Some Thoughts on Paper

Some drawing papers I have used.

I am often asked for recommendations on the “best” colored or graphite drawing pencils. I usually inquire about how the pencils will be used and try to make recommendations based on the need and budget. But the part of the equation that often gets lost is the type of paper that will be used with the pencils: “Oh, I don’t know – whatever paper I have, I guess.” I believe that the pairing of a pencil with a paper is almost more important than the choice of pencil alone.

Watercolor painters discuss paper to the nth degree, and rightly so – using inappropriate paper with wet media can result in frustration at best or disaster at worst. Sometimes it’s fun to deliberately use inappropriate paper just to see what happens (Roz Stendahl is famous for this), and results can be interesting and surprising. If you are just beginning to learn to use a medium, however, an inappropriate paper does nothing to help you learn and, even worse, it keeps you from understanding whether an undesirable result is because you lack skills or because you are using the wrong materials.

With dry materials like colored or graphite pencils, the importance of the paper/medium relationship is more subtle because pencils are likely to be more forgiving. They can still make satisfactory marks without the paper buckling or falling apart. That’s probably why many people think that any kind of paper can be used. But if a disappointing result occurs, perhaps it’s time to look at the paper and not just the pencil.

At various times, I have thought intensely about paper, most recently a couple of years ago when I was trying to decide which Stillman & Birn sketchbook to use as my daily-carry. I’m happy with my current choices (Beta with watercolor pencils; Zeta with almost everything else), but the paper issue still comes up occasionally.

For this amount of spot color, it hardly matters which
colored pencils I use. Still, I prefer softer ones for
a pleasant feel on Leuchtturm journal paper. Here,
I used very soft Uni Posca colored pencils.

For example, when I started the new year with a fresh book for my scribble journal, I chose a Leuchtturm 1917 journal. It’s a format I’ve been using for years for my written journal, so it’s familiar and comfortable. I knew that the paper would not be the best with colored pencils, but I also write in the same journal, and I like to write with a variety of pens, including fountain. I decided that the paper would be an acceptable compromise for the small spots of color I would be putting onto it.

The Leuchtturm has worked out well in general, but it has made me more judicious with the colored pencils I use because some are not pleasant on the surface (I enjoy my softer pencils best). Graphite feels and looks downright awful.

More critically, my current class in drawing trees with graphite has made me think about paper again. Instructor Kathleen Moore has pointed out that the two sides of most papers have slightly different surfaces. I have several pads of Bristol drawing papers with vellum and smooth finishes, so it’s been illuminating to try a different paper or a different side of the same type of paper with each assignment. For the branch assignment, I used the “wrong” side of Strathmore 300 Bristol vellum, which Kathleen prefers. During the trunk lesson, I used the slightly toothier “right” side of the same paper, which imparted a subtle tree bark texture. However, sometimes I had difficulty building up heavy graphite when I wanted areas to be darker. The following week on the roots assignment, I used Strathmore 300 Bristol smooth, which was much easier for accumulating heavy areas of graphite. Fine lines and details were also much easier to make. The downside is that it has almost no texture, so I had to work harder to create that texture myself. I can’t say which is generally “better,” but each requires a different technique and has different results. I would choose the paper based on subject matter, desired texture, degree of detail, and other factors.

Below are some test swatches I made of hard and soft graphite pencils (Mitsubishi Hi-Uni in H and 4B), a relatively hard colored pencil (Faber-Castell Polychromos) and a relatively soft colored pencil (Prismacolor) on two types of paper – smooth and toothy. In addition, with any paper, the sharpness of the point is an important aspect to consider, especially with colored pencils (which Crystal Shin talked about extensively in her workshop last year). To test that, I used Caran d’Ache Museum Aquarelle (probably the softest colored pencil I’ve ever used) – one with a very dull point and one freshly sharpened. (I typically would not use a pencil as dull as the one tested here, but I do keep a dull one handy for quick life-drawing sketches.) All other pencils tested were freshly sharpened before each swatch was made.

In each case, I applied as much graphite or pigment as possible without flattening the tooth. In the case of graphite, that’s usually when it starts to look shiny. With colored pencils, it’s when it feels like wax is simply sliding around on itself and additional pigment is no longer being applied.

The papers I compared are Canson XL 140-pound cold press watercolor paper and Strathmore 300 Bristol smooth.

