Dancing Lines, Part 1: Ch'ng Kiah Kiean

7/14/17 KK giving a presentation on his tools and methods.

Seattle-area sketchers – and, as it turned out, many people who came from out of town, including as far as Costa Rica – had a fantastic opportunity this past weekend in the Dancing Lines workshop. Sponsored by Urban Sketchers Seattle, the workshop brought in Penang, Malaysia, artist Ch'ng Kiah Kiean (better known as KK) and New York City artist Melanie Reim. I’m very grateful to USk Seattle for making this opportunity possible. It was like having a mini symposium in our own backyard!

The two-day workshop kicked off Friday night with a meet-and-greet and presentations by the instructors at Daniel Smith’s Seattle store. To give all 30 workshop participants time with each instructor in each of two locations, the students were divided in half, and both groups met with both instructors each day. For better continuity in helping me document what I learned, my blog posts will cover each instructor’s curriculum instead of the chronology of the workshop days. Today’s post will focus on KK; the next will cover Melanie.

On Saturday morning at the Seattle Center, my group met with KK, who started off with an introduction to his simple tools. Well-known in the USk community for creating amazing paintings with nothing more than a twig and Chinese ink, KK generously provided each of us with a stick. These were no ordinary twigs from a jasmine tree; they were hand-prepped by his own father, who has helped prep hundreds of such twigs for KK’s workshops. He also gave us a small sponge in a plastic box for “dry ink” toning and a small jar with gauze to hold ink for his primary drawing method.

Carving jasmine twigs into drawing instruments.

Demonstrating various lines he is able to get with a single twig.

Here's the way KK carves his twig "nibs."

KK coached us in carving the ends of our sticks into a nib shape. Surprisingly, he usually re-carves his own twigs before beginning each sketch to customize the size of the “nibs” for the subject matter and to freshen the points. He also demonstrated how he uses inexpensive commercial stencil brushes to scumble tone on drawings. Seated at shady picnic tables behind the Museum of Popular Culture building, we practiced using our humble tools. He advised us not to hold the twig like a pencil but more like a piece of charcoal or upright like a brush.

After that bit of practice, we walked around to the front of MoPOP in the shadow of the Space Needle. KK gave us a full demo by sketching those two Seattle icons, and then it was our turn. 

Demo at the Seattle Center.

KK's finished sketch of the Space Needle and MoPOP.

Although I wasn’t new to KK’s twiggy methods (I saw his demo at the Paraty symposium three years ago but haven’t practiced twig sketching in quite a while), scumbling with a stencil brush was new to me. I like the soft, charcoal-like tones I can get from it, and if the stencil brush is small enough, it can also be used to help form the shapes (as in the rounding of the crazy, organic MoPOP building façade).

7/15/17 My humble attempt at the same
subject matter with Chinese ink, twig, stencil brush

The second day my group spent the afternoon with KK at the Pike Place Market. In a similar format to the first day, he began with a full demo of his drawing and painting methods. Sheltered in a quiet, windowed spot inside the new MarketFront (our temps in the high 60s were a bit chilly for this Malaysian!), he made a magnificent panorama of the waterfront view. This time he added subtle color with watercolors. I tried to learn as much as I could from observing his process, but honestly, I simply enjoyed watching him the way I enjoy a magician’s performance: Even if I don’t know what’s going on, it’s sheer pleasure seeing how he wields his simple materials.

Sketching the waterfront through the window at the Pike Place Market's MarketFront.

KK adds touches of watercolor to his finished drawing.

His completed masterpiece.

Our exercise for the rest of the afternoon was to again practice using our tools and techniques learned the previous day and add color if desired. I picked a scene similar to the one I sketched a couple weeks ago when I visited the MarketFront with USk, but this time I focused on the skyscrapers to the east instead of the viaduct and waterfront. Although I felt cramped by the 5 ½-by-8 ½-inch sketchbook I had brought to the workshop with a twig “nib” much fatter than my usual fountain pens and even markers, I was happy with the tones I achieved using nothing more than the twig, stencil brush and Chinese ink. (I used my usual water-soluble colored pencils to add spots of color.)

