i love sketching with colored pens. i also notice that i seem to prefer a thicker tip. the blue ink above is from the pigma micron 08.
i brought a pencil, but it annoyed me to do a full sketch in pencil then go over it in pen, so i stopped using the pencil after awhile and just took my chances. this accounts for some of the wonky shapes. i need to learn to use the pencil to lightly lay in a few lines WITHOUT detailing the entire scene.
i tried very hard not to paint red stitches on everything. um. but it was hard. the pen above was the water soluble elegant writer. i like how the ink turns blue and pinkish, but i didn't like the calligraphy tip. i learned about that pen and also how to do these faded stenciled letters below from the jacqueline newbold dvd i mentioned in posts before i left for italy. i learn so much from just watching other people model their process.
i do do do love this bright blue ink!
it was difficult for me to understand how to draw a landscape with a zillion plants and not draw the zillions of accompanying leaves. i studied some sketchbooks on flickr before i left and tried to see how different artists approached this. as with everything else involving a new skill, easier seen than done!
i sat at the window and drew this scene. very engrossing. meditative.
i drew from life half the time and the other half drew from ipad pics i took specifically with the intent to sketch.
this firewood gave me a run for my money! i sketched it first with a faber castell pitt artist pen. i've had 2 of these pens, 1 brown, 1 sienna for at least 6 or 7 years and haven't used them so i brought them with me. i like them more than the pigma microns and when those run out of ink i'll replace them with the pitt pens.
the postcard above is one of only a handful i bought. usually i buy tons of postcards! in fact i bought very little on this trip other than a couple of ceramic pieces made in spoleto. i had some leftover euros from venice and took those to umbria and they lasted me the entire trip and i only used my atm card once to make a purchase! that's never happened before. and chances are good that it will never happen again!
italian air kisses to all of you for the comments on my last post. i had fun reading them and smiling. and especially thanks to liv for your email from sweden. she is advising me on possible locations to visit. frankly, that makes my heart go boom boom boom and my tail go thump thump.
happy mother's day cute peeps!
xo
Fantastic!
Absolutely the yummiest pages !! If you like fat tips and colors, you might want to try Copic markers. At work, we used markers all the time, but they dry out VERY fast! I just bought a bunch of Copics at a store closing sale….they have several improvements over my old work markers: Each one is REFILLABLE!!! and each one has 2 tips, one is a soft, fat brush tip, and the other is a wide chisel tip. I’m in love with them!
Your sketches are so beautiful…I really don’t see what you call “wonky”! I do see you in your sketches…unique, quirky, full of humor, intelligent. I just love your style. My most favorite of this group is the out the window sketch of Spoleta. It is very reminiscent of the late American folk artist Charles Wysocki’s work…at least to me it is. While his work was very stylized, the scope of your sketch with so many things to look at just brought his paintings to mind. Can’t wait to see more!
Love the. Drawings. You always inspire me. I leave tomorrow for three wekks inDK and Norway (Oslo and Bergen). If you are interested in DK recommendations, I would be happy to share. Thank you for all you share with us.
Your sketches are so wonderful. I admire your dedication to sketching the whole time you and your sister were on vacation. I chicken out with my camera. Actually, I take that back. I chicken out and don’t even take vacations. You are a trail blazer for sure. I’m happy, also, that your sabatical was extended. You deserve the time to play and be the wonderful artist that you are. Blessings and keep up the great sketching.
If it is possible, I love these pages even more than the previous set that you posted! I feel like I could eat that plate of strawberries right off the page.
I too love wonky and think that it adds charm and character. Seeing your blue pen sketching makes me want to go right out to my art supply store and get a blue pen. I’m usually a black ink girl, but I may be converted. I just bought my second cheepo fountain pen to play around with. Thanks for these luscious paintings and for all your inspiration to break outta’ the mold.
Like Susie, I am coming a few days late to these posts of your journal pages and sketches, I L-O-V-E them!! They are all fabulous and so inpiring. Thanks also for yet another reason to get an iPad. I haven’t bought one yet but the list of good reasons to have one is getting longer!