Very smooth Strathmore 300 Bristol smooth

Relatively toothy Canson XL 140-pound cold press watercolor paper

I hope the results are clear in these low-resolution images (I scan them at high res, but I know the blog platform reduces the resolution significantly). It’s easier to apply graphite or pigment evenly onto smoother paper, especially with softer pencils. (My Hi-Uni H sample looks strangely mottled in this test; I can’t explain that, as I’ve certainly gotten very evenly applied results on the same paper with the same pencil.) The difference between the dull and sharp Museum Aquarelles is especially visible. A soft, flat point simply cannot get into the recessed areas of paper, even a very untoothy one like Bristol smooth.

Using these artist-grade drawing papers for the course reminded me of similar class discussions when I studied with Suzanne Brooker several years ago (she had recommended Bristol smooth with colored pencils) and with Kathleen McKeehen last year. McKeehen had discussed papers at length and graciously gave each student a variety of small paper samples to try so that we could see all the differences in weight, texture and even color (just like wall paint, there’s no such thing as one generic “white”).

Paper and pencil: Equal partners in an important relationship.

For more thoughts and tests on the pencil and paper partnership, see these posts:

Material Lessons (In and Out of Class)

Demo: Stay Sharp

On Location with Traditional Colored Pencils

Soft and Hard

Showing Your Age

7/10/15 ink

I think a lot of sketchers shy away from people as subject matter because they believe that capturing resemblance accurately in the human face is too difficult. Indeed, it’s very challenging, and it’s hard not to think about attempting likeness. I think about it, too, of course, and I’m thrilled when a viewer tells me they see a resemblance in someone I’ve sketched.

My goal when I practice sketching people, though, is to capture not so much a resemblance as posture, mood and that difficult-to-define thing called essence. For lack of a better definition, I’d say that the essence of a person is the thing that makes them an individual and not a generic human. Even basic characteristics like age or race help to make him or her a specific person I saw at a specific time or place – not just anyone.

The other day on my bus ride downtown, this person (at right) sat slightly in front of and to my right, so I got the always-difficult three-quarter view (I don’t know why this view is so much harder than a profile or even a full-frontal face, but it is). Can you identify his age range and race from my sketch? (Answer will appear later in this post.)

7/13/15 inks, colored pencil

It’s been months since I’ve done any life drawing or even coffee-shop sketching; this morning at Zoka Coffee, I felt rusty. With my first sketch of two young women deep in conversation (at left), I attempted to capture their postures and body language without thinking much about resemblance, though I’d be pleased if you can at least tell they are young.

In the sketches below, the man sketched alone (and doing something strange with his thumb) is the same man as the one on the left playing go with the guy in the baseball cap. In the first sketch, I got his age all wrong: he looks a lot younger than he really is. Later when he put on glasses, it helped a little, but I think I got his hairline more accurately, so he looks closer to his actual age. Again, I doubt his wife would recognize him. J But I’m happy if I get the age of a person in the right range.

7/13/15 ink

7/13/15 ink

How about this last sketch of the morning – the man and woman in stuffed chairs (below)? The bald guy is kind of a giveaway, huh? J

7/13/15 inks, colored pencil

Here’s the answer about the man on the bus: He was in his 30s and Asian. How’d I do?

Nests Revealed

11/30/14 Pilot Iroshizuku Take-sumi ink,
100 lb. paper

The thermometer still reads 31 F, but the sunshine is brilliant, and yesterday’s high wind has died down completely, so we bundled up for a brisk walk up to Maple Leaf Park. I was fine as long as we kept walking, but as soon as I stopped for a very quick sketch, my hands froze (fingerless gloves help only for a little while).

One thing I enjoy about sketching trees in winter is that all the abandoned nests are suddenly revealed. 

Hey, it’s the last day of November! This is sketch No. 64 for NaNoDrawMo - not quite as many as last year’s 72, but not too shabby, either. How did you do?

"Admiral Ozzel, you have failed me for the last time."

Female Heron Sighting (and More Praises for the Petit1)

10/13/14 water-soluble ink, Petit1 fountain pen, 100 lb.
watercolor paper

This morning on my walk around Green Lake, I spotted what I think was a female heron near the shore. She was quietly stalking something, so she gave me maybe as long as a full minute for this sketch.

