I’ve recently had a change in my work life at my local garden center. I’ve been working indoors (home decor) for the last year and I’m now working outside with beautiful perennial plants. I have to say, I am extremely happy with this change both mentally and physically. I get to take care of beautiful plants and help/chat with the customers about their plant needs. Oh and I’m receiving plenty of vitamin D…just what my doctor ordered.
Since I’m working in a different department, my work hours have also changed and so I no longer have my morning time for sketching nor blogging. This explains why I have been MIA from my blog for a bit and why the ink in my artsy fountain pens have gone dry. I’ve been trying to figure out a new system or balance of life where I can still keep my creativity going and maintain this blog.
In the meantime, I have been taking pictures of the beauty that’s around me at the garden center. I thought I would share a few here.
My ladybug friend
Lupines
Peony Itoh Hillary
Lupines
Water drops around the Lupine leaves
Verbascum
Achillea
Sketching Prompt: Maybe a few of my floral pictures could be used as a prompt for your sketches. Sketch a bug or a few petals.
Looks like I’ll be busy cleaning and soaking my fountains pens that contained the dried up inks. Did I mention they were shimmering inks?
For the last few days, I’ve found some time to sketch in the morning before heading off to work. The month of December has been a great month for sketching as there is no shortage of Christmas themes and ideas. I always try to challenge myself and sketch objects I haven’t created before. After using all this creative energy, I now have a backlog of December sketches that I can share with you.
Here’s my sketch of a gingerbread cookie. In my mind, it was definitely a gluten-free version. Hahaha!
One morning, I decided to sketch round ornaments. I traced three round circles on my paper and picked up my pen with Heart of Gold and started with the middle circle. I spent some time adding layers of shimmering gold and leaving plenty of white space.
I moved on to the next circle and decided to challenge myself by sketching swirls. I decided to use Heart of Gold for all three ornaments for a consistent color theme. I added Blood Rose to create the swirls.
I try to leave some white spaces for the highlights and always cognizant where my light source is coming from.
The next day, I attempted to finish my ornaments sketch. I wanted to use my Prairie Green ink in my third ornament and thought a tree would look nice. I tried to add some color to the tree, but it’s looking a bit flat on the ornament.
I made sure to use shimmering inks in the ornaments on the tree.
Tip: Did you notice the arrow I sketched in the upper left corner? A reminder of where my light source is coming from.
My next sketch is a candle. I thought about sketching a tapered candle, but that would have been too easy. Instead, I came up with this 5 minute sketch.
I’m finally getting my perspectives right. My candle and holder is not looking wonky. I’m quite happy with this.
Here’s my final candle sketch. The cast shadow did not come out the way it should look. I’ve been using shimmering inks in my December sketches and I picked Schwarz Rose to use for my cast shadows instead of my standard go to Thunderstorm ink. I wasn’t thinking about the underlying colors that Schwarz Rose contains nor the word “rose” in the name. Lessons learned. I went ahead and added Thunderstorm to the shadow. Good ole reliable Thunderstorm.
My next sketch is this Citrus wreath. I did not want to sketch the typical wreath greens and red berries I have done in the past. I decided to sketch lemons and limes. Here I used my fave inky colors Heart of Gold and Prairie Green.
My work schedule is changing again and I will have to shift gears and find time to sketch during the evening hours. I also want to get back into using my gouache paints and get some practice time in. I also have a few fountain pens and inky stuff to share.
Wishing everyone a joyous holiday with your family and friends.
Inks: Robert Oster Heart of Gold, Blood Rose, Schwarz Rose, and Thunderstorm. KWZ/Galen Leather exclusive Prairie Green. Van Dieman’s Ink Morning Frost
In my previous blog post I had posted a picture of my Holly & Berries sketch. During my sketching process, I had forgotten to take pictures of my sketching adventure. I frantically looked around in my recent photos and found only one picture.
