KC Arrowhead Inked

It's that time again!  As the Super Bowl approaches, I just have to wash some ink in support of our hometown boys!  The excitement around the city is palpable and i simply must get a few Chiefs paintings done before the big day!  I first sketched this with India ink, then went over those lines with a chisel tip Pitt pen.  Next, I dropped in a favorite new fountain pen ink - Grotto - by Diamine, then washed in a juicy layer barely touching the edge of that ink.  The ink moves freely into the very wet masses with a mind of it's own.  How fun it is to watch it unfold!  Painting number 5090 in 5090 days. 

Pine Needle Woods

 

It's super fun to try out another Diamine invent ink - Pine Needle. It's a lovely color for evergreens that saturates almost to a cad green, and washes to a yellow green.  I like selecting pens as artistic as the ink, and this one is a beauty.  I'm looking forward to exploring all this ink can do - when I've got a bit more time.  As for now, I've got a robotics tournament to attend with half the family and my grandsons competing!  Painting number 5086 in 5086 days. 

Icy Lilac

 

What a beautiful, foggy morning for playing with this new ink!  Icy Lilac is 5th in the Inkvent Calendar.  This lovely ink pushes turquoise and pink as it fades into wet areas. The cool blue is very frosty, although this morning is warm and foggy, nearly 50 degrees already.  What a cool ink, I will be reaching for this one again when the weather calls for it.  Painting number 5033 in 5033 days. 

Wilted Rose Deer

 

Seven deer met me on the lane when I returned a bit ago, so a couple are on my easel tonight!  The day 2 ink of the Inkvent Calendar is Wilted Rose, and it is a soft, natural shade. I'm being pulled to a quiet and peaceful place with my ink sketches, testing out their character with glass dip pen, brush and water.  The color is lovely even if the chroma is lacking.  I wonder how it would behave with a little bleach applied?  Painting number in days. 

MB Cedar

I'm using a new glass dip pen with this bright green ink - Merry and Bright from the Diamine Inkvent Calendar.  I was so busy with paintings and commissions during December that I still have untried inks!  I think there is only one left, and then I will post them all together as a collection.  This green is bold indeed, but it is hardly of use in the landscape.  I do think it will be wonderful for painting Christmas ornaments next year - and I must remember to pull it out!  Painting number 4023 in 4023 days. 

BH Sunset

What a lovely ink to use at sunset! This one from Diamine's Inkvent Calendar is called Bah Humbug - lol! It would have been a perfect color for inking a Santa, but it's a bit late for that.  It is rich and deep with green in the heaviest areas.  If i were to apply it thicker, it would up the deep dark green.  I am trying out a new glass pen, as well, which is so like another that I have, I am going to give it to my son. A few of my kids like pens and inks, so I share any that are nearly duplicates.  This last batch of glass dip pens include 3 that GLOW IN THE DARK!  This characteristic was not even mentioned when I bought them!  Imagine my surprise when the lights went out and they were glowing! What a special treat!  Painting number 4021 in 4021 days. 

Moon Beam

I LOVE living in the country where wildlife abounds. Any moment could be an opportunity to paint, and this little squirrel caught my attention today!  We have both red and gray squirrels who are constantly picking up acorns and walnuts around here. This one is a gray, allowing me to choose an ink of a matching color to use - Moon Beam. The ink gets pretty dark in heavy applications, and there is a delightful teal shimmer, too.  Another of the Inkvent 2023 selections, this one is matte with no sheen or chroma really. It's fun to try these inks on miniature wildlife paintings - and challenging at this size!  Painting number 4014 in 4014 days. 

Tranquility Wreath

Today's ink choice from the Diamine Inkvent Calendar is Tranquility, a lovely purple with golden green shimmer ink! It gets very dark in heavy application, and washes out to a warm pink in light areas.  I sketched a wreath that adorns my front room doors, thinking this ink would push a little more red.  I think this ink is a keeper when I'm looking for a warm violet on my ink palette. Painting number 4003 in 4003 days. 

Tinsel Santa

Oh what fun it is to paint Santa with glass pen and ink, and a little water for gradation! This Tinsel red ink is another from my Inkvent calendar - a rich, bold red shimmer ink that sparkles in the light!  It sure stirs up the magic of Christmas with each drop!  I have a collection of glass dip pens, and don't remember where this one came from - but it's tip is lovely and it holds plenty of ink for script. Can't wait to try all of Diamine's Inkvent Calendar inks, as I'm just a wee bit behind this year!  Painting number  4000 in 4000 days!  Could this be true?  I'll need to check my numbers because I've been at it for nearly 11 years daily, now! 

Solar Storm Cedar

Solar Storm is the Day 3 ink in the Diamine Inkvent Calendar 2022, and it is a beauty!  It's rich, dark bluish violet color is a perfect night sky hue!  Pooling the ink allows it to get very dark, and the application of water shows it's true chroma.  The pale, almost peachy light tree trunk color is the result of a little bleach brushed in - just to see what it would do.  I think it might be pretty cool to flick some into that night sky - leaving the impression of falling snow.  I'll try that with the next really dark ink in this calendar.  Painting number 4119 in 4119 days. 

