Painting with Pens

Being on-the-go lately, I’ve found some awesome pens that are perfect for sketching.  They have ink like a pen, but they have a long brush tip that, while stiff at first, loosens up and acts like a paint brush after the first few uses.  They’re perfect and I love them and I’ll never use another pen again.

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April 18, “Chest of Drawers,” India Ink Brush Pens

7 VG

The fun thing about these pens is that I only have a few colors.  And I’ve learned that I work best under scarce conditions.  Except that I could really use a dark brown.

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April 19, “Bed & Nightstands,” India Ink Brush Pens

6 VG

More scenes from the house.  With the brush, it’s easy to get both bold and fine lines using the same pen.

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April 19, “Toy Corner,” India Ink Brush Pens

8 VG

I actually bought these pens years ago in a small Raleigh, NC art store and they’ve been traveling with me, largely unused since I got married.  But I unearthed them, put them to good use, and they are as spritely as ever.  Then I found a store in Rabat that carries them, so naturally, I bought a gray-scale set too.

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April 28, “No More Tangles, Tums, OPI,” India Ink Brush Pens

6 VG

On the way to Marrakech:

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April 27, “The High Atlas,” India Ink Brush Pens

4 VG

Then in Marrakech:

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April 28, “Koutoubia,” India Ink Brush Pens

6 VG

Architectural interiors from inside the less-than-glorious US Embassy.  We’re not allowed to take pictures, but no one said I couldn’t sketch.

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April 29, “The Walls Are Actually THIS Yellow,” India Ink Brush Pens

6 VG

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April 29, “Le Petit Cafe,” India Ink Brush Pens

4 VG

And then a few watercolors. This first one, I love because it turned out exactly as I’d hoped.  I took a lot of liberties too and sometimes liberties can lead you astray, but in this case, they were just about right.  I’m going for the intentionally-messy watercolor-look like the tea kettle that I messed up several weeks ago on accident.

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April 18, “Hummingbird,” Watercolor

8 VG

And then an the same vein, a slightly less successful butterfly:

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April 18, “Butterfly,” Watercolor

4 VG

That’s all for now.  More actual painting coming up next round.

 

2 thoughts on “Painting with Pens”

  1. Thank you for the drawings they brightened up my day. You will have a field day at out house with new subject matter if you can find someone to act as a baby sitter. Dad

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