7/16/17 Chinese ink, twig, stencil brush

As a segue to my report of the sessions with Melanie Reim in the next blog post, I want to show you a couple of photos from the end of our first workshop day: A sketch made by KK and Melanie simultaneously! Right-handed Melanie and lefty KK sat side by side on the ground in front of the huge glass flowers marking Chihuly’s Garden and Glass museum. I applaud their courage for taking on this challenge that was as much performance art as urban sketching! The fabulous collaborative sketch will be auctioned at the Chicago symposium next week, so if you like it, place your bid!

KK and Melanie: dueling pens and sticks!

This uniquely executed sketch will be auctioned at the Chicago symposium!

Sketchbook Review: Two Favorites for Life Drawing

1/25/16 Sailor Nagomi brush pen, Canson All-Media Book (5-min. pose)

In the past few of years since I started attending life-drawing sessions somewhat regularly (at least during the wet-weather months), I’ve tried various sketchbook types and formats. I needed something larger than my usual 6-by-9-inch “Stefano” size, and since I burn through a lot of pages in a typical three-hour session, I wanted the paper to be relatively inexpensive yet friendly to a variety of media. The book had to be bound in a way that would make flipping quickly from page to page easy (during the very short poses that change without a break, it’s critical not to lose time fussing with materials).

A tall order? As usual, yes, but I’m really happy with the two favorites I’ve stuck with the past couple of years.

Canson Drawing Book and All-Media Book

During the one- and two-minute poses, I like using fast-moving non-hairy brush pens and markers, so the Canson Field Drawing Book’s smooth, cream-colored sheets are ideal. (Dickblick.com describes the paper as 80 pound, so the product must have changed over time, as the label on the ones I’ve been using says it’s 90 pound.) I’ve also used some traditional life-drawing media like Conte pencil and sanguine, and it’s a nice surface for those, too.

1/18/16 Zebra brush pen, Canson
Field Drawing Book (2-min. pose)

When the model starts doing longer poses, I enjoy using water-soluble media for shading, so I switch to the Canson Montval Field All-Media Book. The 90-pound sheets have a cold-press texture that feels a little toothier than the CansonXL 140-pound watercolor and Canson XL 98-pound mixed-media paper I’ve been using in my day-to-day sketchbook, and I like it for that reason. My hairy brush pens pick up the relatively coarse texture in a pleasing way. The paper weight is probably too light for a full-wash watercolor (which I’d be unlikely to do in life drawing anyway), but the sizing on it is ideal for washing water-soluble brush pen and fountain pen inks to subtly shade the human form. I’ve also used ink-filled waterbrushes and applied India ink to it with a twig, and the paper holds up well to both.

1/23/14 Conte pencil, Canson Drawing
Book 

In both cases, I use the 9-by-12-inch, hardcover, spiral-bound format. If I were sketching on-location, that size would be too big and heavy to carry around or use when standing. But in life drawing, where I always have a chair, the format works well: I prop one edge on my lap and hold it up like a self-easel, and the spiral binding makes it easy to flip the page quickly and turn the book over when a pose changes.

Carrying the two large sketchbooks (plus a case full of pens and pencils) in a tote is a bit heavier than my usual daily bag, but it’s a lot easier than the 18-by-24 portfolio bags I see the other figure-drawing participants hauling around! Compared to them, I’m always traveling light.

1/15/15 water-soluble colored pencil,
ink, Canson All-Media Book
(10-min. pose)

11/21/14 India ink, Canson All-Media
Book (20-min. pose)

11/21/14 fountain pen, Canson All-
Media Book (25-min. pose)

Silhouette

10/29/15 India ink, Zig marker

The sun was up, but the thick cloud cover darkened the morning like it was already late afternoon. On my way back from an early errand in Shoreline, I saw these trees and power poles silhouetted against the sky.

