Today I’m going to take you with me for a field sketching session. I’m drawing Early purple orchids on location and finish my sketches at home, where I also do a few experiments with ink.
I’ve also changed a few colors in my palette and I’m talking about how that happened.
Here’s the video:
Sketching orchids in the field (video)
I hope to do more field trips and videos about sketching on location soon when the time and weather allow for it.
Here are the materials I used for the inking part:
Ink: Rohrer + Klingner SketchInk, with dip nibs you can use any kind of acrylic or waterproof ink. I use this one because I can also fill it into fountain pens.
Nibs: I used the Tachikawa Maru T-77 (any mapping nib will do) and the Brause Cito fein.
The ink container are called “Dinky Dips”.
If you have any questions, definitely leave them in the comments, it is so helpful for me to hear from you what you’re interested in!
Hach, ist das hübsch bei dir! So eine tolle Blumenpracht und wunderbare Landschaft. Ich glaube, ich muss mal in deiner Gegend wandern gehen.
Danke liebe Ayoka! Ja, Nordhessen hat wirklich sehr schöne Ecken. 🙂
Loved this outdoor demonstration, and it made me a bit homesick for the Germany I left behind to come to the USA. However, I seem to have found my niche here in the Sierra Nevada Mountains of California and have been doing botanical illustration for the last 25+ years, with ink and watercolor, as you demonstrated, and sometimes with colored pencil.
Regarding the color of the orchids, I don’t think that pigment of any kind will ever have the brilliance of the original flower where the light changes all the time. When sunlight hits a flower it glows, and that can never be duplicated on paper. The purplish-magentas of some flowers is a very difficult color to capture. A well-known botanical artist admitted that to me a few years ago, and he said to just get the color as close as you can, and the viewers of your painting will never know the difference unless the actual flower is right next to the painting. Sometimes we have to just accept good enough, and your paintings are beautiful and get the essence of what you are looking at. Thank you for this video. I enjoyed it immensely.
Thank you RoseMarie! I imagine the Sierra Nevada has lots of beautiful flora and fauna too. And you are of course right, the glow of the actual flower can never be fully captured, and in the end it’s not about the exact color, but more about the character of the flower. Thanks for the reminder!
We really enjoyed this video demonstration which was excellent. It was wonderful to see the meadow, the footpath and the surrounding countryside. We often walk in the uk countryside and it’s really interesting to compare our natural environment with what we could see of yours. We have looked for the common spotted orchids which grow on the canal side towpath – the spotted leaves are growing but we haven’t see any flowers yet. Thank you very much.
Thank you Pam! Yes, it’s always so interesting to see a different part of the world, isn’t it? And I always find it very exciting each year to see the first flower of its kind in bloom. Happy orchid hunting!
I really enjoyed this walk through your beautiful countryside! I found it very peaceful with the sound of the birds. It was fun seeing the orchids in the wild and watching your drawing demonstration!
Thank you Karen, I’m glad to hear you liked the video! 🙂
Thank you Julia, I’ve enjoyed your field work in the glorious meadow and your studio demo.
Please, could you detail the materials you used for the ink work, I mean the waterproof inks, the ink small containers, the nibs?
Thank you,
Juan
Thank you Juan! Sure, here are the materials:
Ink: Rohrer + Klingner SketchInk, with dip nibs you can use any kind of acrylic or waterproof ink. I use this one because I can also fill it into fountain pens.
Nibs: I used the Tachikawa Maru T-77 (any mapping nib will do) and the Brause Cito fein. For the first nib you will need a special holder because it is smaller than the standard holder.
The ink container are called “Dinky Dips”.
Absolutely lovely and so soothing and peaceful, so much more than an instructional video, thank you Julia!
Thank you so much, Debbie! I wonder if I should do more of this kind of video then.
I would love to see more of these field demonstrations. It’s the sort of thing I’ve been doing for decades, but it seems as I’ve become “old” I need all the inspiration I can get. Your sketchbook pages are very inspirational, and this outdoor demonstration was even more so, and I’d love to see more of them.
Thanks so much for this one. I needed it to remind me to head outdoors.
I’m planning to film more outside whenever I can, since this seems to be such a popular request! 🙂