Barnes and Noble on the Plaza

I find I'm wanting to draw constantly!  Michaela is home for spring break,  and we picked up some sweet drawing supplies!  I LOVE drawing journals from India!  The quality is superior in all materials.  I can't wait to start them!!!  But for these study works,  I am using my original sketchbooks (which I once bought because they were so cool).  Just like every other media,  once I really dive into what I'm doing, I zero in on the tools I really love.  This smooth paper is well suited for this kind of drawing.  I'm using a medium sepia Pitt pen, only because the fine and superfine are running low on ink!  It actually works well as long as I use a light touch.  These cars are still a little forced,  but the lines are getting a little easier.  I love how this challenge makes child's play out of hurdles!  Drawing number 1537 in 1537 days :)

Bluebird in the Pear Tree

Bluebird in the Pear Tree
Pen and ink on paper, 5x7

Oh my!  This bradford pear tree is glorious with blooms!!  It is so full, I can hardly see the birds as they fly into it’s branches!  This tree was one of the first we planted so many years ago - and now it is 30 feet tall and nearly as wide!  What a beauty it is each spring, and it turns a fiery red each fall!  The bluebirds love flying from tree to tree up the lane, and it is a joy to see them getting closer to the house!  This piece is the 1175th in 1175 days :)

Goldfinch in the Plum Tree

Goldfinch in the Plum Tree

I’ve been stretching myself way too thin lately, so I am taking a little “pen and ink” vacation, where I revel in the ink for a little art therapy!  I will return to the figures in a day or two, but for now I am enjoying the freedom of the birds in my fruit trees!  Everything is exploding in bloom - and I am drawn to capture it in pen and ink!  I may have to get some of this down in paint, as well!  Spring may just be my favorite time of the year!!  Drawing number 1174 in 1174 days.

Cardinal in the Flowering Pear

Cardinal in the Flowering Pear
Pen and ink on paper, 5x7

The flowering pear on the front lawn could not be more abundant with blooms, and this sweet little female cardinal has found a favorite perch!  I love capturing the spring beauty with pen and ink, freely using my pen as I squiggle on those petals feathers and bark.  I have a wonderful collection of india ink Pitt pens, but I return again and again to my favorite superfine and brush tips.  It seems I don’t even pick the others up until my favs runs completely out of ink.... and then, of course, I do!  This drawing is the 1173rd piece of completed artwork in 1173 days.

Monarch

Monarch
Pen and ink on paper, 5x7

Another day reveling in the freedom of drawing butterflies!  I should be working on figures, and I really need to work on my cafe scene skills, but instead I choose india ink and paper for a light and airy butterfly sketch!  I love to watch them fly about, and with spring unfolding before my very eyes - the grounds will soon burst with them!  This drawing is number 1172 in 1172 days.  Perhaps, I’ll return to my figure work tomorrow......

Swallowtail

Swallowtail
Pen and ink on paper, 5x6

Today, I draw butterflies!  No more of yesterday’s stressful cafe scene painting for me.....well, not today.  I do need practice, and practice I will, but for now I am retreating to my happy place!  I am using Pitt pens, black india ink, to complete this butterfly drawing.  I work loosely with my pens, letting the image unfold as the strokes spill out the tip.  I have not kept up with completing a pen and ink drawing every day, but I will continue to draw whenever I get the chance.  I sure wish there were more hours in each day, I never have enough time.  This pen drawing makes 1171 in 1171 days.