So I decided to sketch another version. I called this new version #2. I started my sketch in pencil with mostly outlines of the shapes and not a whole lot of details.
In this sketch, I tackled the berries first with Blood Rose and laid down the initial layer of color. I remembered to leave a bit of white on my paper for highlights.
I worked different areas of my sketch in sections. I wanted my berries to be lighter towards my light source and darker where very little light shows through. I reminded myself that I needed to let each layer of ink application dry completely. I stopped working the berries and left a few uncolored.
I moved on the holly leaves and created the initial layers with Heart of Gold. I drew lines along the edge of each holly leaf and applied my water brush to the edge and pulled the color towards the middle of the leaf. I worked on one leaf at a time before moving onto the next leaf.
While I waited for the holly leaves to dry, I went ahead and colored in the remaining berries. At this point in my sketch my berries appeared to pop-off the paper. This was the look I wanted to achieve. I also remembered not to overwork my pen & ink washes.
Now that I have achieved the look I wanted my berries to have, I went back to work on the holly leaves. This time, I picked up Prairie Green and applied the color to other areas of my leaves. This coloring process is more of what I’ve dreamed up in my mind. I wanted my leaves to have a blending of two colors.
I picked up my pencil and added in the center lines of my holly leaves. There have been times when I’ve applied my inky washes and forgot to take a break to see what I was doing and my sketch would look a bit wonky and a bit flat.
During my sketching process, I made a mental reminder that my light source came from the top left.
Here’s my completed Holly & Berry #2 pen & ink sketch. Noticed how my pencil lines disappeared under my ink. I left the two upper holly leaves as shapes with no details. They were further away from me and in the background. I should have softened or lightened the edges of the these two leaves, instead I kept adding additional layers of colors. Lesson learned.
Prompt: Create a holly and berry sketch. Use your favorite red, green, and yellow inky colors. Create a sketch with just the berries. Create another sketch with just the holly leaves. For the third sketch, create a sketch with both berries and holly leaves together.
Inks: Robert Oster Blood Rose and Heart of Gold. KWZ/Galen Leather Exclusive Prairie Green
I saw an artist on IG who created some beautiful monochromatic artwork in his journal. His artwork consisted of beautiful thin lines with dramatic bold strokes of color. I searched through his posts to find the tools he was using. He was using a green Sailor Fude de Mannen fountain pen. This is a long body plastic fountain pen with a 55 degree Fude nib.
I remembered I had a pink version with a 40 degree Fude nib. I also have a black Sailor Profit that came with a 55 degree Fude nib. I pulled out my two Sailor fountain pens and my long forgotten experiment from last year came back to me. I looked at the pink section on my black body fountain pen. Yes, I had swapped the sections between my two Sailor pens. That was my experimental hack that ended abruptly.
My initial thoughts on these two Fude nibs were I needed a lot of practice to get used to the nib’s capabilities. At my normal writing angle, I was producing broad strokes of lines and ended up writing larger than normal to compensate for the overly wet nib.
I found the 40 degree Fude nib was better for my writing experience. On the other hand my 55 degree Fude nib was so smooth.
Fude nib comparison
For sketching, I felt a bit out of control when trying to sketch with both nibs. Bold lines would appear when I wanted thinner lines. I also felt my fingers would cramp a bit from holding the pen. Nothing like a good death-grip on a fountain pen. Hahaha!
Fast forward to now and I can honestly say, I’m getting used to my Fude nib. I had a moment where I thought “if someone else can create beautiful artwork” I should be able to as well in my own creative style.
Here’s my sketch of a pumpkin. I initially sketched an outline with my pencil and then sketched over my graphite lines with my Fude nib pen. I practiced by creating thin lines and holding my pen at higher angles. The broadest lines were easy to produce as I held my pen like I would normally use it for writing. A thought came to me to produce the lines like I was holding a paint brush. That appeared to help and I was able to create brush-like strokes of color on my paper.