(It’s difficult to see in the photo below, but the twig I used to sketch is in my hand. I like showing the drawing instrument in the photos I’ve been taking for Inktober. I might continue to do it, as long as I remember!) 

Gratitude

10/15/15 India ink, twig

This curving, lamp-lit street is my favorite on Queen Anne Hill. I’ve sketched it at least a couple of times before, most recently last year, and that curved perspective never ceases to be challenging, yet I still haven’t tired of sketching it. When I lived close by, I walked along Highland Drive often, so the street brings back fond memories. Greg and I even had some wedding photos taken there.

Today I was in the Queen Anne neighborhood to visit someone dear who is now in hospice care. It’s likely to be the last time I’ll see her. On this beautiful fall afternoon, the breeze chilly despite the sunshine, I was filled with grief as well as gratitude to be alive to sketch this scene.

Three Maples Revisited

10/14/15 India ink, watercolor

Almost a month ago, I sketched this same traffic circle with three slender maples in the Greenwood neighborhood. The two on the left were still completely green, while the third was turning beautifully. I had made a note on my calendar to visit again after a few weeks to see if the green ones had turned yet. Today I saw traces of orange, but not as much as I had expected. It was obvious, though, that the strong wind we had a few days ago had taken a lot of leaves down from the one on the right. It might be bald the next time I visit.

As you can see, I’ve forgotten all about my self-imposed rule to use only ink in sketches I post with the #inktober hashtag. However, to keep the emphasis on the ink, I used that most basic yet also the most challenging ink-application tool I know of: the lowly twig. 

Seuss Trees

2/18/15 Various inks, twig, Caran d'Ache Museum
water-soluble colored pencils, Fabriano Studio 140 lb.
hot-press paper

Perhaps Seattle has an arborist named Dr. Seuss.

You’ve seen my ongoing sketch series of trees that have been butchered to accommodate power lines. Growing in front of Bryant Elementary School are several very tall trees that have been pruned in the weirdest way, but here’s the clincher: That street has no visible power lines at all. I’m sure the arborist had a reason to hack away the wide limbs that probably would have reached all the way across this relatively narrow street, but I can’t imagine what it was. Meanwhile, the branches have decided that if they can’t spread outward, they will grow straight up.

A Lesson in Monochrome Lines

2/10/15 India ink, twig, Super 5 Frankfurt ink, Zig marker, Canson
XL 140 lb. paper

After my usual Tuesday meeting in Shoreline, I meandered through a different area this morning and discovered many more hacked trees to eventually sketch. The butchering of these two trees was less obvious from the angle I took (I was parked somewhat awkwardly and perhaps illegally), but I was intrigued by the challenge: showing the vertical lines of utility poles, the horizontal and diagonal power lines and the organic lines of trees – all in monochrome. 

Technical note: My Sailor pen filled with Super 5 Frankfurt ink hasn’t been getting a regular workout lately because the rain has kept me indoors, where I tend to sketch with whatever is on my desk instead of in my bag. To sketch the power lines today, I wanted a finer, more consistent line than what I could get from the twig I used on the trees, so I pulled out the pen containing Super 5. The first several strokes were dry, and it was definitely scratchy throughout. I’m beginning to doubt whether its idle time is acceptable after all. In general, the ink seems to flow more dryly than my favorite Platinum Carbon. Now that my sample’s almost gone, I’m not sure I’m going to spring for a full (pricey) bottle. I like Frankfurt’s warm gray, but I prefer wetter inks.

Early in Shoreline

1/28/15 India and Platinum Carbon inks, twig, watercolor,
Canson XL 140 lb. paper

In Shoreline early this morning to drop something off at a client’s office, I saw that a faint hint of peachy-pink still tinted the clouds. I quickly chose a tree to silhouette against that sublime sky.

This may be one of my favorite chopped-tree-with-power-lines sketches due mainly to that bird that appeared briefly on the wire. Usually if I sketch a distant bird, I make the mistake of showing it in profile, inevitably making the beak disproportionately large. With a blunt twig in my hand, I knew I wouldn’t be able to make a fine enough mark to draw the beak, so with quick stroke, I sketched it from the back instead.

