Tag: #inktober

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

Mini Pen and Ink Book by Carolyn A Pappas

Mini Pen and Ink Picture Book

Mini Pen and Ink Book by Carolyn A Pappas
©2015 Carolyn A Pappas, Mini Pen & Ink Picture Book. Mini book made with manila tag and white paper, 2 3⁄8″ square (closed size).
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.

Howth, landscape drawing by Carolyn A Pappas

Howth

Howth, landscape drawing by Carolyn A Pappas
©2015 Carolyn A Pappas, Howth. Faber Castell PITT Pens in large moleskine.

These days I am not much of a traveling person, but I know some travelers and made this sketch from someone’s photo after a recent trip to Ireland. I used my Faber Castell PITT pens in assorted colors with the standard size S tips and the brush tips. My goal was to impart a feeling of texture which I think I achieved. In the past, I have traveled with companions who were much too fast paced for me, which took the enjoyment out of it. When I am able to travel again I am going to go strictly for painting, sketching and fine dining, not shopping or bus tours.

Pears in a Bowl by Carolyn A Pappas

We had a bountiful pear harvest this year.

This season is the first one that yielded a significant number of pears from the pear trees (Bartletts, two of them). The first year, there was nothing and the trees had to be dug up and rotated as they were planted improperly. The second year, we got pears on one of the trees but someone stole them! This year, the trees were heavy-laden with pears. One of the trees had fewer, fatter pears. The other tree had more pears, but they were generally smaller. We canned most of them already, but we saved some of the baby pears for eating.

Pears in a Bowl by Carolyn A Pappas
©2015 Carolyn A Pappas, Pears in a Bowl (10-1-2015). Ink and colored pencil in 8.5 x 11 inch gray toned sketchbook.

Lost and Found

Pen and ink landscape by Carolyn A Pappas
©2015 Carolyn A Pappas, Dunn Park (7-3-2015). Ink in 7×10 inch Stillman & Birn Epsilon Series sketchbook.

This is a drawing I did in my sketchbook last July but I promptly forgot about it and never posted it. It was drawn from a snapshot taken at Dunn Pond circa 2010. This past year I haven’t taken my camera out a lot or gotten outside to draw much, so I am delving into my photo archives. This particular scene would be better presented in color as it is a scene of fall foliage in front of brilliant blue water.

Recently, I found an artist online who I used to follow for years but she somehow didn’t get transferred over to my newsreader when Google Reader was discontinued. I didn’t remember her name – all I knew was that she was of Filipino descent and she had an unusual title for her blog. After a lot of googling I found her again at Ces and Her Dishes and her real name is Cecelia Adorio. She creates elaborate and imaginative pen and ink drawings based on a wide range of subjects, mostly botany and wildlife. You can also find Cecelia on Behance and Instagram. I encourage you to also read her blog posts, and not just look at the pictures, as she is informative and she often gives me a chuckle.

Pen and ink landscape by Carolyn A Pappas

Inktober is almost here

Pen and ink landscape by Carolyn A Pappas
©2015 Carolyn A Pappas, Le Château. Ink on 5 x 7 inch blank greeting card.

It’s that time of year again for Inktober, which is a pen and ink drawing challenge every October. I will post some pen and ink drawings of my own. I wish I had the kind of time on my hands to post daily, but once or twice a week will have to do. When strapped for time, pen and ink is actually my favorite way to work because it’s so simple and easy to pick up and put down.

hydrangea #inktober

More sketches of blossoms.

I wish I had done more ink drawing in October. I have, however, started going to the gym again after over a five year break, so I am proud of myself in that regard. Already I have noticed a huge improvement in my sleep and clarity of thought.

Below are some more sketches I made in my new gray toned sketchbook. I really like this book because of the soft feel of the cover (almost a silky feeling), the general substantial feel of the book in my hands, and the color of the paper. There is some drag on my fountain pen which I don’t like, but I enjoy the color of the gray ink on the gray paper, so there are tradeoffs. I tried out colored pencils but I would like to do some experiments using black and white colored pencils for drawing.

hydrangea #inktober
©2014 Carolyn A Pappas, Hydrangea (10-30-2014). Ink in 8.5 x 11 gray toned sketchbook.
flower sketch
©2014 Carolyn A Pappas, Yellow Blossoms (9-7-14). Ink and colored pencil in 8.5 x 11 gray toned sketchbook.

pen and ink inktober trees

Weeknight Pen and Ink

I’ve been continuing to work in pen and ink for #inktober and I’m pleased that I have sketched most nights this week, although I haven’t done much by way of experimentation. One of these days I hope to take out my dip pens for a change.

pen and ink inktober trees
©2014 Carolyn A Pappas, Spring Woods Sketch (10-10-2014). Ink in 8.5 x 11 gray toned sketchbook.
ocean rocks ink inktober
©2014 Carolyn A Pappas, Ocean Rock Study (10-8-14). Ink in 7×10 inch Stillman & Birn Epsilon Series sketchbook.
pen and ink inktober
©2014 Carolyn A Pappas, Spring Vignette (10-7-14). Ink in 7×10 inch Stillman & Birn Epsilon Series sketchbook.

peony flower ink sketch

Dirt Floor

ink leaves inktober
©2014 Carolyn A Pappas, Dirt Floor (10-4-14). Ink in 7×10 inch Stillman & Birn Epsilon Series sketchbook.

You know, people talk about this being an uncertain time. You know, all time is uncertain. I mean, it was uncertain back in 2007 – we just didn’t know it was uncertain. It was uncertain on September 10th, 2001. It was uncertain on October 18th, 1987 – you just didn’t know it. -Warren Buffett