Pen & Ink

In 2014, I picked up my pens and started creating pen and ink art pieces.  Pen and ink drawing is a way to unwind my mind and lose myself in a bit of art.  Today I thought I'd talk about a few of the tools I use when making this type of artwork.  

When I picked up pen and paper I started with the notion of getting into zentangle, but once I got the idea of it I kind of lost interest in it.  I started with a sketchbook that I grabbed at Barnes & Noble, along with a book on zentangle, and pens I already had in my stash of supplies.  This piece is sitting unfinished in my sketchbook.

I was curious about using watercolor paper.  I used Canson XL Watercolor paper and my student grade watercolors to rough out a flower.  Once the watercolor was dry I added ink with a dip pen.  This piece happens to be living in a drawer currently.  Maybe I'll frame it someday. 

I'm not any kind of supply snob, as I said yesterday I'm passionately curious so I try different pens and different types of paper.  The turtle was created on Canson Acrylic paper, with a watercolor background created with Distress Oxide inks, and drawn with Micron Pens.

This post wouldn't be complete without a tree.  This was one of my faves to make.  Created on Strathmore 400 Series Watercolor paper,  Distress Ink blended background and drawn with Micron pens. 

I've also created several monogram letters, this "Z" being one of my faves. Inspiration for the background came from an Aurora photograph captured by my friend over at Frostnip Photography, you should check her out if you enjoy amazing photos of Alaska.  Back to the Z, created on Strathmore 400 Series Watercolor paper, watercolor background using Distress Inks, Micron pens, and splattered with white metallic watercolors.

Trees are quite possibly my favorite thing to draw, and there are several more in my portfolio.  I've sold a handful of these beauties and gifted a few to friends. 

This was only a peek into the pen and inks I've created.  Leave me a comment below if you'd like to see more of them. 

This post does include affiliate links. That means I receive a small commission, at no additional cost to you, when my readers purchase products through links I provide here on my blog.  I only share product info for things I love and use in my studio. If I don't love it I won't endorse it here.