I’ve already discussed the Pilot Petit1's extraordinary “idle time” (the length of time a fountain pen can be left unused but filled with ink) in several other posts, most recently in June when, after several tests, I declared it the idle time champ. This is just a brief comment to sing its praises again:

The Petit1 I used this morning to sketch the heron is one I keep in the small bag I carry only when I’m fitness walking, when I rarely stop for a sketch. I filled the pen so long ago that I’ve forgotten which ink I used, but I think it’s the standard Pilot water-soluble black ink that comes in a mini cartridge refill. The last sketch I had made in a small sketchbooklet was dated July 28, which means the Petit1 pen hadn’t been touched for two-and-a-half months. When I pulled off the cap this morning, it worked like a charm from the very first stroke – no skipping or blobbing. Now, that is a reliable pen at any price, let alone one that costs less than $4! I think of all the much-more expensive Lamy pens that have gone dry on me after only a couple of weeks of idle time, and I can’t help but wonder what it is about the Petit1 that seals so well. . . ? And why can’t they all perform that way?

The mighty Petit1's idle time belies its tiny size and price.

I would recommend the Petit1 to:

• Any infrequent, sporadic sketcher who enjoys using a fountain pen.
• People who want a fountain pen that they can treat like a cheap ballpoint: Throw it into a bag or a desk drawer, never do anything to maintain it and yet expect it to write reliably after months and months of non-use.
• Anyone who wants a fountain pen for less than $4 that happens to be better than ones that cost many times more.

Now if only I could get a Petit1 pen with a Sailor “calligraphy” nib, I’d have my Grail. . .

Waiting

5/27/14 Pilot Iroshizuku Take-Sumi and Diamine Midnight inks, 100 lb. paper

“I’ve been waiting over an hour. . . I can’t wait any longer!”

Fuming, she stormed out. Apparently our doctor was running late.

I had barely arrived in the waiting room, strategically seating myself so that I could get a good side-angle view of a man reading a magazine. After sketching his top half, I glanced down at his feet and was surprised to see cowboy boots. Somehow I had expected a different type of footwear for a guy in a button-up shirt with a pen in the pocket.

As it turned out, my wait was only about 15 minutes (maybe because the woman before me had left!) – exactly enough time for this sketch.

(Impatient people should take up sketching – it might bring their blood pressure down.)

Kathy Venter at BAM

5/24/14 Diamine Chocolate Brown and Grey inks,
100 lb. paper

Yesterday on the way home from the cemetery, we stopped at Bellevue Arts Museum to catch several excellent exhibits – Folding Paper: The Infinite Possibilities of Origami; Fragile Fortress: The Art of Dan Webb; and Kathy Venter: LIFE. Although all three were fascinating, the latter was the most sketchable to me: life-size female figures made of ceramic.

“Immersion 17” depicts a female figure suspended in the air while leaning backward. What made it especially interesting for this quick sketch was its twin shadows cast on the wall behind the piece.

Bits from the Catch-All Sketchbooklet

12/27/13

My standard operating procedure is that at the end of each day, I scan any sketches I made that day, whether or not I plan to upload the image (I figure it’s simply prudent for the sake of preserving possibly fugitive media or, heaven forbid, in case of a lost or destroyed sketchbook).

12/27/13

The exception is my catch-all sketchbooklet, which is the small, handmade one I keep in my bag at all times. The vast majority of the sketches that fill it are portraits I’ve made while riding public transportation – just basic practice sketches, many of which end up unfinished because my “victims” got off the bus. With those, I wait until the whole booklet is full, and then digitize all the pages at once. Here are a few sketches from the one I filled during the past three months.

Incidentally, it’s the first of the sketchbooklets I made with my more refined process, and I’m pleased to say it held up well carried daily in my bag – it shows hardly any wear at all. 

12/13/13

1/10/14

Dry Pen

11/11/13 Lamy cartridge, 100 lb. paper

Whenever I go fitness walking around Green Lake, I always take an ultra-compact sketching kit (you can see it on my Current Favorite Art Materials page toward the bottom) in case I spot something interesting, but I don’t use it often. That means the pen – a Lamy Vista filled with a standard Lamy ink cartridge – gets a bit dried and clogged from lack of use.

This morning a heron was as close to shore as I’ve ever seen it, leisurely scanning the water and just asking to be sketched. Cursing the whole time, I eked out this one-minute sketch with the nearly dry Lamy. (Still, it counts as a drawing for NaNoDrawMo, so it wasn’t a total loss.) Lesson learned: I have to include that pen in my regular rotation of fountain pens to keep it running smoothly.

