Developing my first landscape in pen and ink Knee Deep in Cranberry Sauce Two lies. Honestly. Among Polish, Cuban, Ecuadorian and Germans attending our family's annual feast to kick off the shopping spreeson cranberry sauce aficionados are out of luck. Wait. No. Neither the pound of assorted rugelech or half dozen strudels will be filled … Continue reading Portrait of a Landscape in Fountain Pen and Brushed Ink
Ring-necked Pheasant drawn with calligraphic flourishes
Productivity, endurance and creativity are not always fast friends. Artists struggle aligning each. Defining goals a common struggle. This artist struggles. The struggle begins with "good enough" or "greatness".
Ring-necked Pheasant Work in Progress with Fountain Pen and Watercolor
What I share this week is cross section of work in progress. I dare watercolor tins to do big things as mastery eludes me. What falls short of describing the thing pleasantly suggests the energy behind the thing. This pheasant. Bold. Iridescent. Solid. Pattern of patterns.
Sketchbook Field Entry Study of Rufous Hummingbird in Fountain Pen & Black Ink
Not a challenging bird to draw. Details aside. Contours while alert are streamlined and clean. Relaxed is entirely different. It’s not the last hummingbird I’ll draw. It won’t be the last Rufous Hummingbird I draw certain.
Colors of the Sun
Continuing to build momentum in my relationship with watercolor mistakes (oh so many mistakes) become opportunities. An exercise in watercolor gradations and temperatures of black were unsuccessful. Darks of the feather groupings on these black vultures were not so dark to escape hatching with fountain pen.
Brush & Pen Hatching Birds
Studying Raymond Sheppards own field sketches my pencil drawing stayed faithful. One I prepared the saucer of ink I went my own way. Inspired by Magpies, Jays and Mockingbirds these sketchbook drawings had the secondary benefit of improving the harmony between brush and pen.
Drawing a Barnacle Goose on a Rainy Afternoon
Rare to see in Northeast. Barnacle geese common along shorelines of Greenland, wintering on the colder Northwestern edges of Europe. There have been few observations of these cookies and cream painted geese flying to North America.
Drawing a Double-crested Cormorant in Fountain Pen & Black Ink
Mid-summer calm, green pond invites a rich list of birds near our home. Along the Northern edge standing tall and alert we watched this Double-Crested Cormorant. Wings in mid-stretch from behind show off feathers called scapulars. This group, where wings meet ribcage, is where I focus my pen drawing.
How to Draw a Bird
Streaming through veins of air, vibrant and brilliant Shapes and marks and colors and patterns and calls Should I create lists scratching an analytical itch Books and guides and websites and apps. Knowing less with each spreadsheet Really! Sit in the electricity of stillness Each call carries stories long their own and their own long … Continue reading How to Draw a Bird
Luis Draws from Life 