Uninspired at the Pike Place Market

1/18/15 various inks, Caran d'Ache Museum water-soluble
colored pencil, Zig marker, Canson XL 140 lb. paper

If there hadn’t been an Urban Sketchers outing this morning, I probably would have stayed in bed listening to the torrential rain and wind battering our windows and skylights. As much as I enjoy sketching at the Pike Place Market, doing so on a blustery, stormy day does nothing for me. Everything I like to sketch there is either outdoors or too close to the elements for me to be happy on a day like this.

Despite the ridiculous weather, the Market crowds were already getting thick, maybe because many people were coming through on their way to the noon Seahawks game. Before the crowds became daunting, I sketched a busker who was barely sheltered from the downpour just behind him.

1/15/15 Diamine Sapphire ink, Museum pencil

After that, chilled and uninspired, I wandered around in the Market’s deep lower bowels trying to warm up. Looking down from a railing toward the stairwell that leads to Western Avenue, I finally sketched another busker and got chilled all over again. Eventually I wandered back to the Atrium for our final sketchbook sharing and killed the last few minutes with twig and ink. (I think that last hasty sketch was my favorite of the day!)

I might have been crabby about the weather, but it certainly didn’t keep others away: We had a terrific turnout, including several first-timers! Only Urban Sketchers (OK, and maybe the Seahawks) can get people out on a day like this.

1/18/15 India ink, twig

Bardahl Oil Sign

1/7/15 various inks, watercolor, India ink with twig, Canson XL 140 lb. paper

Arriving in Ballard a little early for an appointment, I drove around nearby streets looking for a sketch. Suddenly I spotted the back side of the Bardahl Oil sign, the front of which is easily visible from the Ballard Bridge on Northwest 15^th. I was too cold to stand outside, so I pulled into the nearest parking lot (“employees and customers only”) and angled my car to see as much as I could of the famous sign (“which has been lighting up the Ballard skies since 1953,” according to the Ballard News-Tribune). A couple of trees, a bunch of parked cars, some bushes and a variety of other stuff was partially obstructing my view of the bright yellow barn-like building, so I had to fake it, but at least I had a clear view of the sign.

I love nostalgic signs like this, similar to the huge Gold Medal Flour sign I sketched in Minneapolis a couple of summers ago, with all the metal supports visible around it. Unlike the Gold Medal sign, the Bardahl sign still promotes an active business.

I made a note to come back when the weather warms up so that I can stand on the street and get a better view.

(Generally I’m a good speller, but if I’m including text in a sketch, I somehow manage to misspell words!)

Freezing

12/29/14 various inks, pens and twig, Caran d'Ache Museum
water-soluble colored pencil, Canson XL 140 lb. paper

The daytime temperatures have been in the low 30s and even high 20s this week. That’s pretty cold anywhere, but it’s really dang cold for Seattle!

I was just reading on Nina Johansson’s blog about how she sketches in sub-freezing temperatures by mixing vodka with water in her waterbrush to keep it from freezing. Mike Daikubara just posted a sketch he made in Vermont, where the temp was 19 degrees – without gloves!

Guess what? I don’t have any stories of cold-weather sketching heroics. (Heck, I wear a hoody in the house.)  But if my car is fully heated when I turn the engine off, I can sit and sketch in it for about 20 to 30 minutes before it’s no longer comfortable – just enough time for each of these sketches. (I ♥ my mobile studio!) Yesterday’s empty-nest sketch was in my own Maple Leaf neighborhood. This morning’s tree with the big bite taken out of the middle was in Shoreline.

I need to go crank up the thermostat another notch. Stay warm, everyone!

