Herefords Three

It feels like Christmas when a new fountain pen arrives in the mail!  This one is the TWSBI Diamond AL R in limited edition punch pink, and of course it writes like a dream!  The new ink is from Diamine Inkvent collection, Nutcracker. It is a rich red brown, but I couldn't get it dark enough in shadow areas, so had to use some Thunderstorm ink from Robert Oster to balance it.  I know this sounds crazy, but I might just expel half of that ink and add in black.  I'll try it out first with a dip pen. It really isn't recommended to mix inks, but sometimes I can't help myself!  The ink comes in this very lovely bottle, and perhaps I could get a deeper value with a brush?  I couldn't do that in the field, I don't carry any ink bottles with me.  That would be a disaster if the lid loosened up in a bag!  I've used my favorite Watercolor Confections palettes to wash in the color on that handmade paper.  Painting number 2949 in 2949 days. 

Two Chickadees

Watching the little chickadees at play is so fun!  So many birds are constantly flying to the feeders.  When I am very still, they do not even notice me!  I've started playing a few bird calls on my phone as I work, and the birds come very close indeed!  I've lately been wanting to sketch these beauties in pen and ink, really studying their forms.  The pen I chose today - a TWSBI Eco - mostly has Levenger's Raven Black in it, but there was a mix in it before with their Cocoa Brown, too.  So, it has the tiniest bend in tone.  I have floated a really juicy water brush pen into the lines, giving me wetter areas on the cotton paper for that ink to spread. I like it!  This allows me to get very dark, and I'm leaving plenty of white in the negative space.  I love the whole pen and ink process, and hope to sketch many of my feathered friends!  Painting number 2938 in 2938 days, and day 25 of the #stradaeasel challenge.  Now we're off to dinner at my Mom's - her first time to host us for dinner in her new house!