On a recent visit to Ashland, Oregon I was able to sit comfortably and sketch with a dear friend. We chatted and laughed as we worked and discussed whether one should draw first with a pencil or just barge right in. My friend used a pencil, then worked beautifully in watercolor. I used Platinum Carbon black ink and, as you can see by my first inaccurate lines, would probably have been wiser to start with a pencil. I peeked around some foreground trees and left them out in order to include more of the mountains. When finished, we enjoyed looking at each other's compositions which were quite different even though we were sitting very close together. 8" x 6" Strathmore Series 400 Drawing Paper.
Sitting quietly by a rocky Oregon creek in the Siskiyou forest is a good time to sketch with a vintage pen, Noodler's Bulletproof black ink, and small grey washes pulled from the black ink. 9 x 6 inch Strathmore Vellum Bristol.
Later, I sometimes like to scan the line sketch, make a laser print, and tint the printed copy.