Yule Log Landscape

This rich brown Yule Log ink from Diamine's Inkvent Calendar is amazing!  All of this chroma comes from that one ink with a little hero from water. The thin pair line towards the horizon is bleach, applied gently, to see what reaction I would get. I love the serendipity of it all!  Painting number 4117 in 4117 days. 

Spruce

I LOVE this luscious green!  Chromatic and shimmery, it pushes towards turquoise with a little bleach and water!  This is the Day 4 ink of the Diamine Inkvent Calendar 2022, and a standout green.  With all my recent holiday painting, I haven't posted the others yet.  Perhaps I'll have to do several at a time to catch up!  I'm working on watercolor paper - 140lb cold pressed which is never use for watercolor, but it works well for me methods with fountain pen ink.  The glass dip pen is a must for these daily inks, because I don't want to fill a fountain pen for an untried ink.  Once I know I love it - well that's another story!  Painting number 4115 in 4115 days. 

Goldfield Mountains in fountain pen ink

I sketched this lovely place in pen and ink yesterday, for my first entry in my travel journal.  Wanting to explore the vibrant color of this place, I am experimenting with fountain pen inks. I first sketched in the landscape with a half dry India ink pen.  Laying a bead of color with a dropper at the darkest part of a mass, I then went in with juicy wet wash brush, allowing the ink to spread at will.  To those very wet masses I added more color with my glass dip pen, letting the inks mingle. These inks are all from the 2021 Diamine Inkvent Calendar, and I chose the ones nearest the actual colors.  Some shimmer and sheen, so each mass has unique properties.  I even added a tiny bit of bleach water to a couple of areas, to see the reaction, just like a science experiment!  There is something about the strong color that is very appealing to me!  I so love the process of art exploration!  Painting number 3381 in 3381 days. 

Winding Sunset Creek

One just never knows what medium I will pick up on any given day.  If you are a regular on my feed - aren't you surprised by these bold ink landscapes?!  Each media seems to bring out a completely different style from me, and I LOVE feeling free enough to blaze that trail!  It doesn't matter if I end up with a masterpiece when the process and exploration are so much fun! The bonus is that a have a very large supply of fountain pen ink - so the possibilities are endless!  Painting number 3371 in 3371 days. 

Tempest Trees

Another of my Diamine Inkvent Calendar inks - Tempest - is what I'm using to capture the trees in the hedgerow.  The glass dip pen is special, with a lovely twist of two colors leading to a nib that holds quite a bit of ink between dips. I ordered 9 new pens when I couldn't find my other glass pens in November.  Well, just today, I found my other pens, carefully stored with favorite inks and calligraphy pens in the footstool I prop my feet on almost every day!  It made perfect sense, and I can't believe I forgot.  I wanted them to be handy, rather than tucked into my art supply cabinet. Silly me!  So glad I found them!  Can't wait to use some of my favorite glass dip pens with my newest inks!  Painting number 3292 in 3292 days. 

Pink Ice Ornaments

I spent this warm, lovely day outdoors, working in my gardens!  The ground is so soft that I could actually plant the arbovidaes that adorned my front porch as Christmas trees all season long!  After we spent some time with Mom, Danny and the boys, I am ringing in the New Year with Diamine's Pink Ice ink and a pink glass dip pen!  The color is a lovely fruit punch shade, and the pink of the glass pen is hardly noticeable with the Christmas lights behind it!  Hard to believe that it is almost 2022! Painting number 3268 in 3268 days. 

Vintage Copper Trees

I love sketching the oaks at sunset in this Vintage Copper ink by Diamine!  That oak in the background is a Live Oak, that my grandma babied as a young tree.  I can remember her telling us all to stay off that tree, as she nurtured it into adulthood.  Just this season I can see how those lower branches are spreading out from the central trunk.  What a lovely tree that will become over the years.  This ink is from the Diamine Inkvent Calendar, Vintage Copper, and has a lovely coppery hue and rich shimmer, too!  The color is less red and more copper in better light - it is so hard to get a true color pic at sunset!  Painting number 3267 in 3267 days. 

Red Robin Cardinal

With this new pale pink glass dip pen, I sketch out the little bird in front of me.  I filled the feeders this morning and it did not take them long to return!  I like the ink flow this pen has.  Besides it's lovely, spiral shape, the nib holds a lot of ink. I did all the line work with 2 dips in my newest ink to try - Diamine's Red Robin!  It is a rich, coppery red, which builds up to really get dark where heavily applied.  With water, it washes out warm and orangy.  This nib is very fine, and the ink flows right to the tip when held at a slant.  Love the little gifts of the Diamine Inkvent Calendar!  Painting number 3264 in 3264 days.