chriswoodartist

Today’s output was rather slow as I had to ransack my studio to find my elusive LAMY pen. I then spent ages searching for a new ink cartridge which was challenging !

I like to draw with a LAMY because the nib is flexible, not scratchy like the Rotring pens that I used to battle with in my early days ! In common with the Rotring pens the LAMY Ink can dry up inside the pen, resulting in a lot of wasted time cleaning the pen and replacing the ink. On the plus side, the ink is water soluble (as you can see from the above doodle). The process began with a pencil drawing, which was revisited today with pen and ink. Once dry, I use a number 6 watercolour brush to tentatively brush pure water over the parts of the drawing, dissolving the ink and creating flat areas of tone. I have also gingerly added some watercolour and coloured pencil. The outcome is somewhere between a monochrome ink drawing and a watercolour sketch. The secret is to leave a lot of white paper to add the colour into. I could use waterproof ink and create more of a line and wash effect, with more colour but I like the way the LAMY ink runs unpredictably. I like to be on the edge of control ! I will add a future post where I will show a more considered drawing, using the same technique.

The drawing at the top is a simple line drawing which is the infamous bowl of quinces that I did a watercolour of earlier. The fruit is now beginning to change colour and wither away and before it gets much worse I’ll do another watercolour to record the impending decay.

I did start a third drawing but this it is very much in its embryo stage. I am currently working out a complex composition and as yet I am uncertain what media and techniques I will employ. It’s a shabby pencil study so far . . .