Like Pornography

11/8/13 Diamine Eclipse, 100 lb. paper

I often spend bus commuting time surreptitiously sketching fellow passengers. Today on my way to and from the Convention Center was no different, except I was particularly motivated to do as many as possible to catch up on my NaNoDrawMo deficit for the week (I think I’m caught up now, so if I sketch one or two a day for the rest of the month, I’ll meet the goal).

Looking at the five very fast bus portraits (see the rest in my Flickr photostream), I noticed that in the one I did of a man looking at his phone (at right) I somehow managed to capture his essence, whatever that is. I’d venture to guess that his friends would recognize him in this sketch, as the resemblance is better than most of my people sketches. But resemblance is not what I mean when I say “essence.” The younger man that I sketched listening to his iPod (below) is also a reasonably good resemblance, but I don’t think I captured his essence. I wish I could quantify or articulate this concept more clearly. It’s like pornography: I can’t define it, but I know it when I see it.

11/8/13 Diamine Chocolate Brown ink, Sketchbook Project sketchbook

Rounded Corners

My latest handbound sketchbooklets containing Strathmore 100 lb. watercolor paper. Dimensions are 4" x 5 1/2".
Shown in front is the corner rounder that made all the difference! 

Back in June, I alluded to working on a “catch-all sketchbook” solution that would be more durable than the handmade Greeting Card Sketchbook I had been using, which ended up becoming tattered after months in my daily bag. I’ve found my solution, and it’s similar to the initial one – but with key refinements.

What is a catch-all sketchbook, anyway? It’s something to sketch in at unexpected opportunities when I’m not carrying my preferred-size “Stefano” sketchbook or when the situation requires something more discreet and therefore smaller. I usually can’t use watercolor in those circumstances, but I want to be able to use a pen-and-ink wash. I used to carry a pocket-size Moleskine watercolor sketchbook for this purpose. But as I’ve attempted to reduce the overall weight and bulk of my bag, even that slim sketchbook was too bulky. And my participation in the Sketchbook Project (involving a small, thin, downright flimsy sketchbook) made me realize that a softbound book could suffice if I carried it for only a few months.

Pen-and-ink wash sketch on a typical
notebook page so thin that it buckles. . .

. . . and the ink bleeds through to the back.

I usually carry a pocket-size paperback notebook for memos – I’ve used Moleskine Cahiers in the past, and lately it’s a Field Notes notebook. (I confess – I’m a closet notebook junkie. As a lifelong journal keeper, I’ve filled a lot of notebooks, and I have a stash that would easily last me a couple more lifetimes.) In fact, every time I try a new notebook, I make a quick pen-and-ink sketch with a light wash to see how the paper responds. Alas, notebooks are made for just that – written notes – and I’ve yet to find one that can withstand even a little water. (Not that I expect them to, but a girl has to have dreams.) Thinking about those notebooks led me to state the issue more emphatically:

What I want is a thin, lightweight, durable, pocket-size notebook similar to a Moleskine Cahier or Field Notes – but with paper that can take a wash.

I found it! Where did it come from? My own studio.

The prototype sketchbooklet -- a plain cover with ordinary,
right-angle corners.

It’s really just a refinement of the Greeting Card Sketchbook idea. I realized it had gotten tattered because it was too large to fit in one of the small pockets of my Rickshaw Bagworks bag, so it had rattled around in the large central compartment getting abraded. So I measured the pockets and cut 100-pound paper (the same Canson Biggie paper I use in my “Stefano”) to fit. The single signature has only eight folded sheets, keeping it thin and light. The finished size is 4” x 5 ½” (only a half-inch narrower than the Greeting Card Sketchbook and a half-inch wider than Moleskine/Field Notes).

Reusing a greeting card as a cover seemed like a thrifty and “green” idea. But the way greeting cards are scored at the fold weakens the spine – not ideal for hand-stitched booklets. So instead I used some red cardstock I had on hand as the cover (completely unadorned with only a utilitarian ID label on the front). The sketchbooklet (shown at left) has been in a pocket of my bag for more than three months, and it’s only just beginning to show a little wear on the corners. The folded and stitched spine is showing no wear at all.

Since it was nearly full, it was time to make the next one. I put a couple of my used Moleskine Cahiers and Field Notes next to my handmade sketchbooklet and asked critically, What do they have that mine doesn’t have? The answer: Rounded corners!

