I have been attempting to keep my sketches with the walnut ink larger sized- 12×18 on that old Strathmore 400 drawing paper. Also, I just want to note that I still really love that 400 series drawing paper and will be sad when it runs out. I have been working through my photos that I took this summer and have been making multiple sketches of the same subject.

In these sketches I have been playing with different brushes, adding in different media, and loads of layers. Each brush leaves a different mark on the page as it’s loaded and unloaded with the walnut ink. I’ve been adding in a quick layer of various colors of Inktense. The blue and black shades work the best. I tried green and it wasn’t a great combo with the warm brown. Each tool has a mark of it’s own- each brush looks different on the page. The inktense leaves a pencil like mark that lifts and blends with the ink. The chalk pastels leave a broken line or can be smudged out to give distance and softness in areas as needed.

With an image that has just a few colors like these the marks really make the image work.

you might have noticed that I have been drawing the same images over and over again. each has subtle shifts in the composition- more darks in some areas, more contrast in others, more light here and there. The textures throughout are different and different base colors added and used.

Despite thinking the green does not work well with the brown walnut ink, I think that composition (image one in this post) works the best. The contrast works best. The textures are varied and the small figure is right. I also like how I used the chalk on top.

Apology for the slow posting these last few weeks. I have been fighting off the lurgy that has plagued the office some the middle of September and I believe that this weekend I’m effectively sleeping it off. I really wish folx would not come to work sick. (No it’s not covid, I have tested repeatedly to a negative, also at this point, allergy meds aren’t kicking it.)