Category Archives: Pen & Ink

Musical chairs anyone?

Does anyone else feel like they landed in the middle of a bizarre game of musical chairs, where you had no idea the music was ever going to stop, and then suddenly it did? The dark side of this pandemic … Continue reading →

Posted in 3- Magic: Art Epiphanies, Musings on Life, Pen & Ink, Watercolor | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

Paper-free Sketching

I went for a walk this morning (despite the wind chill of 18°F), because it was sunny and I am eager. Spring Fever has hit me early this year, and nothing says springtime like getting outside again with my sketchbook … Continue reading →

Posted in 3- Magic: Art Epiphanies, Pen & Ink, Sketchbooks, Sketching tools, Urban Sketching (On-Site Creativity), Watercolor | Tagged , , , , | 7 Comments

Let’s sketch together!

Not everyone has that essential itch that leads to compulsively purchasing art supplies and doodling their life away. And even those that have the itch don’t always have it forever; many will be sketchbook artists for a while, then see … Continue reading →

Posted in 3- Magic: Art Epiphanies, Pen & Ink, Sketchbooks, Sketching tools, Urban Sketching (On-Site Creativity), Watercolor | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

I just finished a sketchbook

When you are using a 160-page sketchbook, as well as two other ‘specialty’ sketchbooks, all at the same time, it is a big deal when you Finish A Sketchbook. Why three at once you ask? Simple. 1) I want one … Continue reading →

Posted in 1- Nuts: Graphic Styles, Musings on Life, Pen & Ink, Sketchbooks, Urban Sketching (On-Site Creativity), Watercolor | 3 Comments

Globetrotting as a Local Sport

Living about an hour away from a large, relatively old city means I can go there, I don’t have to go there, so I rarely go there. You can know intellectually that you are near a goldmine, but gee, it takes effort to grab … Continue reading →

Posted in 1- Nuts: Graphic Styles, Pen & Ink, Sketchbooks, Urban Sketching (On-Site Creativity), Watercolor | 2 Comments

It’s all about the P.A.U.S.E.

Two days ago I taught my last marathon art class for the foreseeable future. It was not my last art class, not by a long shot. But I won’t attempt to do another five-hour-straight “everything you need to know to … Continue reading →

Posted in 1- Nuts: Graphic Styles, Pen & Ink, Sketchbooks, Urban Sketching (On-Site Creativity), Watercolor | 3 Comments

“Why not do it now?”

The other day I found myself at one of those betwixt times, several to-do tasks completed and a little gap of time before an afternoon appointment. No time to start a new project, but too much time to waste on … Continue reading →

Posted in 1- Nuts: Graphic Styles, Pen & Ink, Sketchbooks | Leave a comment

I’m just sittin’ here, taking notes…

That’s all my artwork is. My hieroglyphic representation of “Whoa, look at that! No, zoom in. I mean it, REALLY look at that!” First, a place to sit. Then slowly scan the area until the skip happens, when my glance … Continue reading →

Posted in 1- Nuts: Graphic Styles, Pen & Ink, Sketchbooks, Watercolor | 6 Comments

Learning Another Sort of Shorthand

Google the word ‘shorthand’ and go to the Wikipedia page. There you will see a series of symbols that made perfect sense to my mother as well as thousands of secretarial workers in the mid-20th century. As a child I … Continue reading →

Posted in Musings on Life, Pen & Ink, Sketchbooks | Leave a comment

[Hand] Dancing in the Dark

We’ve all done it. Woken up in the middle of the night with a brilliant idea, grabbed the pencil on the bedside table and that scrap of paper, and scribbled down a word or two before they slip away. The … Continue reading →

Posted in 1- Nuts: Graphic Styles, Pen & Ink, Sketchbooks, Urban Sketching (On-Site Creativity) | 3 Comments