Here’s my sketch of an echinacea flower. I realized I don’t have too many sketches of flowers in my journals. I used to think that sketching petals were time consuming and I was still learning about perspectives. Using my Fude nib pen might changed my mind. Also, it doesn’t hurt that I work for a local nursery and I’m always taking pictures of flowers to use for future sketching projects.
I started with the center of my flower and sketched the shape. I then sketched out the main petal shapes and thought about perspective. Larger petals closer to me and smaller and less detail petals further away.
I used my Fude to create the dots on the center of the flower. Bolder dots placed close together to create the shading or darkest side. I created the smaller and lighter dots further apart to represent some shaping and not give too much detail.
At this point, I was feeling almost “one with my Fude nib” and created my second pumpkin sketch. By this time I felt like my Fude nib was my paint brush. In my sketch, I started to see my broad stroke of lines as brush strokes. A lovely and cool experiment on my paper.
After I sketched for 15 minutes in my journal, I noticed my fingers were a bit cramped from switching the pen angle in my hand. My very own “death grip” had made an appearance. This was more than likely one of the reasons I stopped using my Fude nibs last year.
I’ve been enjoying my time with my Sailor Profit with Fude nib that I went ahead and purchased another one. For this second pen, I plan filling it with a non-permanent ink like Thunderstorm or Schwarz Rose and use this pen to create some interesting pen and ink washes for sketching.
Tips:
To get a fine thin line, turn nib upside down for reverse writing OR hold nib vertical
To get broad line, use pen at normal writing angle
To get broadest line, use pen at angle below writing angle
Re-use Sailor ink cartridges as they hold more ink than the Sailor converter (Fude nibs are gushers when writing/sketching with broader lines)
Booth my Sailor Fude de Mannen (pink) and Profit Fude (black) came with two ink cartridges. The converter is sold separately. I actually prefer to use the ink cartridges and fill them with my own inky colors.
I use an ink syringe to draw out the included black in from the cartridges. I push down on the syringe to remove the ink. Once the cartridge is empty, I refill it with clean water. I use the syringe to draw out the dirty water. I repeat this process until any remnants of the black ink is gone. I plan on filling my cartridge with Schwarz Rose and use it for my pen & ink washes.
Pros: Inexpensive fountain pen with a lovely Fude nib. Can create thin lines to broadest lines. Comes with two ink cartridges.
Cons: A plastic pen that causes my fingers to cramp. More than likely the result of holding it with a death grip. Hahaha! Does not include a converter.
Ink: DeAtramentis Document Urban Grey
Pens: Sailor Fude de Mannen in pink with 40 degree nib. Sailor Profit Fude de Mannen in black with 55 degree nib
I wanted to take a break and post a few pictures I’ve taken in our garden. We’ve seen an abundance of bees buzzing around from one flower to another. More so than last year. A good sign!
Allium
Anemone
Zinnia
Hibiscus
Has anyone noticed? We have a lot of pinky flowers in our gardens. So lovely to see.
During the summer, we were concerned that we did not see too many swallow tail butterflies. They finally appeared in our garden.
Butterfly Bush
Prompt: Create a quick sketch of one of the flowers you see here in my post. For the first sketch, create a quick (10 minute) pencil sketch. For the second sketch, use your pen & ink to sketch the same flower. Remember to add shadows under a few petals and leave some highlights on the flower. This will make your flower appear less flat-looking on your paper.
The month of April has turned into a busy month for me and I haven’t had much time for sketching. I was staring at all my currently inked fountain pens (two dozen) and knew I would not have time to use them. So, I ended up dumping the inks and cleaning all the pens except for one that I used for my bullet journal (BUJO) and journaling.
When I had a few creative minutes available, I brought out my watercolor paints and created a few sketches. Right now, this is quick and easy solution for me to keep my sketching momentum going as well as interest.
