I purchased a Lamy fountain pen over a year ago and have done little to become acquainted with it. I purchased the pen after taking a course through Sketchbook Skool with Liz Steel, an Australian architect-turned-sketcher who regularly uses her fountain pens to sketch. She discusses fountain pens extensively on her site here. The pen has been noted as good for beginners on several sites I’ve visited and it is a reasonably priced pen for a novice; I also purchased Noodler’s ink, which is permanent, a must for those who may wish to add watercolor to their sketches.
I decided that today was a perfect day to capture a sketch of one Parrot tulip I’ve been enjoying for several days. These tulips are brilliant orange with yellow, frilly edges and when they begin to bend and lean it is hard to take your eyes off of them.
It was fun to capture this single flower and revisit the focus of carefully viewing what I want to sketch. I’m looking forward to sharpening that skill with more regular use.
Love using new-ish tools! Makes me think about where I’m going until I understand how to get there. Nice work, of course.
Thanks for the comment. It will be a while before the pen feels comfortable in my hand but I’ll get the hang of it.
Nice, Franki–love those tulips! I am taking Jane LaFazio’s online drawing and watercolor class, as a prelude to our adventure in Taos. One of my challenges has been finding something to sketch here. Jane demos with wonderful fruits and flowers, but they are nowhere to be found here in February. I resorted to dried yucca and almost blooming mistletoe! But it has been a good introduction to the medium. I will look into those pens! Thanks!
I’m happy to hear that you are getting completely hooked. One of the many things I like about this medium is that it is so flexible: I can do a pencil-only or pen-only sketch and call it done. If I have more time I can add the watercolor. Either way, it is a satisfying jaunt into the art world. As for what to sketch: I know that Jane’s emphasis is on sketching from reality but if you don’t have things in bloom I’d say go with a photograph. I’m sure you have many fine photos of blooms from your garden.