12/30/14 various inks, Museum water-soluble colored pencils,
watercolor

Tina’s 2014 Top 10

Based on my Blogger page view counts, my annual roundups of top 10 sketching products have been among my most popular posts. So it is with pleasure that I bring you a post I hope you’ll enjoy as much as in previous years – my top 10 for 2014. (You can see how the list has changed – or not – over the years by reviewing 2012 and 2013.)

As was true last year, many items remain the same (marked with *); if something is working well for me, I tend not to go looking for something to replace it simply for a change. (Four products have remained on the list all three years: Nos. 2, 3, 4 and 6. Hmmm. . . I’m so consistent, perhaps I should change this to a top 5 list and include only new items?). On the other hand, I’m always exploring new products, so a few things dropped off the list to make room for others.

My criteria for products appearing on the top 10 change from year to year. For 2014, they are reliability (therefore generally making them most-often used), unique properties (enabling me to do things that no other product can), convenience (allowing me to sketch faster or more easily and therefore more often) or “just because” (I always like to allow for the whim factor). As in previous years, except for No. 1, the numbering does not necessarily indicate a ranking.

10. Pilot Iroshizuku fountain pen inks. This is the only item that falls into the “just because” category. I realize it’s indulgent to include an entire line of water-soluble inks – I could have at least narrowed them down to one or two colors – but I’ve tried and love them all, for both sketching and writing. Momiji, Asa-gao, Yama-budo – they’re brilliant in hue, fast-drying and shade richly when a little water is washed over them. Granted, only a few are appropriate for sketching – Take-sumi is now a favorite black – but that’s why these inks are “just because.” (However, see No. 6 below, which explains how some Iroshizuku colors go beyond the whim factor.)

9. Twig and India ink. Hands down, experimenting with a common twig as a drawing instrument was my single biggest takeaway from the Urban Sketchers Symposium in August. Thanks to Kiah Kiean, I am still exploring this tool, which has unique properties like no other.

8. Caran d’Ache Museum Aquarelle water-soluble colored pencils. I’ve always kept a few water-soluble colored pencils in my bag, but it wasn’t until this year that I started using them more regularly, and one reason was my discovery of the Caran d’Ache Museum line. Since I almost never use a graphite pencil for anything, I find myself using these colored pencils as a substitute. Although all artist-quality water-soluble colored pencils wash to rich hues with water, Museum pencils are so soft and beautiful even when dry that I find myself reaching for them whenever I want to indicate texture, especially in the background of a sketch. They just feel good to use. Their watercolor qualities are a bonus.

7. Pilot Petit1 fountain pen. This little pen doesn’t get used very often. I keep it in the tiny bag I take on fitness walks, when I usually don’t sketch but occasionally spot wildlife that I can’t bear to pass up. But it’s for that very reason – that I hardly use it – that it made it onto my top 10. This small, very inexpensive pen has the longest idle time of any pen I’ve used. Ink it up, forget about it – and six months later, it will still write like you’ve been using it all along. Remarkable!

6. * Kuretake waterbrushes filled with ink. Last year the Kuretake waterbrush filled with Diamine Grey ink appeared on the top 10 for making shadows easy to apply. I still use that gray ink as well as other grays for shadows (Pilot Iroshizuku Fuyu-syogun is a current favorite), but now I also carry green inks for quick foliage and Pilot Iroshizuku Tsuyu-kusa for blue skies. (See, this is the more objective, less whimsical [see No. 10] reason that Iroshizuku inks made it onto my list.) They’re not as versatile or esthetically pleasing as watercolors, but you can’t beat the speed and convenience.

5. * Sailor DE Brush Stroke Style Calligraphy Fountain Pen. Although my trusty Sailor pen with the ski-jump fude nib appeared on last year’s top 10, I have to say that I didn’t expect it to supplant all other pens this year. For a while, I thought either the stalwart Pilot Metropolitan or comfortable Pilot Prera would beat out the Lamy Safari (which had appeared on both 2012 and 2013 top 10s) this year as my standard go-to. But once I understood the potential of the Sailor fude’s variable-line-width capabilities, I found all conventional nibs to be ho-hum. I relegated all my Lamys, Metros and other single-line-width pens to writing tasks only and bought several more inexpensive Sailors. (The Sailor fude has, indeed, changed my whole perspective of fountain pen nibs and has led to a lengthy exploration of variable-width nibs. Stay tuned for interesting revelations in early 2015!)