The first sketch was a scene from my trip to our local farmer’s market. Most of this was from memory and I wanted to create a two page spread with loose sketches. I used my Preppy filled with Document Urban Grey permanent ink. I mentioned a few times before, I’m enjoying this lighter grey ink color for outlining my sketches. I used a water brush to apply the water color paints straight from my pans onto my paper.
I’m trying to keep my sketches light and using a lot of white space (highlights) from the paper.
Later in the month I found a few minutes to create another sketch of a few flowers blooming in our garden. Again, I used my Preppy with Urban Grey ink for the outlines and I used my water color paints for this sketch.
Prompt: I recommend taking a trip to your local farmer’s market. Take pictures of the different stalls and offerings. Create a sketch that combines several items you’ve seen and sketch/incorporate into a two page spread.
Pen: Platinum Preppy 02 Extra Fine nib
Ink: DeAtramentis Document Urban Grey (permanent)
Watercolor: Daniel Smith Extra Fine Watercolor paint
A couple of weeks ago, Hubby and I went on a trip. I made sure to set aside some time to figure out what art supplies I would pack and take with me for our adventure.
I thought about how I wanted to record this journey. Do I bring my watercolor paints and brushes? Or do I bring my fountain pens and inks? Or do I bring both?
I laid out my favorite supplies including my fave Maxpedition case and my new Rickshaw/Nock case. Based on my past traveling experiences I knew these would be the two cases to bring and it would be easy to figure out what supplies will fit in the cases.
After going back and forth between the two mediums, I knew I would not enjoy our trip if I could not decide what main art medium to use to capture our adventures. I decided it was best to bring my fountains pens and inks in my Maxpedition case. I used my Rickshaw case to carry just the essentials when I was out and about with my slender messenger bag.
I carried with me a slender A5 journal and wrote about our adventures each day. I was keeping a daily travel log. I found it was easier to write or jot down key points from our adventures as I sipped my coffee in the morning or while we sat in front of a fire pit enjoying the early evening weather.
I also included my A5 mixed media art journal for my pen & ink washes. Both journals fit inside my Lochby Field Journal.
Each day, I recorded objects and things that were easy to sketch. Sometimes I would have 5-15 minutes to quickly sketch something with my pencil or permanent pen.
In my two page spread (above), I created a variety of sketches from ideas in my head. Each object had Thunderstorm incorporated into the sketch which brought the sketches together or created a bit of harmony.
It was handy to have my Rickshaw case filled with my essential supplies as I was able to create quick sketches on the go. Yes, that meant I had to narrow down my choices to six inky colors to take with me.
Waterbrushes, Nahvalur Original Plus, Pilot Custom 823, Platinum Preppy (02), mechanical pencil, and TWSBI pens in my Rickshaw case
My Pilot Custom 823 was filled with Hailstorm. I used this ink for writing in my journals. It’s a dark green color that leans more towards blue.
For this trip, I decided to fill a Preppy with a permanent Grey ink color. I used this Preppy mostly for the outlines in my sketches. I do like using this lighter color for my outlines versus using the bold black Carbon ink color.
For my peach sketch, I did not have an orange ink color with me. I used Blood Rose and African Gold and blended/dabbed the colors a bit on my paper. Again, Thunderstorm makes another appearance in each of my sketching scenes.
Here’s an example of a quick sketch I created in my art journal. I had about ten minutes to sketch a few things and not enough time to add my fountain pen inky colors to all of my sketches. I find it’s okay to leave out the colors and add them back in for another day. I can also go back into my travel log and find other things to add to my sketch and add the colors when I have the time.
I know the pages in my art journal looks a bit bare and there are quite a few blank areas in between my sketches. They are my invisible placeholders for when I will go back and write a story about my adventures.
Pens: Pilot Custom 823 in Amber w/Fine nib. Nahvalur Original Plus in Melacara Purple w/Stub nib. Platinum Preppy (02) Extra Fine nib. TWSBI Swipe w/Stub nib. TWSBI GOs w/Stub nibs.
