Pen and Ink Florals

I recently bought a wonderful new fountain brush pen by Kuretake, and have found it's the perfect tool for inking flowers. 

I also picked up a fountain pen converter so I could fill the pen with a nice waterproof india ink and watercolor over my drawings.

I've got a long way to go before I master the brush pen, but I'm pretty pleased with these early experiments!

Thanks for coming by! 

Sketch Therapy

Birds keep popping up in my sketchbook these days.

I don't usually do much with text, but had a lot of fun with this. 

No, that's not real hand lettering. It's a drawing based on a typeface called Bakery that I filled in with watercolor. Maybe one day I'll take the time to learn how to write pretty words for real. For now, I'm satisfied to fake it.

Travel Sketches

Finally home after two weeks of travel! I took a new Moleskine watercolor journal with me to Guadeloupe and Florida, and am happy to report that it got quite a bit of use. It's neat to see the style and quality of the drawings morph and improve, even after just a few weeks of experimenting with different tools and techniques.

Here are a few pages for you to peruse. I hope they inspire you to keep a travel journal or sketchbook of your own!

The first few days I stuck to pencil and light watercolors.

Eventually I started to incorporate my new favorite pens.

Played around with pasting in little pieces of ephemera - a bottle label, a ticket stub, etc.

The last few pages from the trip are my favorite. I got a little better at designing a layout, and was able to get that fun, loose sketch look from the pens.  

Pen and Ink

Remember those new pens I was telling you about?

Well I had to try a few more. 

And I am now in love with Kuretake Brush Pens.

Tonight is my first night back at my desk after a week of travel. I've got another trip planned before the month is out, so follow me on instagram to keep up with me between blog posts! 

Oh, and my last pen and ink adventures? I cleaned them up in Adobe Illustrator, and the white rabbit in the dandelions is now available as an art print, tote bag, or even on a cute throw pillow at my Society6 Shop, along with some other fun designs!

Brush Pens and Paper

Taking a break from paper mache to play with a little pen and ink.

I feel a bit like I'm channeling Wanda Gág. 

Millions of Cats is one of my very favorite picture books.

That's the Prismacolor Premier Brush Tip Marker and Sakura Pigma Graphic Ink 1 pen, which (when not in use) are stowed happily in the new case I mentioned in my last post.

Hope they inspire you to do some drawing!

It's a Small World, Take 2

This morning I painted yet another watercolor drawing to add to the Small World series.

First I laid some color down over the pencil drawing:

Then I drew in the detail with an ultra fine-tipped pen:

Now to just get all three of these guys ready for the wall!  The pieces are actually quite small (how could they be anything but?) - each has been painted on 8x6" watercolor paper.

I think all three would look great hung in a kid's room - maybe in kind of a minimalist frame behind some colorful mat board?  What do you think?

It's a Small World.

I had so much fun with yesterday's piece, I couldn't help but keep the theme going:

I don't know which excites me more, the idea of a giant mushroom, or a deer that can fit in the palm of your hand.

:)

Small is Beautiful

I made a very exciting discovery while on a camping trip at Bodega Bay a few weeks ago:

A whole miniature universe growing on a small piece of rotting tree!

Lichen Town delights and inspires me to no end.  So full of magic and mystery.

I love to imagine what it would be like to shrink down to size and explore the wild jungles of this tiny world at an enormous scale.

I suppose this is the idea that has inspired my most recent watercolor creation:

Just a cluster of mushroom caps towering like tree tops.  

It's unclear who has shrunk and who has grown.  Bluebird doesn't seem bothered either way, but Fox appears somewhat confused. 

I think I'll continue to experiment with more small worlds, large-scale.  It is certainly a recurring fascination of mine, ever since I was very young.

This being the case, you can imagine how much it pleases me to be staying in an apartment with giant snails living above the refrigerator.

And a pair of tiny cats fwipping their tails atop a tin piano.

I'm fairly certain that they hold little recitals on the coffee table while Bryan and I are away.

It really does make me smile.

Barefoot Dreams of Spring

Meadow of wildflowers

On the forest edge

How many months have you laid sleeping

Seedlings awaiting the thaw of spring?


So patiently you have endured

Beneath the frozen earth

The life inside you - the spark of rebirth

Quiet, but burning still.


Until the perfect moment is upon you

When the snow has retreated and the sunshine returned

A firecracker of life

Exploding from the nourishing Earth.


In the souls of my feet, I can feel

New journeys waiting to be embarked upon

New adventures eager to be had

New paths ready to be forged


When dreams and discovery merge

And we become creative masters of our own destiny

Watching as it unfolds effortlessly before our eyes


With great courage, we venture into the forest.

Feathered Friends

I have recently undertaken the task of digitally compiling the many pieces of art I have created over the years.  

Here are some pen and ink favorites from 2009.

Sweet little Bluebird.

Cheeky Bluejay.

This nest is one of my all-time favorite drawings.  So peaceful and safe. 

More art, coming soon!