Tag: books

September 20, 2018

Preparing for Inktober: thoughts on some pen and ink instructional books

I finally decided to participate in Inktober after years of wanting to participate but letting life get in my way. In preparation, I decided to write down some brief thoughts on some of the pen and ink instructional books that I’ve collected. Reviewing these books has been helpful and inspiring as I plan out my inking activities for this coming October.

Continue reading below for my reviews:

Pen & Ink Drawing: A Simple Guide by Alphonso Dunn. This is the most recently published book out of all of these. The author’s passion about the topic comes through so strongly when reading this book. There is a lot of basic drawing instruction included, such as info on value, form, and composition. There is also a chapter on sketchbooking, where the author shows examples of his own sketches. One thing that I thought was interesting was that the drawings seem very “soft,” as if drawn with pencil. Looking closely, I tend to think that this has to do with how the art was reproduced. I highly recommend checking out this book as well as Dunn’s expansive YouTube channel. Dunn also came out with a companion workbook which I haven’t gotten a chance to see yet.
Creating Textures in Pen & Ink with Watercolor by Claudia Nice. This book and the following one are very similar but Nice’s work always made me smile so I decided to get both books and see what the differences are. One of the main criticisms of Nice’s books on Amazon was that same content has been recycled and used in several books. I didn’t specifically notice that with these two books, although there was some overlap. One thing that really distracted me throughout both of these books was the odd style of handlettering. I would have much preferred a standard printed font for ease of reading. I enjoyed the wide variety of subject matter with quite a bit of still life material. She also uses colored inks in some drawings. Nice uses rapidograph pens almost exclusively.
Creating Textured Landscapes with pen, ink and watercolor by Claudia Nice. In the previous book, Nice focuses on capturing textures of a variety of man made and natural substances. In this book, Nice shifts her focus to nature and how to incorporate the different elements into a landscape style painting. There seems to be more watercolor content in this book, and more pen and ink material in the former. There is one chapter devoted to incorporating architecture into the landscape and covers perspective nicely. The landscape format of the book also seems to fit nicely with the subject matter. I’m not sure which book I prefer more; I’m glad I got both.
The Technical Pen by Gary Simmons. Although this book is specific to technical pens (rapidographs), it contains a lot of helpful information for general pen and ink drawing. Disposable fineliners like Microns have similarities to technical pens so a lot of the demo illustrations wouldn’t necessarily have to be done with a technical pen. Many of the drawings are highly stylized and have more of an illustrative quality. My favorite part was when the author redid the same drawing several times using different types of pen strokes to show the variation possible. There is a good mix of “tight” and “loose” drawing styles.
Rendering in Pen and Ink by Arthur Guptill. I’ve had this book for years and it never fails to inspire. It’s such a classic. I love that in addition to showing many drawings, the author analyzes them and explains what works and what could be improved. There are also sample artworks from different artists, not just the author of the book. It’s really heavy on architectural drawings but there are natural elements incorporated within them. There are also a fair number of portraits included.
Pen & Ink Techniques by Frank Lohan. This book has some good info about planning out the drawing, including matting, and has some very useful suggestions about avoiding common errors. Demos have step by step instructions which makes this book a good choice for a beginner. I wish this book featured less architecture and more natural elements. This was also the shortest book out of all of them.

Stay tuned for more pen and ink themed goodness (naturally). If you know of any other useful pen and ink books or resources, please let me know in the comments and I’d love to check them out.

April 15, 2018

Explorers’ Sketchbooks

Although I have taken some memorable trips in the past, I am more of a homebody and prefer the comfort of my familiar environment. I do love to read travelogues and travel vicariously through other people’s photos though.

I recently found the book Explorers’ Sketchbooks: The Art of Discovery & Adventure by husband and wife Huw Lewis-Jones and Kari Hebert. It is a thick book (320 pages) and features photos of artists and sketchbook spreads from 70 different explorers’ sketchbooks, logs, and nature journals.