Inks: DeAtramentis Document Ink in Grey. Van Dieman’s Ink Hailstorm and Anna’s Hummingbird Wing (shimmer). Robert Oster Sydney Lavender, Steely Days, Melon Tea, African Gold, Blood Rose, Sydney Darling Harbour, and Thunderstorm.
Cases: Maxpedition Beefy Pocket Organizer in Olive Green. Rickshaw Nock Sinclair model R in Black/Aqua.
Other: Pentel Energize Mechanical Pencil with 0.7mm HB lead. Pentel Water Brushes with small and medium size tips.
Art Journal: Stillman & Birn softcover Alpha A5 (5.5″x8.5″)
Edited 12/26/22: I had to pull this post early this morning and work on adding additional pictures, better details of my sketching process and do some major edits to what I originally posted. I was one tired puppy when I pushed the original blog post last night. My apologies. Here’s my updated post.
For the past two weeks I was busy with my watercolor paints and fountain pens & inks. When I had a rare “down time” moment, I made sure to spend it on sketching. Mostly, it was Christmas related sketches.
Watercolor: Holly & Berry
I created a quick holly & berry sketch.
I ended up using my porcelain palette so I could make batches of color ahead of time and not worry about running out of color while in the middle of painting.
My approach to this painting was to paint a section of my sketch one at a time and to allow each layer of color to dry completely.
The technique I used was wet-on-wet.
I painted one side of the leaf.
I then moved on to the other leaves and painted the left side.
Before I can paint the remaining sides of my leaves, I used a quick test to check by using the back of my clean hand and touch the areas I painted. If it’s cool to the touch, the paint is still damp. If it’s warm to the touch, the paint has dried.
When the first leaf had dried, I added paint to the right side.
I continued to paint the remaining sections of the leaves.
I waited for my leaves to completely dry before I moved on to my berries.
I painted one berry at a time and waited for each berry to dry before I painted the next one.
I forgot to show my test strip I created. This allowed me to see how the colors would “get along” with each other.
Here’s my final watercolor painting with the shadows. I used a blend of Neutral Tint and the associated paint color of the object. Under the leaves there’s a hint of green with the Neutral Tint color.
Pen & Ink Wash: Holly & Berry
After I finished my watercolor painting, I went ahead and filled a bunch of my TWSBI GOs with several different ink colors. I was anxious to sketch something with my pens. A light bulb went off in my head and I thought I would create another holly and berry sketch using my GOs with fountain pen inks.
I quickly pencil sketched another holly and berry on my watercolor paper. Instead of working on the leaves first, I decided to start with the berries.
Since my fountain pen inks dried fairly quickly, it allowed me to fill in the colors quickly and move on to different areas of my sketch.
I wasn’t paying too much attention to my uncapping of my pens, until I saw an inky spot or two that appeared on my paper.
For the leaves I used a lighter green color (Oklahoma City) for the edges and for the dark areas of the leaves (shadows).
Once the leaves were completely dried, I used a medium green (Eucalyptus Leaf) to add more color to the leaves and darkened the shadows a bit more. I left some highlights here and there in the leaves to show some bending. They no longer look flat like in the previous pictures.
For the berries, I used Blood Rose and added layers of color to the darker areas. I made sure to keep the highlights white by not adding color. The last layer of color was added along the back side edges of the berries.
Prompt
Sketch some berries and holly leaves. Feel free to use different color inks. Try reversing the colors and use green for the berries and red for the leaves. Think outside the box in regards to colors.
Summary/Comments/Tips
Unlike my watercolor sketches taking days to complete, my pen & ink sketch takes less than an hour to complete.
I’m glad I took a break from my pen & ink sketches to spend more time with my watercolor paints and brushes. I found I was a bit rusty and had to remind myself to be patient and let my paintings dry. Also, I had to relearn a few techniques like using less water to get a milk or creamy mix of color versus a watery tea mix.
