A lookback at what I drew using fountain pens last year. Sometimes I am inspired by the ink colour, sometimes I just want to draw. In total, I did 12 drawings which averaged out to one a month. I only post the drawings on my Instagram account because I thought it would be neater this way. Let me know if this is something you would like to see here as well.
I haven’t drawn using pen and paper for a few years. In some ways, it feels like trying to ride a bicycle again. You have done it before, you know how to do it, but your motor skills are rusty and you are afraid of falling. It takes a while to gain the confidence to get going again.
A fountain pen feels different from the gel pens I love so much but the adjustment was more painless than I had expected. The idea of putting ink directly onto paper, without having a pencil draft first, was much more terrifying and even now, I am not entirely comfortable doing so.
Lamy turquoise was the first ink I bought and I still think it is a beautiful colour.
The ink made me drew this.
I haven’t done a version 2 and I really should. It might be better suited as a digital drawing though.
This was one of those times where the ink colour inspired me to draw. I made several mistakes in this picture and it was an exercise in letting go (of the fear of making mistakes) and just rolling with it.
Tried to draw this is in a vintage children’s book style. Not a fan of the ink’s greenish tone but it did lend a vintage air to the picture.
I used a pencil to mark out the spots in the sky for stars, but everything else was drawn directly with ink onto paper. Drawing this picture took so much out of me that I didn’t feel like drawing for the next few weeks.
This picture was drawn using both sides of the nib.
This was not my usual style but I thought it suited the ink colour.
I loved this ink. Never would have thought that I would like orange so much.
Tried to do something different and the results were encouraging. Still a lot to learn though.
Last drawing for the year. A friend commented that the tree looked like a bacteria. Which was somewhat fitting for a year like this? (Yes, I know COVID-19 is a virus, not a bacteria.)
Inkcredible Colours 
Comments
2 responses to “My fountain pen drawings in 2020”
Nice work. I like the repeating patterns, as in the goldfish. I love the rooftop drawing – it is so busy, but enchanting. Also, I wonder how you “added water” to the lines, in the coffee cup sketch?
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Thank you, Ed! I used a wet brush to go over the lines and paint the rest of the cup.
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