i’m super excited about my new sketch pen. it’s a water-soluable varsity fountain pen. first i sketched then i went over some of the lines with my waterbrush which you can see lurking behind my coffee cup. it’s the brush that came with my koi sakura travel watercolor set. i’ve been wanting a rich blue pen and this is definitely IT. i also got a black one. v.v. inexpensive.
for dottie i used a new blue micron .08. it’s permanent. just wanted to try a slightly darker shade of blue. the blue-tipped brush pen on the right is japanese. comes filled with a soft black watercolor. it’s also a real pleasure to go over lines with, but i got a little heavy handed here. no matter it’s all contributing to my learning.
i’m very pleased with both sketches, screwy lines, splotchy watercolor, crazy teeth and all!
all i’m doing between now and the time i go to umbria is sketching. i am taking a handmade sketchbook with me, a couple water-soluble pens, a couple of microns, and a few other water-soluble pens i got recently for color. i am going to force myself to speak a new travel journal language for this trip. and even though it’s kind of like giving the keys to a 10 year-old and telling them to drive cross-country i’m doing it anyway. full immersion.
danny gregory has a new book on illustrated travel journaling which i don’t have, but i have been watching with great interest his interview series. so so so good. all the interviews are fantastic. loved the one with prashant miranda and fabio. oh hell, they’re all fascinating!
and before i forget…THANK YOU for the kind response to my Digital Journal No. 1.
i am deeply appreciative that my creative adventures interest you.
okay. it’s sunday and the entire glorious day is spread before me like a great big picnic. which creative pursuit will i devour first? mmmmm…
I know you’ve probably heard of the book the Art of Urban Sketching, but I recommend it.
Great job on Angie and Dottie and in pen without my favorite drawing tool – the eraser! I am starting to try pen. Scary! Keep up the good work!
For one, looks JUST like your Mom – v. good, as you and Bridget Jones note. Second, you are already the master (mistress) of the “Mary Ann Moss” style journal, I for one will be most intrigued to see where you go with this ‘all sketch journal’ travel journal. I think it will somehow wind up influencing your regular style journals also, and will be incredibly rewarding. I’m glad you’re taking this trip as the last one, as wonderful as it was, was truly a working vacation for all of us. This one is for you! I did an all sketch journal on my trip to the mountains of North Carolina last year, and my favorite was doing sketches of donkeys and sheep and critters. They are a huge challenge, but wow – such a learning experience to attempt in any way to capture ‘spirit’ on page. I know you can do this with humans for sure – how about dem critters? Love all you do (but you know that.)
How I wish I had your creative and artistic talent! I love your sketches and the fact that you share them with us. Also, excited to see any scenes from Umbria and your trip!
Thanks Mary Ann, for a most enjoyable blog, Sue
These portraits are so great — There seems to be a heart beating inside of them! I love Danny Gregory. His book — The Creative License — is the reason I started drawing a couple of years ago…
Wow. I’ve been using these pens for years in my journals: just to write. I had no idea they could do all this. Never thought to try. Thank you!!
Love it all Mary Ann, a lovely feast for the eyes and heart. I can almost picture the scene with you there with pens and papers and having a perfectly content party of one, plus the cat posse, mustn’t forget them. Danny Gregory; love his stuff, his writing and his sketching prowess, he makes it look so easy, yet I am thumbs when it comes to sketching but you really, really make me want to experiment more…not like I don’t have enough creative passions to keep me busy…might as well add yet another to the mix.
Your sketching is really developing. You have an unique style which I find fascinating. Can’t wait to see your travel sketches. I am back to work tomorrow after a lovely day pulling weeds…being a lady of leisure is not in my foreseeable future unless some distant relative remembers me fondly…not too many of those:(
Oh these are fantastic!! I follow your sister’s blog and I recognized Angie(right?) immediately!!
Varsity fountains are the best pens! I don’t draw but they are what I use to write letters!
yes it is sunday…………….and the best part of it is the fact that five oclock will not bring the looming shadows of monday morning and skool. It is clear (clearer every blog entry) that your sabbatical has given you wings of creativity and joy………………so make a fancy five oclock cocktail and celebrate it all!!!!