Holidays in Ink Week 5

 

I've been excited to have a go at the Black and White on Toned Paper prompt (Process #6). When working on a toned surface, I nearly always select a warm color or neutral  gray. This time, I decided to pick up the cool colors of sky and water, using a sheet of periwinkle-colored cardstock that has been living in the studio closet for several years. I'm loving the strong contrasts and power of these Notan style sketches. I used the paper color as my midtone value, adding just black and white for lights and darks. I definitely want to do more of these moving forward.

I made Sumi ink this week for the first time, using a Sumi ink stick and stone.

(Ink Making process prompt #24.) Making Sumi ink was so meditative and calming! I loved the feel of grinding the ink stick against the stone in circular motions, while contemplating my references. I did the Five Minute Sketches prompt (Process #20), using photos I'd taken of birds in flight. I employed two of my Chinese brushes, since I had such a tough time with them previously. 

That same afternoon, I had a Zoom figure drawing session scheduled with some friends. One person pins an image, and we do a 20-minute sketch from it, then share our work. We do three different images each Zoom session. There are only a few of us, so even with the sharing, it doesn't take long. This week, the images posted were figure paintings done by masters. I don't have the reference information, but really enjoyed working from those beautiful paintings. I used the same Sumi ink and Chinese brushes that I'd used for the birds, since it seemed to finally be working for me! I simultaneously used the opportunity to try three different papers with the ink, and then glued each one into my sketchbook. The one above is across the page spread, so I have to turn the sketchbook sideways to view it. The ones below were also done during that Zoom session and glued in. I actually liked all three of these papers, each for a different reason.

As usual after a couple of days of working more monochromatically, I was dying for some color. I've been watching some of the American's Cup races from New Zealand, and have been captivated by the movement, drama, and colors of the boats, and their aerodynamic shapes. These boats are designed to lift off the water, and hit speeds well above 40 knots. The boat speed actually exceeds the wind speed. It's amazing. I did the "Pause and Sketch" prompt (#20), and the Non-motorized Vehicle prompt (Subject #3), and Ink & Watercolor (process #23). 

I have to say, these boats were a LOT more fun to watch than they were to sketch. Maybe I should have stopped when I felt my heart wasn't in it, but I forced myself do four of them. I didn't fill the pages as I normally would, but tried to compensate in the page design with a big headline. LOL When I don't fill a page, it feels like I'm cheating, as well as wasting paper. But sometimes we have to do what we have to do, and move on! So I did....

I was trying to think of a way to do the Line, Circle, and Ellipse prompt (Process #26), and make it a visually appealing inclusion in the book. I decided on an orange Prismacolor Premier .05 marker (Amazon Affiliate Link*); that way, I could practice Silhouettes (Subject Prompt #31) in black ink right on top of it, using the orange to create some background tone. Practicing silhouettes like this is extremely helpful for all those times we need to pop birds, figures, dogs, etc. into our paintings as spots of visual interest and storytelling.

"One Reference Three  Ways" (Process  Prompt #40) has had me a bit stumped. I needed a reference that I loved enough to do it a few times in a single day. This week, my parakeet, Palette, was determined to make friends with Coconut the Cockatiel. Coconut wasn't having it! I was able to get a photo reference of them that I loved enough to take on the "Three Ways" prompt. 

First I did the Shadows Only (Process #37) with two Tombow Dual Brush Pens from the Grayscale Value Set (Amazon Affiliate Link*), creating a Notan-like sketch. Then I traced that first sketch using tracing paper, turned the paper over to reverse the image, and then transferred it with transfer paper (Amazon Affiliate Link*) to the upper right corner of the page spread. (You can reuse transfer paper, many, many times, so don't throw it out after use!) I painted that one with Sumi ink. This created an interesting variation of the image, allowing them to face each other from opposite corners of the spread. It also made room for the third version from the reference, done in watercolor.

This week, I'll be ticking off some of the prompts I have left,  especially:

• Window Sketch
• Stairs/Steps
• Seascape
• Pathway

And hopefully some more. Those are all things I love to sketch and paint, so it should be a fun week ahead. 

How about you? Let me know how it's going for you in the comments, ask any questions you may have, and feel free to leave a link there to wherever you've posted your sketches.

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