Use the back of your clean hand to see if the paper is dry or not. A cool touch means the paper is still damp. A warm touch means the paper is dry.
I hope everyone is staying warm today and enjoying their time with friends and family.
Paper: Bee Watercolor (100% cotton)
Palette: Porcelain Flower with 7-wells 4-5/8″ x 4-5/8″ x 1/2″
Paints: Daniel Smith Extra Fine Watercolor in Sap Green, Cascade Green, Perylene Green, Quinacridone Rose, Quinacridone Magenta, Perylene Violet, and Neutral Tint
Inks: Robert Oster Blood Rose (shimmer), Oklahoma City, and Eucalyptus Leaf
Pens: TWSBI Go with Stub 1.1 nib. Jinhao x159 in Black with Fine nib.
This morning I was in the mood to sketch a scene. When I get into these moods I “just do it” and see what happens.
I’m still learning to paint loosely so I can create something in less than 30 minutes. That way I can feel like I’ve accomplished something in a small amount of time.
I created this painting without doing an initial pencil sketch and without looking at a picture. I took my paint brush and dipped it into my paint pans and painted away on my paper. It felt a bit “freeing” to paint like this. It only took me less than 10 minutes to complete. I could get used to this way of painting.
For this first painting exercise, I used my granulating paints from Daniel Smith and Schmincke.
I then decided to sketch out another beach scene and this time I used my fountain pens and inks.
I have to include this picture of my work in progress. I used blue painter’s tape to tape off an outline or window for my scenes. I ran out of tape for my pen & ink sketch and had to borrow a piece from my watercolor sketch. No time to look for tape. Have to keep going.
For my pen & ink sketch, I used a similar process by not creating the initial pencil sketch. I used my fountain pens and water brush and quickly completed my second beach scene.
I’m finding that it takes a bit more thought when I create my pen and ink wash artwork. Once I commit my ink to paper, that’s where the ink will stay. I can move some amount of color with my water brush, but basically some variation of the color stays where I’ve initially placed the nib to paper. That’s why I feel as though my sky is looking a bit strange. I got carried away and also forgot that I was working with ink.
Unlike inks, it’s easier to manipulate watercolor paints as I can blot/lift to lighten the color before it dries.
I forgot to mention that I’m using a watercolor journal from Canson for my test sketches. My beach scene sketches are on the backside of the first page. I wanted to see if the backside of this watercolor paper could be used.
Tip: Adding a color legend to my sketches. A few weeks from now, I won’t remember the colors I used.
Watercolor: Schmincke Galaxy Blue and Galaxy Brown. Daniel Smith Primatek Sleeping Beauty Turquoise Genuine, Jadeite Genuine, Fuchsite Genuine, and Bronzite Genuine.
Fountain Pen Inks: Robert Oster Steely Days, Kansas City, and Oklahoma City. Diamine Shimmering Enchanted Ocean. Van Dieman’s Ink Devil’s Kitchen.
Fountain Pens: TWSBI GOs with Stub 1.1 nibs.
Brushes: Pentel Water Brush
Paint Pans: Art Toolkit standard stainless steel pans
Journal: Canson Artist Series Watercolor Cold Press 140lb/300g (5.5″x8.5″) 20 sheets
I had a “circles” template I found in my art supply stash. I came up with a brilliant idea to create a two page spread of circles in various sizes. Before going crazy and adding my colors, I decided to split my two page spread into the left side for watercolors and the right side for my fountain pen inks.
I did go crazy and selected random colors to fill my circles. I was having too much fun!
Fountain Pen Inks
Here’s the right side of my page with just the fountain pen inks I used.
In some circles I took my fountain pen and drew an outline. I took my water brush and touched the breather hole of my fountain pen to draw out a bit of color. I painted inside my circle and also touched the outline to pulled the color into my circle. I tried to leave a bit of white or light color areas to represent the highlight of my circle. I also cleaned my water brush (wiping on clean towel) and gently brushed out the color where I wanted my highlight to be. A clean q-tip could be used to dab out the slightly wet color.
