Why I Love Ink

8/07/2009 02:33:00 PM Posted In , Edit This 13 Comments »
In doing a wee bit of wall decor rearranging, I took down this drawing I did awhile ago and replaced it with a much larger watercolor. It's been hanging above the mantle since before Christmas, and I just didn't see it anymore - it just blended in with everything else. When I took it down I took a good, long look at it again, and thought about all the things I love about drawing with ink.

When I draw with ink, I tend to go a bit slower than I do with pencil. I think it's because the ink is so permanent - no erasing it. Once it's down, it's down. With drawings like this one, I quickly get lost in it. The pen almost seems to go where ever it wants, and I'm just there to observe. I love all the little details the .oo5 Micron pen can make (my favorite sizes of Micro are .005, .01, and .02). Teensy little dots, squiggles, and lines seem to magically appear on the paper right before my eyes, and as images emerge I'm both mesmerized and amazed. I love the clean lines and the versatility of ink - things can be light and airy or really dark and heavy. And, I love that I can use color or not - the drawings can stand on their own.

This drawing is called, "An Unexpected Turn of Events", and hung in the Power Center Auditorium in Ann Arbor for several weeks.

13 comments:

Rhonda L. Cooper said...

You are right about the swirls and such, one can get lost in them. I love the texture in this drawing. Great work!

Deborah said...

These are lovely. They look like they would be fun to sketch, a little zen.

Ann said...

Lovely! I admire your patience with drawing in ink!

Donn said...

Very good, Nancy. Pen and ink have their place. Yours is very nice. You're right, when it's down, it's down!

Anonymous said...

they are beautiful!

Alex said...

Beautiful as always, and I absolutely love the details, simply because they are terrific! :) And yes, I love ink too...but I am sticking to pencils for now... pencilzzzzzzz ^^

Michi Michaelson, Orange County, CA said...

This is an AWESOME ink drawing, Nancy! Heck . . . I'm even skitish about drawing with a pencil and a great big eraser! LOL!!!!!!!!!

Benedicte said...

beautiful line drawings,
love the different textures,

Anonymous said...

Very expressive and clean. lovely - and you've inspired to pen work. Have you ever read the book "Refuse To Choose"?

Leah said...

gorgeous!!

Emma Pod said...

Nicely done sketching...I especially admire the ball of twine/bands/string. It's very intricate and pretty. And doing it all in pen is even more impressive!

Anonymous said...

Oh my!!! This is such a wonderful and intricate drawing, and in PEN!!! Magical.

Heather said...

Beautiful drawings! I have various ink bottles that I require for my art course, I'm starting on Monday, but I'm scared to do anything with them. I've used Indian ink on a couple of paintings: combining it with watercolour and oil pastel, which produces beautiful results. However, they are abstract paintings, and if I tried to draw anything detailed or realistice, I'm sure I'd make a mess of it!