Pens and Inks

Pens and inks. My foray into calligraphy leads me into both.

That inexpensive chiseled-edge felt tip no longer lays down a nice even swath and corner lining is light and scratchy at best. My speedball square nibs are a most welcome respite. I've a kit of Rotring calligraphic pens on the way and I think they'll be handy for easy practice like the felt tip in that dipless way, but with the advantage of a good metal edge.

I've quite accidentally came upon ink permanence. Oh a whim, I ran a wet finger across this felt tip Gothic practice and was completely taken by surprise! The colors are absolutely lovely... of course, if that is what one wants.

Next up for the wet finger test came the Rotring ArtPen. The ink comes in little cartridges from Rotring. This stuff just completely falls apart.

And here we wrap things up with Higgins India ink. The "N" smeared just a bit and I suspect that was because the ink hadn't time to cure up completely. That little block in the corner had a bit longer to dry.

Along with my recent calligraphy book, two additions on illuminations joined the library this week. More on these inspirational texts soon. Having little clue on how to get under way, but still with some curiosity, I messed around on this little exercise with graphite and a couple of Prismas.

Three Of A Kind

Here are my final drawings. There's really only supposed to be one final submission but I had so much fun trying this composition in different media that I decided that I will send them all in!

First graphite:

Next ink line:

And lastly ink wash:

Students are asked to supply comments on their work and here's a snip from mine, thoughts that I didn't cover in yesterday's post:

My triplicate entries may be a bit unorthodox and if I must choose one as my submission, well, let me see... I initially worked out the graphite to completion, feeling I'd better stop before overworking the piece. Next I pulled out all the stops with the ink lines. Bold and daring! The ink wash I suppose really is my darling. I do love the softness and smoothness. So, ink wash it is. But really, I like 'em all!

I think what I worked for with the ink pieces was to separate out line from wash. My previous exercise and your comments really got me thinking. I feel that I found a way to isolate the qualities of each medium by letting the wash work in a gentle flowing manner and letting the line boldly demand attention.
.......

I've another exercise and lots of composition reading and review left for this week. More on that tomorrow :-)

Second Exercise Completed

Wednesday's snow day made time to complete the assignment. I felt pretty good about line quality with the pencil but the ink is still difficult. I think I want to try sticking with a more sensitive nib--the Gillott 290 being an example. That nib did very well for the veining but my outline work came in heavy-handed (using the Hunt 102). This piece was submitted along with my weekly journal so I'm caught up with this week's work. There is an optional exercise to copy line work and I may get at it a bit with ink.

First Big Exercise Done!

Here's pencil at the top and ink below. A higher res version has been uploaded to the course. This is my first serious attempt with pen and ink and I really had a great time with it! One thing I must learn to remember is to watch out for wet ink. I created more than a few smears, particularly where the ink was thick.

Ink is so cool. Crisp and contrasty. I used the Hunt 102 nib exclusively. A strong pressure is needed for very wide lines so it's no doubt a good beginner's nib. I was amazed at the line width variation possible. So, so cool.

Next is to rough in the layout for the next big exercise. It's similar to this one but with the leaves overlapping. I took Friday off so as to have plenty of time. I hope to have instructor comments sometime Wednesday.

First Exercise Preliminary Sketch

The first exercise calls for a drawing of at least three leaves both in pencil and well as pen and ink. Multiple dissimilar subjects is a new endeavor and I was quite intimidated. A few instructional pages in this week's assignments proved useful--a rough block in of all objects, followed by a bit of refinement, and only then to the details. It really helps!

It's getting late tonight so tomorrow I'll drop in the veins and get started on the final line work.

Ink Lines

The next exercise up for this week was pen and ink explorations, same as yesterday's pencil warm ups. I guess crow quill can be cause for consternation with students. We're asked to at least try it out and if it proves too unmanageable, to then look to alternatives--Rotring, Rapidograph, etc. Me, I like crow quill. My lines are often wiggly but I'll work on that. The line variation possible is completely absorbing.

And absorbed I was when my fearless feline, Timothy, came skidding across the kitchen table and directly into the bottle of Higgins ink. It could have been a lot worse. The bottle didn't tip, and splashed only a few smalls puddles about, none landing on the artist, sketch pad, or even the perpetrator himself. A bit of scolding and less of cleanup and I was right back to it. In Timothy's defense, the kitchen table is most often not nearly so cleared, that done so only to make room for my exercise.

My scan does not nearly capture the awesome detail, the plain beauty, of the finest lines. Next up is an exercise of sketching a few leaves using pencil, then with pen and ink.

Supplies

The course asks for the student to try out various nibs. Dickblick supplies Hunt nibs and not Gillott, but I found a good source for both at John Neal Bookseller. I have Hunt 102 and Gillott 290 and 659 nibs on the way, along with the various penholders--it seems there are quite a few different sizes. I checked out some very cool looking holders but I'll refrain for now.

I easily became hopelessly intrigued at the John Neal site. Pages of books on calligraphy and illumination. Then the books on bookmaking. Wow... Wheels within wheels...

No more hemming and hawing, it's now time to pull back into the rhythm of daily drawings, as it's over a week until the course begins. Next up? Nuts! :-)

Happy New Year!

The pens and ink and paper arrived yesterday. I immediately dove in, creating splats of ink across the page. I am rather proud of not tipping over the bottle!

What an incredibly humbling little tool. A smooth and steady hand, a sense of the ink capacity of the tiny nib, a limited range of directional movement--challenging as can be. Reminds me of the violin.

More later as I figure out what I may do with pen and ink. I've been rather content with graphite and it's lovely nuances. For now, I leave you with my first pen and ink creation.

Faux Foxtail

Without much free time last night but still wanting to draw, I pulled out my not so trusty RapidoSketch. It's been leaking and the flow is a bit weak, but it did behave well enough that I could get in this little sketch. It's a mental image of a foxtail with a totally made up leaf. It was quick and fun to simply play without a model.