Rusty

10/20/15 Zebra brush pen, Canson mixed-media sketchbook (20-min. pose)

Whooo, boy – was I rusty this morning.

Ever since Gage Academy switched up its life-drawing schedule, I haven’t been able to go to the short-pose sessions, which conflict with standing commitments on my calendar. But today my regular Tuesday morning meeting got cancelled, so I had an unexpected gift: being able to go to Gage!

10/20/15 (15-min. pose)

When I looked at my punch card, I couldn’t believe I hadn’t been there since January! No wonder I was feeling so rusty. It took me the first couple hours of one-minute, two-minute and five-minute poses to warm up, and even then, I still felt creaky – like I had sprouted a hand and arm made of wood. By the time I got to the last hour of 10-to-20-minute poses, I finally started feeling like I had gotten my own hand and arm back.

On the upside, I’ve discovered some new favorite pens for life drawing. A while back I had gotten a couple of Sailor Fude Nagomi brush pens (which I included in my brush pen comparison review several months ago). I liked their hairy synthetic brush tips, which are a little broader than my Kuretake and Pentel brush pens and just as responsive, but I was disappointed when I realized that the non-refillable ink they contain is not waterproof. Knowing I would be unlikely to use them for urban sketching when I might want to use watercolor, I tossed them into my life drawing bag and forgot about them.

I also have a double-sided Zebra brush pen with weird, somewhat spongy brush tips. Since it’s not the hairy kind that I prefer, and since it, too, contains water-soluble ink, I had tossed it into my life drawing bag also.

10/20/15 (10-min. pose)

This morning I opened the pen case in my life drawing bag and was surprised to find those three brush pens that I had forgotten about. It was like the life-drawing fairy had left me a gift, because they seemed to be exactly what I needed today. The hairy-tipped Sailor Nagomi brush pens gave me the loose, fluid line I like having for one-to-five-minute poses. (I also tried the wider end of the Zebra brush pen, but that spongy tip makes a strange squeaky sound that annoyed me and maybe the other life-drawing participants, so I gave that up quickly.)

For the 10-to-20-minute poses, I switched to the finer end of the Zebra brush pen, and I was surprised by how much I liked it. While soft enough to be responsive, the smaller tip is firm enough to give me some control when I can take my time on contour lines. (Thankfully, it doesn’t squeak.) What’s more, the Zebra’s water-soluble ink was exactly what I needed for fast and easy shading with a waterbrush.

I’m happy that those Nagomi and Zebra brush pens are staying in my life-drawing bag! (I have to figure out a way to get over to Gage more often this winter. I really enjoy the regular practice, and I don’t like getting so rusty.)

10/20/15 Sailor Nagomi brush pen (2-min. poses)

10/20/15 Sailor Nagomi brush pens,
Canson drawing pad (1-min. poses)

10/20/15 (1-min. poses)