsilon journal
#10 Round plus 3/8" Angular Flat
Bt Sienna, Chromium Green, Naples Yellow, Madder, Crimson, and Ultramarine

Initial pencil sketch:

After taking water and brush:

Sketching with Brush

It's definitely been awhile since I posted anything here.  In fact it's been awhile since I've done any sort of art work.

Weeks ago I got this bright idea to completely re-do my original website.  It's been years since I've messed with that and found I had forgotten some of my previous knowledge of html.  Then you add obsolete programs I used to use and having to learn a new program.  Of course with the ever changing technologies, I found I needed to learn CSS.  It's been a slow process initiating a lot of confusion and finally just had to give it a rest.

Needless to say, focusing on something that major (for me), I just didn't feel like doing much of anything else.

Add the amount of time that has passed and I'm struggling to get back into drawing or painting (even though I've put the web design aside).

FINALLY,  I've tried to do a little something.  It's not much but it's a start.

Using a flat brush only, I did this little watercolor sketch and a little detailing with my Pilot Prera pen.