I find your posts very inspiring and look forward to them. I’m glad you took photos along with your sketches because I love your photos,too. If you want tips on how to do foliage check out Vivian Swift’s blog. She has lots of watercolor tips.
holly –
i dont have an iphone and dont carry a phone with me when i travel. so what i did was carry my ipad somedays and my regular camera other days. never both…too cumbersome. but if you have an iphone you could email yourself a bigger pic to your ipad…and if you dont have your ipad with you on your travels then you could wait till you get home to do those sketches OR draw from life sans the ipad.
my intent behind using the ipad was solely to have BIGGER pics to draw from. the iphone screen would be too small for me, but then im not used to it. maybe it will be big enough for you…?
hope that makes sense 🙂
I love all of your pages – I love wonky which to me adds personality – and have learned so much from description of the process and your experiments using different pens. Like you, I also learned a lot about watercolor technique from Jacqueline Newbold’s dvd. Looking forward to seeing more …
OmG, see this is what happens when dance recitals get scheduled on Mom’s day weekend, life collides and I want to be everywhere at once. I miss the really, big, important things; like the pages in your Umbria journal. I see I’ve got some catchin’ up to do on DFLA, all of these amazing pages from your journal are makin’ my tail do a happy whomp, whomp, oh yes indeed from both the previous post and this one, I ADORE your landscape of Spoleto rendering, that is my personal favorite. Of course I could look at these all day and never get bored. Thanks also for sharing all your thoughts on your pens of choice and your process. All awesome, standing ovation for you and your journal.
again, just the perfect blog to view while sipping coffee, thanks MaryAnn!
I have a question about using the I-Pad vs I-Phone for photography….
to me the I-Pad is so bulky & heavier…. but I did see oodles of people
using it. So, could it be the I-Pad is better for the larger items, a monument
or church? rather curious.
Holly
the plate with bloodoranges and strawberries Waters my mouth. It´s still a month and a half till we can enjoy local strawberries here, by midsummer hopefully. Thanx for reminding me =)
Isn’t it strange how a sketchy sketch can perfectly remind you of the juiciness of strawberries?
The wobbly lines make the drawings – anything less spontaneous wouldn’t be a MAM picture!
Enjoying your pages, Mary Ann. Love the color, lines, journaling. You really opened your eyes to the detail in that place. The Spoleto scene is so charming.
Jane S.
Change that to the good, the better and the best!” I love the loose lines, spontaneous look! And I agree with you about giving up on pencil…it really is boring to go back! Embrace the wonky!
I especially love your wisteria!
Hi Mary Ann, your sketchbook travel journals are all wonderful! My favorite is your scene page. Thanks for sharing.
Love these sketches.
I just love seeing all your wonderful sketches!
I don’t like drawing first in pencil either but I just read in Liz Steel’s blog that she sets up her major lines first with a RED watersoluble pencil and then goes to the ink and color. I think I’ll try that but use a burnt sienna pencil or even a gray, knowing it’ll dissolve the subsequent watercolor washes.
I’m loving your drawing style, wonky and wonderful.
Oh, the Spoleto countryside is my favorite above – and the wisteria. These are wonderful, and thanks so much for sharing them!
I think the strawberries and oranges are perfect
What a fabulous travel journal. You are so very talented and I can’t even draw a straight line.
They are beautiful! I had to laugh – I’ve always used the Faber Castil Pitt Artist pens and just a couple of months ago added the Pigma Micron 01 and 02 to my journal bag. Love the sketch from the window.
Erin in Morro Bay
I’m really enjoying your sketchbook pages. Congrats on moving to sketching and painting on your trip. Your drawings may be wonky if you are doing them in pen, but that also adds the charm!
All your sketches are YUM! I especially love the olive oil bottle page – the leaves to the side and embossed on the bottle and the colors contrast perfectly with the bold stenciled letters. The wisteria is pretty amazing, too. 🙂
I especially like your wisteria page. It came out fantastic. I think this sketch vacation journal was a really enlightening way to go for you, and I hope we get to see more-soon!
i really really like your olive oil sketch