VEIL

This was done from a photograph that I saw online.  I used a Uniball vision fine pen and Schmincke watercolors in a Moleskine watercolor album 8 1/4" x 11". Previously posted on Sketchbook Skool.

COLLEY STUDY IN COLOR

You can see from my copying this study by Colley that the Pitt pens have a wide range of color and blend really easily.  Done in the Strathmore sketchbook.

COLLEY STUDIES

People studies copied from Don Colley.  Done in Strathmore sketchbook with Pitt pens.

COPYING MORE DON COLLEY

This sketch is actually a combination of a Don Colley sketch of someone driving and I sketched in a R. Crumb on the phone. Done in a Strathmore sketchbook with Pitt pens and Uniball pen.

STUDYING AND COPYING FROM DON COLLEY

The work of Don Colley is very instructive.  One can learn a lot from his sketches online and also from watching his Youtube videos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2EK4OiwWgU8 
He got me hooked on the Faber-Castell PITT artist pens.  I am patiently waiting for him to return to the Pacific Northwest so that I can attend one of his lectures.

This drawing was done using the Pitt pens in a Strathmore sketchbook.

STUDYING AND COPYING FROM JAMES JEAN'S SKETCHBOOK

James Jean is one of the artists I study.  His work is fantastic, but I have not been caught up in the rush to buy the type of pen that he uses.  I am hooked on my Uniball vision fine pen but I do love Jean's lines.  So I practice in my sketchbook by looking at his sketchbook (PR-3) http://www.jamesjean.com/bound/2010/Process+Recess+vol.+3/1

TOMMY KANE'S HAT

This was done on Canson Comic art board 11" x 17" using Uniball vision fine pen, Pitt big brush pens and Schmincke water colors.  Since I get asked about what tools I use I'll talk about them a bit.  I love the Uniball vision fine point pen.  It is water proof and fade proof.  That is a must feature since I use watercolor right over the top of the ink.  It can blob but I don't care.  If it does I just work with it and incorporate it into the work.  It rolls on smoothly and it feels so good in my hand.  It has a clip on the cap so I can put it securely in my shirt pocket.  They are cheap.  I buy them by the dozen.

As for the Faber-Castell PITT artist brush pens, well, they are one of the greatest inventions in the drawing world.  They have great colors, they last a long time, and MOST importantly, they DO NOT SMELL.  As an added bonus, they are waterproof and will not bleed through the paper and show on the other side.

Schmincke watercolors...I buy the travel pan.  18 full.  Yes, they are expensive but I'm worth it.  I like to lay the color down thick, even with watercolors, and this product is very juicy.  The colors are brilliant.  They last a long time and I can also use them with other brands when putting on layers.  I also like Sakura's Koi travel kit and the Winsor-Newton Cottman watercolors (professional grade).

Tommy Kane, great artist and teacher, is a hat guy (like me).  His wife Yun told me that he gets them made by Barbara Feinman in New York http://www.barbarafeinmanmillinery.com/shop/.  I think there should be special "KANE" editions.  The squirrel is Tommy's logo (he was a squirrel in a previous life, apparently).  That is a mushroom the squirrel is sitting on.  And no, I don't.   

MORE TOMMY KANE MADNESS

Another painting of the infamous dream done in Uniball oen, Pitt big brush pens and watercolor on Canson paper 11"x 15".  Refer to blog post : https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1397808000502888&set=gm.317020511783638&type=1

then check out this:  http://vimeo.com/94423701

I need help, I know....

A GENTLE MADNESS

Books at our house. Uniball pen and Pitt brush pens in Strathmore sketchbook.  Previously posted in Sketchbook school.

THE RAINBOW BODY

Acrylic and Gouache on paper.
"As they die (advanced practitioners) enable their body to be reabsorbed back into the light essence of the elements that created it, and consequently their material body dissolves into light and then disappears completely.  This process is known as "the rainbow body" or "body of light", because the dissolution is often accompanied by spontaneous manifestations of light and rainbows".  - Sogyal Rinpoche (The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying)

FAMILY MEMORIES SKETCHBOOK

SUNSET ON THE OREGON COAST

Uniball pen and watercolor in Moleskine sketchbook.  From photograph by Julie Bain. Previously posted in Sketchbook Skool.

OREGON COAST HOUSE

Uniball pen and watercolor in Strathmore sketchbook.  Prevously posted in Sketchbook Skool.

SPARKS MARINA NEVADA

Sparks Marina Nevada uniball pen and watercolor in Stillman and Birn sketchbook. Previously posted in Sketchbook Skool.

HOUSES IN MONMOUTH OREGON

Uniball pen and watercolor in Moleskine sketchbook.  Previously posted in Sketchbook Skool.

CITY LIGHT BOOKSTORE SAN FRANCISCO

Uniball pen and watercolor in Moleskine sketchbook.  Previously posted Sketchbook Skool,

PORTRAIT OF TOMMY KANE

Portrait of Tommy Kane 14" x 17" Yasutomo Suni ink and PITT Big Brush ink pens on Strathmore Bristol Paper.  I tried it with the white background but liked the Sumi ink background better.

FAMILY MEMORIES HATS

MY KITCHEN : HOW I DID IT PART 2

Time to add color. I start in the right corner adding darks, then medium and leaving white paper for highlights. The grain patterns in the wood are made with pen and then several coats of watercolor (chrome orange, cadmium red, cadmium yellow, yellow ochre, burnt sienna and venetian red)..Grey, phalo green and sometimes purple for cast shadows.  There are still some weak passages like the left corner where the kitchen counter tops meet, the freezer handle on the refrigerator and the diffusion of light onto the stove (and any other places you or I see) but I plan to touch it up here and there with color pencils and stop before I overwork it. Some things I learned were the importance of going slowly and really looking at the way the light hits the objects, work with mistakes and make them into something.  Don't quit or get discouraged, just have fun.  It's only lines on paper! Let me know in the comments what you think.  

MY KITCHEN : HOW I DID IT

This was a fun homework assignment from Tommy Kane (legendary artist and Creative Art Director in NYC).  Our kitchen done in Uniball vision pen, watercolor and Pitt brush pen in Moleskine watercolor album over two page spread 8 1/4" x 22 1/2".
It started out like this.  From where I was sitting looking at the kitchen I knew I was going to get wonky right away and tilt the refrigerator door.  I like to bend objects or make then wavy because to me it makes them feel alive. Then on to the calendar and various things we stick onto the refrigerator and put in some cabinets. Then I drew a line to indicate where the cabinets would go and decided to draw in the stove. Then back to the right side and start filling in the details.  Over to the left side I ran into a problem of angles.  It wasn't working out at all.  I sat and looked at it for over an hour.  Pretty soon it started looking back at me so I just drew it as best I could and moved on.  Whoa!  I forgot about the dishwasher.  Oh well, guess I'll live without it and do the dishes by hand. Now onto to the last section and we are ready to add color.  I spent a LOT of time just looking at the kitchen and observing how the light traveled over all the objects. I really was thinking about that rather then thinking of the objects name.