I’ve been enjoying the time in my community garden a lot lately, and I thought it would be nice to sketch a few things related to gardening, too. I’m not really up to date to the current harvest with my sketches – the zucchini/squash season is starting so that’s what we’ll likely be eating for the rest of the summer ;-) – and beans and swiss chard and salads tend to disappear quickly before I can even start drawing.
But I have a few radishes for you back from spring:
And I’ve tried out something new, and that is sketching slightly larger landscapes, but in ink instead of pencil, and with only light watercolor washes. The pencil sketch at the top was created with watersoluble graphite pencils, which I tested and didn’t like – a slightly scratchy and grainy drawing experience.
I still do a light pencil sketch first to lock in the rough shapes, so the process takes slightly longer, but I prefer to have a plan before I add ink to a large scene.
Since I’m currently testing a few new waterproof fountain pen inks (more on that soon), I also did a few direct ink sketches of irises. I’ve drawn so many of them lately that it was less of a challenge than I thought. Here is a test of the brown De Atramentis ink in a Platinum Preppy 03 fountain pen (please ignore the bad layout, I got carried away and just squeezed everything in):
These inks can be mixed so I combined the blue and pink one to a nice deep purple and sketched some more irises (again in a Preppy 03):
As you can see, watercolor on top of this ink is absolutely no problem. This technique (ink + loose watercolor for botanical sketches) is one I show in detail in my course Introduction to Botanical Sketching and my approach for painting slightly loose over detailed linework is covered in Loose but Precise Florals.
I’m currently taking all my notes with the black De Atramentis document ink in a Kaweco Sport fountain pen, which also works really well.
While I was at it, I got a few samples of Octopus Write & Draw ink, which is another waterproof fountain pen ink that comes in many colors and is mixable. I’m currently testing it in different fountain pens to see how it performs.
So overall right now, whenever I don’t have dirty hands from digging around in the soil, I have inky hands from messing around with new inks. You should try this out too, it’s a great combination! ;-)
Precioso, me alegra mucho sentir que estás tan animada. eso quiere decir que ya te ha recuperado. Un abrazo.
Thank you Marta! :-) Yes I feel well rested, but also ready for vacation if that makes sense. My best wishes to you!
Absolutely gorgeous sketches, Julia! I love your approach to sketching complex yet delicate Iris petals; your skill in precisely rendering such realism reflects your familiarity. It’s like each blossom is a dear friend! The inks are beautiful; your loose watercolor (especially that purple) is perfection! Your posts are always so inspirational! Thanks for sharing. Hope you’re not overwhelmed with zucchini and other squash varieties this season, but are looking forward to creating some imaginative recipes.
Thanks Barb! Yes by now it really feels like I’ve made friends with the irises, they are just so pretty.
The real zucchini and squash masses are yet to come, but I’m sure I will see some surprises when I come back from my vacation. I’m glad these things can at least be included into all kinds of dishes without causing mutinies at home. ;-)
I could not find better words. My sentiments exactly!
How interesting to mix inks to achieve a new color! I just got a beautiful deep yellow and a sap green toned ink that will be perfect for dipping my dip pen into for summer garden sketches! Thanks for the inspiration! And, your layouts look great to me, it’s all great practice and part of the process!
Thank you Karen! Yes, it’s interesting what’s possible with all the art materials out there. Mixing inks should work fine when the ink are from the same brand/line, so I’d just experiment with it and see what happens. Happy garden sketching!
Julia
I’ve been meaning to write for some time. I so enjoy your blog. Took your drawing class and started a nature journal in 2022. Had a medical issue for 2 yrs and didn’t feel well enough to do any art. Fortunately I could read your blogs and so loved just looking at your drawings. I know you were ill also and I’m glad you are back in fine form. Anyway I’m feeling much better and able to go to our lake house once again and play with my mushrooms and ferns . So thank you so much for being there. You are helping people even tho you might not be aware of it. A true blessing for me
Cindy
Thank you very much for your message, Cindy! I’m glad to hear you feel better now and can make art and enjoy nature again, I know how it feels not to be able to do that. All the best for you!
Gut sieht das aus! Herzliche Grüße aus Nürnbeg.
Michaela
Ganz lieben Dank Michaela. Oh Nürnberg, da bin ich demnächst auch mal, ich freu mich schon auf diese schöne Stadt!
I agree, the De Atramentis Document inks are great to use with watercolor. I’ve mostly used them to create simple designs for the front of a card, with enjoyable results.
Yes, they’re really nice, it has taken me so long to discover these inks!
I swooned when I saw the iris drawing at the top of the page. Love irises and purple ones in particular. Sketch as many as you like for us – they will never get old for me. :-)
I have more than my share of fountain pens and inks which I do not sketch with enough. You’ve given me a nudge.
Thank you so much Sheila, I will! For now the irises seem to be gone, but I took lots of photos. They are just so pretty.
Happy fountain pen sketching!
Hi Julia, Don here; the Iris sketches are fabulous and I like your ink/watercolor sketches and comments on mixing ink for them. I will get a break sooner or later and when I do I’ll head in the direction of your birds, botanicals and landscapes.
I’m going to look into Octopus Write & Draw Ink because that’s something new to me and I want to know more about them. I like fountain pens and haven’t done much with dip pens, had I known about Kaweco I’d have tried them instead of Lamy.
I really like the watersoluble graphite sketch, it’s classic, reminds me of my grandparents home in Frankfurt Germany, thier roof had a greater slope, the tonal values paint it well! I need practice at this! Kudos…
Thank you Don! I’m not sure how easy it is to get hold of the Octopus ink outside of Germany, but I think some German online shops that offer these inks also ship internationally.
Yes, the house from the sketch is the standard house shape over here, very simple but classic. I like how its hidden by all the green around it.
I really think its nice! I’ll show you a few pics of my moms life in Germany one day.
Neila (my wife) really likes it too, she way taken by the radishes and the large garden landscape.