I haven’t had a chance to read all of the profiles yet, but I’ve been enjoying myself by reading one or two essays at a time in spare moments. I really like how there is a mix or photographs showing the book in its entirety (tattered pages, crumbling spine, etc.) as well as details of individual drawings and photos/drawings of the artists themselves. Another thing I appreciate is that the featured sketchbooks are from modern day explorers as well as those from the more distant past. Although many of the sketchbook pages shown are beautifully illustrated, there are also some utilitarian pages included with lists of figures, diagrams and penciled in comments.

I think my favorite sketchbook so far is from Edward Norton. He had some majestic mountain landscapes featured, as well as closeup studies of plants. His quote below reminds me of something that a modern day plein air sketcher would say.

“I sketched feverishly, my water freezing as fast as I put it on the paper, as also my fingers.” -Edward Norton (1884-1954)

Clearly this book was on my mind when I came across some of my late great uncle’s photographs while organizing through my reference photos on the computer recently. I couldn’t resist making an ink and watercolor interpretation of this mountain scene as if I were on location. Unfortunately, my uncle didn’t label or organize any of his photos so it is a mystery as to where he was when he took the photo.

If you can recognize this scene, or can suggest any similar books featuring the inside of sketchbooks, please leave me a comment below.

October 16, 2015

Mini Pen and Ink Picture Book

Sometimes I get little projects in my head that stay there for years and never manage to get out into the real world. This year I have actually finished some of my small projects, like this mini book made with a manila tag. It is filled with small nature vignettes from around my neighborhood. There are a lot of interesting things going on outside right now – things usually look more interesting to me when they are in a state of decay.

September 14, 2015

I’ll Run Till the Sun Goes Down

This past weekend I’ve been reading this book nonstop (instead of studying microbiology). I have been online friends with David Sandum for a few years now, but I really feel like I know him so much better after reading his new memoir about overcoming depression and anxiety through art. I pre-ordered it months ago and it showed up in my mailbox last week and I was so excited.

Every chapter starts off with an excerpt from David’s journal from that particular time in his life. I love that the chapters are short and sweet, making the book easy to pick up and put down. Also, David tells his story in such an easy, conversational way that it really feels like you are sitting down and having a little chat.

I could really relate to David’s struggle with finding traditional corporate jobs unmanageable, and struggling with the pressure of supporting a family when he couldn’t seem to “get his act together.” After years of battling crippling depression and anxiety, David finally found his place in the world when he discovered art and it gave him an outlet and a sense of purpose. Unlike so many biographies of artists which can have sad endings, I really found it inspiring to know that today David is a successful, full time artist with a loving family.

The biggest takeaways I had after reading this book are the value of maintaining strong friendships and the importance of sheer determination when facing obstacles. I really found it inspiring to see someone with so many struggles make something of his life. Also, I found it interesting to read about Scandinavia in a realistic way (i.e., not being portrayed as some kind of utopia).

July 17, 2015

The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up

I read this book a few months back and it has really stuck with me, which is rare for a nonfiction book. I am someone who has struggled for years with what Marie Kondo calls “rebound.” My relationship with organization is similar to what some people deal with when yo-yo dieting. I go on a massive cleaning spree and have things under control for about one week, but things quickly fall apart again. Over the past four years or so I have really improved, due to drastically reducing my living space and possessions accordingly. Even still, I continue to struggle, as I have not been able to stick to a long term solution. When my summer term is over, I am going to do a purge and fully implement her method. I will report back on my findings.

This is one of my favorite passages of the book:

If you have read this far, you have probably noticed that in my method your feelings are the standard for decision making. Many people may be puzzled by such vague criteria as “things that give you a thrill of pleasure” or “click point.” The majority of methods give clearly defined numerical goals, such as “Discard anything you haven’t used for two years,” “Seven jackets and ten blouses is the perfect amount,” “Get rid of one thing every time you buy something new.” But I believe this is one reason these methods result in rebound.

Even if these methods temporarily result in a tidy space, automatically following criteria proposed by others and based on their “know-how” will have no lasting effect – unless their criteria happens to match your own standards of what feels right. Only you can know what kind of environment makes you feel happy. The act of picking up and choosing objects is extremely personal. To avoid rebound, you need to create your own tidying method with your own standards. This is precisely why it is so important to identify how you feel about each item you own.

–Marie Kondo in The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, pg 125-126.