Okay. So I drew an octopus at the third monthly Drink and Draw in Bellingham. We just sip and stipple, or in this case, doodle. And then we go home. A perfect evening.

One octopus, one mouth, two eyes, eight arms and a gazillion suction cups.

If you ask me, there isn't enough time in the world to do what's necessary, even if one had the arms of an octopus. Though, if one had enough suction cups, then there might be some possibilities.

—Anita

Nadine - Gray Wash

For your ink-loving pleasure, here are some test inks of Nadine. This is the style I chose for the graphic novel.

COB inks

Some more inks for the COB graphic novel. Good times, yes?

Here's some of the characters. Martin the fencing and tactitian instructor. Angelique the history and writing and stuff instructor. The guards' uniforms. And some more outfits for Nadine.

 Here was some practice trying to figure out Julia and Margaret's outfits.

Uses of Ink in an Assemblage

This blog is about ink and the many ways an artist will use that medium. Here are a few of the assemblages that will be hanging at the Hanson Scott Gallery in Seattle, which has an exotic-sounding address: 121 Prefontaine Place South. Ink winds up in most of my assemblages one way or another, and so I thought I'd share a few examples. 

In this first assemblage, titled "Breaking Away," mainly yellow ink is used, and that use is obviously for the background on the wood behind the artwork. I used polyurethane to seal it. There is also some black sumi ink in the paper on the lower right and bottom of the piece, but more watercolor than ink can be seen. The watercolor is on a small crinkled masa paper that I tore asunder for use in this assemblage. 

Breaking Away

This assemblage, "Song of the Bone Crickets," also uses ink on the backing wood. But there are two other black inks in this piece, too. First, you can see small dotted lines, which are drawn using a nib pen. And then there is a line of thick, delicate black ink scraped from a glass plate and re-adhered to to the handmade paper. Three inks in this one.

Song of the Bone Crickets

In "Leaf Poem," a larger piece, I used scraped ink again on either side of the assemblage board. The ink strips are fragile and difficult to maneuver into place, but it can be done if you're careful enough. The scrapings add texture, line, and repetition. By the way, the ink I use from the glass plate is re-purposed from printmaking.

Leaf Poem

 In "Municipal Circuitry," ink is again used on the background. But there are also trace amounts of ink on the assorted letterpress type that has been inserted into the wasp nest cells. There is an additional detail, added to the piece since I took this photo, which you can see when you visit Hanson Scott Gallery in Seattle.

Municipal Circuitry

Finally, in "Shell Game," I use several colors of ink on the backing board. Then, on the embossed handmade paper, I used India ink in the squares at the top and, with an inky swoosh, mimicked the snake skin beside it. There is also white gouache next to the small monotype, which also has ink circles and lines on it. I sometimes make organic colors from vegetation. Mushrooms could probably make an ink, but I put a dried one into the assemblage instead.

Shell Game

Be sure to visit the Hanson Scott Gallery to see my nine small assemblages in February and March (plus a couple large ones). Then later, more of the larger assemblages will be joining them, as well as some new work.

--Anita K. Boyle

Nadine Reading

Nadine reading by ~lunavalse on deviantART
There's ink in there. Trust me. :)

Roof-Top Garden

I got a new pen and had to test it out so I did this at Drink and Draw. This is Nadine and Cob in the roof-top garden.
I was also inspired by the inking class I had recently taken where the instructor handed out some samples of the original Alice in Wonderland illustrations. The new pen is a Noodlers pen. I like it a lot. It is a fountain pen and is really simple to refill. You just stick the nib in the ink and pull the plunger! I got beautiful blue-black ink.

More Thanksgiving Drawings…

Here's my drawings from the Thanksgiving Day prompts. We were so porked on turkey that day. Wow. All I wanted to do was sit and stare into space. Angela kept saying, "So let's draw something." I kept saying, "Okay." Then she'd ask, "What should we draw?" I would think about it and stare off into space. Then we'd do a rerun. That's about right, isn't it, Angela? Finally, she asked Abe for a prompt.

Duck with Funny Hat, brushed by Anita

 When we started to draw, I didn't have my pen, and was going to use a ballpoint. Angela let me try her portable brush. Normally, I don't use a brush for this sort of drawing. I use a Rapidograph. I like them. Brushes are a different experience. But I did use the brush for the duck and the badger. Obviously, I should use a brush more often, so I can draw exactly what's in my head, and do a bit better job at it.

The Knickered Badger, brushed by Anita

 The title of this drawing sounds like it might be some kind of a clothing store, maybe one that sells lingerie, one that rivals Victoria's Secret perhaps, even. That brush though. I wish I had a pen in hand. I do watercolor with a brush, even detailed watercolor, but for these drawings I would prefer a #0 Rapidograph for most of the work.

When Turtles Fly, penned by Anita

So I would quit my whining, Angela loaned me her brand new Rapidograph pen. Mine are maybe 20 years old. I loved them then and I love them now. I even like cleaning them, except for when I have to meet with a client within two days of that. The ink is not too hard to clean off your hands, but the stuff under the fingernails gets a little embarrassing after a few days. If I wore those thin rubber gloves, my hands would stay clean. There's a box of them in my work closet, but I rarely remember to wear them until after I'm finished cleaning. I did quit whining though, and drew the flying turtle. I'll probably put a background on it later.