Rounded corners are not just an esthetic choice. The corners of those purchased notebooks weren’t dog-eared and ragged because they were rounded! I went online and bought a corner rounder. (Ahh – if only all of life’s problems were so easily solved.)

The single, pamphlet-stitched signature has only six folded sheets this time, making it even thinner. And then, to be extra-fancy, I used some stamps I had hand-carved during a brief foray into block printing to decorate the cover. I was so pleased with the outcome that I made two more sketchbooklets (see top of post).

(Years ago when I wasn’t sketching yet but was spending a lot of time online admiring the blogs of sketchers and art journal keepers, I used to marvel at the number of people who handbound their own sketchbooks. I understood the artistic satisfaction of making something by hand, but most of them seemed to be making them to meet specific requirements, not just for artistic expression. With the gazillions of sketchbooks on the market, I used to wonder why they couldn’t find what they wanted. Now I know. Ultimately, to get exactly what I want, I have to make it myself.)  

Walking

10/2/13 various inks, 100 lb. paper

This week’s Urban Sketchers Flickr group theme is “People Walking,” which was suggested by me. As weekly theme host debora000 says, “Miatagrrl has challenged us to sketch people walking. Not an easy subject, but a very common element in urban scenes. Who will accept the challenge?” Many have – quite well! I posted a few sketches from the past year of pedestrians I’ve captured at Green Lake, but since it’s a theme I suggested, I shamed myself into sketching something new today.

Instead of looking for a complete scene to sketch, I decided to make several gestural sketches just trying to get the position and the shading of the legs right. Sketching people from the side is difficult enough; they always seem to have a keep-on-truckin’ stride. But what’s even more difficult is sketching them from the front or back and capturing enough angle or shading on the bent leg to indicate that the person is, indeed, walking rather than standing. 

More Speed Sketching at Whole Foods

9/30/13 Diamine Eclipse ink, Sailor pen, Canson Montval 140 lb. paper

Last winter I decided to get away from the portrait type of people sketches that I had grown comfortable with during my first year of sketching and challenged myself to sketch more complete bodies and the people’s context and environment. In other words, sketch more peopled urban sketches rather than collections of “floating heads.”

For the upcoming indoor-sketching season, I’m still going to do more of the same – complete figures in context – but I’m adding two new challenges: speed and movement. Last week at Whole Foods, I discovered that, because there’s no wi-fi, people don’t linger over their snacks and lunches as they do over coffee at most coffee shops. Instead of staring into their laptops like statues, Whole Foods’ patrons tend to come in small groups and actually have conversations as they eat – which means they move and turn their heads more.

9/30/13 Diamine Eclipse ink, 100 lb. paper

The top sketch took me nearly an hour to complete, but except for the young man in the foreground, all the other patrons changed several times. I had barely finished the guy on the right when he flipped his hood up and walked out. I’d just completed the face of the guy next to him when he, too, finished his lunch, so I had to borrow the details of the body of a different guy. But that’s the way it is with sketching people – it’s like playing Mr. Potato Head.

At 12 noon nearby Roosevelt High School must have dismissed for lunch, because suddenly Whole Foods’ café filled with teenagers. I knew these girls would be quick with their simultaneous eating, talking and texting. (Not only did the girl on the left have impossibly straight hair – she was wearing a skirt that was impossibly short.) I checked the time when they came in and when they left – they were done in 15 minutes flat! But I was up for the challenge – 15 minutes were all I needed.

Two More Dead Animals and One Sleepy One

9/27/13 Diamine Eclipse ink, Sailor pen, 140 lb. Canson XL

After we split up at the Botany Greenhouse, I went to grab some lunch and then walked over to the Burke Museum. My goal is to sketch every dead head in there – and there are lots of them.  

The skull that caught my eye today belonged to an orangutan, and the placard said the skull was a gift of the Woodland Park Zoo. As I sketched, I couldn’t help but think of Towan, the zoo’s very living orangutan, whom I had sketched last year. I tried to place Towan’s gentle, contemplative features over this nightmarish skull, and it made me happy to know I can still see Towan at the zoo, swinging in his hammock.

Speaking of nightmarish, a caged Triceratops skull– found 65 million years ago in Montana – was my next sketch. Now there’s a puppy I’m happy I won’t have to meet live – although he was herbivorous, so I guess I wouldn’t need to worry.

9/27/13 Diamine Eclipse ink, Sailor pen, 140 lb. Canson Montval

As I waited for my bus ride home, I got my last very quick sketch of the day: a napping dog who was also waiting for the bus. 

