I love Pen & Ink studies but have never been very good at them myself. I think the main problem is the hatching. I'm never sure which way to hatch, when to cross-hatch, and which direction to hatch in. Some of my early attempts looked like camouflaged zebra's playing twister. Anyway, since my last 4 or 5 drawings have been detailed pencil work taking quite a long time I decided to let my hair down (what bit I have left) and have another go at Pen & Ink.
This first drawing is of a small building I came across in a farmers field in Wales. I have no idea what it is used for. The pallet leaning against it gives an idea of scale and there's barely enough headroom to stand up inside. I used a set of 5 Pilot DR drawing pens for this one.
Having heard good reports about Pigma Micron Fineliners I ordered a set of 6 in different sizes. They dropped onto my doormat with this mornings mail and I was keen to try them out. The subject I chose was this small dry-stone wall that I saw in the Snowdonia National Park in Wales. I can't say I noticed a great deal of difference between these pens and the ones I used for the previous drawing ... they seem equally as good.
I feel as if I'm beginning to make a little more sense of the hatching now and I guess it's like everything else .... practice makes perfect. I really need a lot more practice but these are so quick and enjoyable that shouldn't be a problem. lol.
I was happy to read in the end that you were slowly getting the hang of it all, because I think these are both lovely. You are very good at this. Congratulations to you John :) Take care!
ReplyDeleteThank you Catharina.
DeleteYou did a fantastic job with the hatching and gradations in values! That's what I struggle with, too, when using technical pens. I really like how you did the plants, keeping white spaces showing and creating the depth and texture. Thanks for being an inspiration!
ReplyDeleteKatherine, having seen your work these comments mean a lot. Thank you very much.
DeleteWell if this is what you can do with ink now John, I can't wait until you get into your stride!
ReplyDeleteI like the hatching in different directions: in a strange way it almost seems to suggest different colours.
Thank you very much Keith. Obviously drawings such as these rely heavily on tonal values which is something I struggled with when painting. This is forcing me to pay them much more attention.
DeleteLetting your hair down... indeed John. I now have images of long haired hippies and heavy metal rock stars in my head after that comment. lol. What a cool dude you are for producing such wonderful pen and ink sketches. They look fabulous with lots of variety and interest in the pen marks. You are a natural with this medium.
ReplyDeleteWhat an image that is ... and no one has called me a cool dude before. LOL.
DeleteThank you for such a lovely comment Laura.
I'm not sure I know what 'hatching' means, but you surely did an amazing job on these two ...glad you let your hair down :-))
ReplyDeleteJane, hatching is the name given to the close diagonal lines of shading. Thank you for your lovely comment.
DeleteYour work with "hatching" is outstanding John!! I love the bridge ...the details are wonderful!!!
ReplyDeleteThank you very much Hilda.
DeleteIt doesn't look like you have any problems with hatching to me! These look perfect! Really, these are fabulous drawings! I have those pens too... I like them, particularly the 005 which is really fine :0)
ReplyDeleteThank you Sandra. I haven't done much with the Microns yet and am looking forward to using the 005. Not sure my eyesight is good enough to take full advantage of it though. LOL.
DeleteWonderful work.
ReplyDeleteWonderful work.
ReplyDeleteThank you Linda.
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