Rondo's Loyal, Royal Subjects --- International Fake Journal Month

Rondo's International Fake Journal, continued. Click image to enlarge. If you'd like to see the rest of Rondo's journal, click the "International Fake Journal" category in the left sidebar.

This entry was sketched first with a fountain pen filled with J. Herbin's Gris Nuage. You can see some of the remaining lines. They look just like light pencil. I love that ink! It's subtle and doesn't overpower the watercolor.

Rondo Goes to the Catskills

Here's Rondo at one of his favorite spots. We call this one "Mossy Falls" due to the abundance of beautifully colored moss that covers the rocks. There's a smaller waterfall that he likes to play in, but with all the rain we had over the weekend, there was way too much forceful water rushing over the rocks to let him do that. I was afraid he'd get swept away!

Winsor Newton and Holbein watercolors. Platinum Preppy pen with Whaleman's Sepia ink. (Lettering with a Pilot Parallel.)

Rondo is not a model

Rondo sleeps for long periods of time without batting an eyelash, but he hates to model for me. Dogs must have a sixth sense about knowing when somebody is staring at them. No sooner do I lift a pen than he gets up and changes position. The best I can get from life are quick gesture sketches. They were done on graph paper and glued into my journal.

These were done with Private Reserve Velvet Black ink in a Platinum Preppy pen, washed with a watercolor brush just a bit in shadow areas, then Koi watercolors surrounded the sketches.

Roz Waves to Rondo

Rondo's adventures continue during International Fake Journal Month. You can see the series by clicking here. The posts will appear in reverse order, from the most recent down to the first of the series. The explanation about IFJM appears in the bottom post.

The Treat Cabinet

 

When Rondo wants a snack, he tap dances on the laminate floor in the kitchen, next to the cabinet where we keep his treat. On rare occasions, we've forgotten to close that cabinet door, and he's helped himself to an entire bag of doggie junk food!

This sketch was done with Iroshizuku Yama-guri ink, in a Lamy Safari fountain pen with an "M" nib, and washed with a waterbrush.

Adding Color to Monochrome Work

 

(Click image if you'd like to see it larger.)

For many reasons, I decided to add watercolor to my monochrome sketch of this scene. You can see my previous post at this link, with the monochrome image. I broke up the background too much for a monochrome piece, and it became jumbled. The dog, signs, and bright red fire hydrant biscuit jar, didn't stand out and form the triangular composition that I had intended. With the color added, I think the composition falls more into place. The background is unified, and the sketch has better balance and cohesion.

Showing Off

 

This was sketched with Quink Black ink, a Pilot Parallel calligraphy fountain pen on its side, and a waterbrush to do the washes. This paper is a little rough for a steel calligraphy nib, so I did the writing on the top of the page with a marker. You can click the image to enlarge it, if you'd like a closer look.

The Quink ink washes into a subtle blue-gray and the tiniest hint of raw sienna color. It's quite nice.

Rondo Goes to the Spa plus Reviews of Private Reserve Chocolat ink and Platinum Preppy Fountain Pen

This sketch was done with Private Reserve Chocolat. Initially, I wasn't so crazy about this ink because so much red appeared in the wash areas. However, as I used it more, I was able to control it better, and keep the ink more to the brown tones by putting down a lot of ink and not overbrushing. Now I love this ink! It's got a deep, rich, chocolate brown color that allows for plenty of value changes. Also, in spots where there was a lot of water but not much brush action, you can see it separate into red and green. If you look at the area above the flag, you can see that happening. (You might have to click the image to enlarge it in order to see the effect.) How cool is that?!

I used a Platinum Preppy fountain pen with a .05 nib for this one. I find this fountain pen to be very fast, so it can keep up with my quick sketching and lay down plenty of ink. They only cost a few dollars, so I have a lot of them and swap them out as I work with different colors. I converted this one to an eyedropper pen so it can hold lots of ink, and I don't need a cartridge nor converter. Brian Goulet has a wonderful video showing how easy it is to do this conversion.

The Goulet Pen Company sells the O rings and silicone grease that you need in order to do the conversion, as well as the .05 Preppy pens.

Fine China for Gourmet Dining and Review of Noodler's Nightshade Ink

(Click image to enlarge)
This is Rondo's fine china. In case you're wondering, yes, this really is what his bowls look like, except they're yellow!

This journal is about 6.5x9", so this sketch is 6.5x18 across the two page spread. Now you can see why I don't like spiral journals! I really like expanding beyond the center line, so I feel limited by journals with a crater in the middle. Of course, stitch-bound journals with a really deep gutter are also difficult to work with. The paper in this Art Spiral book is a little different on one side than the other, but it worked out okay.

This ink is Noodler's Nightshade, one of my favorites. I generally prefer neutral colors, and though this is on the borderline, it doesn't cross over into screaming raspberry or violet. It's just muted enough to make it work, and vivid enough for some excitement. Lines can wash away if you're not a bit careful with the waterbrush, but the ink is so strong that it only takes a small touch to get plenty of wash going. I've also found that if I pass over a line with the brush and let it set, I can wash it again when it's dry and my lines will stay.

International Fake Journal Month --- The World According to Rondo

It's "International Fake Journal Month"! What that means is that hundreds of sketch artists around the globe will be taking on a new persona, who will compose their April sketchbook journal. I have chosen my Bichon Frise, Rondo, to introduce you to his kingdom. My journal is titled The World According to Rondo. Here he is on one of his thrones, doing what he does best: supervising.

Along with Rondo's adventures, I'll be discussing inks this month. Each post will feature a new ink I've been working with, so if you're interested in inks that work well for sketching purposes, stay tuned! This sketch was done with Private Reserve Velvet Black. I love the rich darkness of this ink, which makes the values spring to life. It washes into a subtle violet with a waterbrush, which I find so much more appealing than the blacks that just wash to gray. It also holds a line really well, so even though I can use it for ink and wash techniques, the lines of my sketch stay put.

The sketchbook I'll be using as my fake journal is a Maruman Art Spiral. It's very heavily sized and works well for wash techniques, and at 24 pages long, it's ideal for this project. Those who know me are aware of my intense dislike for spiral journals, so I hope I survive the month with this one. The spiral is very small, so hopefully it will be less pesky than most, and I'll be able to do some two-page spreads.

If you'd like to keep following as I showcase more inks and Rondo's little world, just add your email address in the Subscribe box on the right sidebar. I don't plan to post every day, since I have some painting commissions to do and shows I need to paint for, and of course plein air season is getting underway! But I do hope to get in at least 10 sketches in this project, and maybe more.

(Too see all of my International Fake Journal posts, click here. They will appear in reverse order --- from the newest down to the oldest.)