9/27/13 Diamine Chocolate Brown ink,
100 lb. paper

Procrastination

9/25/13 Platinum Carbon ink, watercolor, 140 lb. Strathmore paper

Freelancing from home is both a blessing and a curse. It’s a blessing because of the freedom and flexibility. It’s a curse because of the freedom and flexibility.

I had hit a mid-afternoon slump and was hoping for a distraction. Right on cue, movement in my peripheral vision made me look out the window. My 84-year-old neighbor was standing on his rooftop, peering down into the chimney! He looks fit and healthy, and I know he does a lot of handiwork, but it makes me nervous to see anyone walking around on the slanted rooftop of a two-story home. His awkward stance, one foot on each side of the roofline, was just asking to be sketched. I tore my eyes away just long enough to go get my sketchbook. Unfortunately, he was done peering into his chimney, and I got back just in time to see him walk down and start to slide slowly down the slope! He managed to stay in control of his footing, and all I could sketch was him squatting by the gutter.

9/25/13 Chocolate Brown ink, 100 lb. paper

I was both disappointed and relieved when he got off the roof a moment later – disappointed because I wanted to keep sketching him, and relieved that I didn’t have to call 911.

But watching him from that angle somehow reminded me of the black locust tree that my friend Alice, who lives 10 blocks north, had suggested I sketch several months ago. (Isn’t the mind a wonderful thing? I had completely forgotten about her suggestion until that moment.) At the time, the tree was just coming into leaf, and she had said that its intriguing shape, which she saw regularly from her front porch, would probably interest me.

I had work to do and shouldn’t really go out. But if I don’t take my car, it doesn’t really count as going out, right? So I grabbed my bag and decided to take a walk 10 blocks north. The tree was easy to spot: Even fully leafed, it still had an interesting shape. I made a mental note to come back this winter to catch the bare branch shape that had originally attracted Alice’s attention. (Edited 1/4/14: I went back today to sketch it; all the leaves are gone, but now it's full of "winter buds.")

Oh, look – it’s almost dinnertime. I guess I’ll call it a day.

Rusty People-Sketching Chops at Whole Foods

9/23/13 Diamine Chocolate Brown ink, Sailor pen

After finishing a few errands this morning, it was still raining hard. I considered stopping by at Zoka Coffee for some sketching, but it was so sloppy-wet outside that I didn’t feel like getting out of the car. . . and then I remembered: Whole Foods on Roosevelt has an underground parking garage as well as a spacious café area. Score!

I can’t really complain about the rain – I had a great summer with plenty of outdoor sketching – but that means I haven’t spent much concentrated time sketching people since last spring. Sure, I sketched quite a few vendors and buskers at farmers markets, but it’s at coffee shops that people busy on their laptops might as well be paid models – they hardly move at all. That’s how I work on my people-sketching chops. 

I had settled in at a well-positioned table with coffee and sketchbook, and that’s when I noticed that people come and go much more quickly at Whole Foods. The reason? No wi-fi. My rusty people-sketching chops definitely got a workout trying to keep up with hungry patrons scarfing down quick meals.

9/23/13 Diamine Chocolate Brown and Private Reserve  Ebony Brown inks, 100 lb. paper

9/23/13 Chocolate Brown and Ebony Brown inks, 100 lb. paper

Two Dead Animals and One Lively One

9/18/13 Diamine Chocolate Brown ink, Sailor pen, 100 lb. paper

In addition to geysers, a major attraction of Yellowstone is the wildlife. Although we never saw any bears, we did see plenty of bison and some elk. Sketching them, however, was another matter. I did attempt to sketch one bison, but it’s not easy through binoculars. (I’m more impressed than ever by birders and naturalists like John Muir Laws who do much of their sketching through scopes.)

9/19/13 Bison sketched through binoculars.

Easier to sketch were the many dead animals mounted on the walls at Shoshone Lodge and Guest Ranch a few miles outside of Yellowstone. I counted 22 of them in the lobby – elk, deer, bears, moose, bobcats and even a jackalope.

9/19/13 Platinum Carbon ink, watercolor, 140 lb. paper

One lively animal kept us entertained in the car: Zia, a Chihuahua/Pomeranian mix. 

9/19/13 Diamine Chocolate Brown ink, 100 lb. paper

9/19/13 Diamine Chocolate Brown ink, 100 lb. paper