A Rough Pumpkin Sketch and a Prompt

For the last few weeks I’ve been struggling to find time to sketch and this morning I made some important “me” time and created a quick sketch of some pumpkins. I sketched three pumpkins in three different sizes and added a few leaves. Since I had a small amount of time, I left out a few details to be worked on later. I was also deciding whether to use my permanent ink pen to redraw my pencil lines I wanted to keep.

I decided to skip my permanent ink line process and go right into my pen & ink wash. For the first pumpkin I worked on one section/segment at a time and allowed it to dry before using my pen & ink on the next section. This process avoids having my inky colors running into each other from one section to the next. I also remember to leave the white of my paper to show highlights. I used Eucalyptus Leaf in the grooves of the pumpkin to accentuate the section a bit more. Giving my pumpkin a bit more depth and showing off the curves.

Here’s the first layer of my inky wash completed. My pumpkin sketch is starting to have some depth. I’m waiting for this initial layer to dry before adding some shadows or layers of darker colors to make my pumpkin pop off the page.

It’s interesting to see how my colorful pumpkin stands out against the rest of my graphite sketch. I might leave this first layer alone and continue onto the stem of my pumpkin. I also want to avoid overworking my paper.

My pumpkin sketch is the second sketch in my new pen & ink wash journal. I’ve decided to challenge myself and create bigger sketches. This is the first time I’m using a larger size journal that is 8″x10″ and my two page spread (16″x10″) is now huge! I have lots of space to sketch and ample room to write about my sketching adventures.

Before I continue on with my pen & ink wash, I need to look through my swatch cards and find an orange ink. Do I use a standard ink or use a shimmery ink?

Prompt: Create a pen & ink sketch of a pumpkin. Think outside the box and use the ink colors that are currently in your fountain pens to fill in the color of your pumpkin.

Inks: KWZ & Galen Leather Prairie Green (shimmer). Robert Oster Eucalyptus Leaf and Heart of Gold (shimmer).

Journal: Stillman & Birn Alpha softcover 8″x10″