This
page was done in a 6×8 inch Stillman & Birn Epsilon sketchbook. I
It’s got this awesome smooth plate finish, smooth enough that pens are
great on it but tough enough I can work several layers and use
watercolors. The finished image is 5×7 inches and is available matted
and ready for framing on etsy here.

This
page started with a 6B Eberhard Faber drawing
3800 pencil. I
chose it because it’s soft and dark and sharpens with ease. I wrote a
page full of musings on coffee and some of my first memories of the
delicious substance.

After
the writing was completed it was too dark to draw, sketch or even
doodle over. I wanted to remove some of the graphite yet leave the
writing. Using a kneaded eraser
I started to lightly erase the pencil. I
erased until I liked the amount of pencil left on the page. The kneaded
eraser is great for this as it is a delicate eraser and complete
removal is difficult but will leave the page unharmed.  I carefully
removed the graphite moving the eraser gently over the page.

I
wanted to add one of my self portraits to the page. It was a happy
memory so I used a favorite turquoise blue to color in the the face.
After the face was dried I cut it out.

I used my 2 way glue to position
it on several areas of the page. Once I found a spot I liked I decided
it needed 5 colored circles around it. I used a small bottle to trace
the circles onto the page. I painted them red, orange, yellow, green and
blue with watercolors. This allowed the text to show through the color.

Returning
to my thinking motif, I carefully sketched a gear onto the page. I used
watercolors to paint around the gear. I considered painting in the gear
but I really liked the idea of it being a loose shape and something
less defined.

Many
of the product links are to affiliate sites, so if you make a purchase
through the links I will be compensated, though in small amounts. and of
course the etsy link goes directly to my page and I will be fully
compensated should you choose to purchase this piece.