Sydney Lavender is my go to purple ink color. This ink’s personality really shows off its underlying inky colors when water reacts to the ink.
In the following circle, I created an outline for 2/3 of the circle or the edge that’s away from the highlight. This is another beautiful ink with lots of personality. Another favorite of mine called Steely Days.
This lovely green ink, Oklahoma City, is a wonderful surprise and appears to be bright and earthy at the same time. Another top favorite.
This pink color had been on my wishlist for sometime, but I always passed it up for other vibrant inky colors. I was so happy to receive this gift from a very special inky friend. It’s a lovely muted pink color with a tiny bit of blue. It appears to lean a bit towards a rosy purple color. It’s gorgeous!
Here’s my favorite shimmering pink ink color, Blood Rose. My painted circle came out bright and lovely. I’ve always enjoyed how this ink reacts to water. It’s a beautiful color to use for floral pen & ink sketches.
Watercolors
This left side of my page represents three (3) different brands of watercolor paints I used: Daniel Smith, Schmincke, and Sennelier. This was more or less a “test” page for me as I wanted to show off the different characteristics of certain lines of paints.
The Schmincke colors are represented by the “Galaxy” name. These are super granulating paint colors. Unfortunately, my paper did not have enough texture to show off what I call underlying colors or mixes for each Galaxy color. It does show off the granulation of the main color.
I used a few of my Daniel Smith PrimaTek colors which is represented with the “Genuine” in the name. I absolutely enjoy using these special granulating paints made from natural minerals and pigments. Jadeite Genuine is a gorgeous color. It’s made from the mineral called jade. Its fountain pen inky cousin would be Oklahoma City.
My Sennelier paint colors (lower half of the page) are a bit more vibrant and transparent in color based on the pan set I have. I found my Sennelier paint pans were the easiest to rewet.
Prompt: Create your shapes (circles, ellipses, squares) and practice coloring in your shapes with your fountain pen inks. Remember to leave the lightest areas for your highlights. See if you can create your colored shapes in two layers of color or less. Remember to let each layer dry before adding more color.
Tip #1: You might see a “bloom” appear inside of your shape. This happens when you add too much water/color to an area that is damp or nearly dry. The water/color has no where to go, but “bloom” out. Let the bloom dry. You can always add another layer of color on top of the bloom. If you are not sure what a “bloom” looks like, take a look at my French Vermilion circle in my previous picture.
Tip #2: When a water brush is filled with water, the brush tip will remain wet all the time. I no longer squeeze my water brush. Squeezing a water brush will force additional water onto the tip of the brush. It also requires frequent refilling of water.
I keep a small jar of water on my studio desk. If I need more water on my brush tip, I will put my brush tip into my water jar. I can also quickly clean my brush tip by dipping it into some water.
Tip #3: Keep a clean towel (paper, shop towel, Viva cloth) nearby. I use mine to wipe my brush tip clean or remove excess water.
Fountain Pen Inks: Robert Oster Sydney Lavender, Napa, Blood Rose, Steely Days, Aussie Gold, Oklahoma City, Cherry Blossom, and Sepia Nights. Colorverse Mariner 4 and Hayabusa. Van Dieman’s Ink Morning Frost and Enchanted Woods.
Watercolor Paints: Daniel Smith Perylene Green, Cascade Green, Lemon Yellow, Quinacridone Sienna, Rhondonite Genuine, Jadeite Genuine, Mayan Blue Genuine. Schmincke Super Granulating in Galaxy Blue, Galaxy Pink, Galaxy Violet, and Galaxy Brown. Sennelier Carmine, French Vermilion, Phthalo Green Light, Phthalo Blue, Dioxazine Purple, and Forest Green.
SusieG Studio 