4. * Platinum Carbon Black ink. This waterproof ink has made it onto my top 10 all three years, and for good reason: It has never let me down. It dries almost instantly, is completely waterproof and has never clogged any pen. I’m currently flirting with DeAtramentis Document and Super 5 inks, but I haven’t used these newer waterproof inks long enough to say whether they could supplant trusty Platinum. In fact, Platinum Carbon Black is the standard by which I judge all others.

3. * Kuretake Zig Clean Color Real Brush markers. Ever since I discovered the versatility of putting inks of my choice into waterbrushes (No. 6) – essentially making my own brush markers – I’ve been using Zig markers less frequently. Still, if you like to sketch heavy equipment like I do, what I call “construction zone yellow” gets used more often than you’d think. When I need just a touch of that truly unnatural color for a traffic cone or a construction crane, a Zig comes in very handy. I also like to keep a few in my bag based on seasonal needs. For example, I always keep bright red and green in my bag in December (handy for quick Santa sketches).

2. * Diamine Chocolate Brown ink. I would be embarrassed to tell you exactly how many bottles of ink I own. Yet somehow this particular shade of warm brown is still the one I reach for most often, at least for sketching.

1. * My “Stefano” sketchbook system. Regular readers of this blog will find no surprises here. For its versatility, flexibility, durability (it’s been on three continents with me so far!) and for ultimately leading me to discover the joys of bookbinding, the Stefano is still No. 1. And that brings me to . . .

Some of my handbound sketchbooks.

Honorable mention: My growing collection of handbound sketchbooks – I have 16 now – isn’t exactly a sketching supply or tool; the books are the result of sketching. But seeing them lined up on my bookshelves makes me very happy – both for the sketches they contain and the entire sketching process they represent. They deserve special mention.

Falling off the list:
my DIY paint assembly.

Also worth mentioning here is one significant item that fell off the list: my DIY mint tin watercolor sketch kit/mixing palette assembly. Watercolors are certainly still a basic part of my daily-carry sketch kit (as are several other items that fell off the list this year). But as far as the attachment assembly goes, which is the part that made my kit unique, I use it less frequently lately. When I have to sketch standing up, I’m more likely to reach for waterbrushes filled with ink (see No. 7 above), which are far more convenient.

Monochrome

11/22/14 India ink, twig, Canson XL 140 lb. paper

The afternoon turned out drier than expected, so after lunch with a friend, I drove through the Crown Hill neighborhood looking for a sketch.

Although most of fall’s colors are gone, and I certainly miss them, I also love the stark beauty of bare trees – and I love to sketch them. The 5-Day Black & White Challenge a couple weeks ago taught me that making monochrome (or mostly monochrome) sketches of bare trees forces me to stay focused on the harsh, brittle shapes the trees form against the white sky. I sketched the same tree twice – once with India ink and twig, and once with a cool gray ink and tan colored pencil.

11/22/14 Pilot Iroshizuku Fuyu-syogun ink, Caran d'Ache Museum water-soluble
colored pencil

Not that Bride Again!

11/21/14 Diamine Sargasso Sea ink, Caran d'Ache
Museum water-soluble colored pencil,
Canson all-media paper

With dismay, I walked into Gage’s life drawing open studio this morning to find that the same model I had sketched more than a month ago was again wearing the same bridal gown in the same pose. I’d forgotten that the Friday morning long-pose sessions were still reserved for “Artist’s Choice,” so the same artist was still working on her painting. But I’d driven over in the pouring rain – why not stay and make the best of it?

Despite the model’s mundane pose, I had to admit that the dress was a fun challenge – all those voluminous folds of fabric were good practice. I sketched her three times – once each in water-soluble pencil, fountain pen ink and India ink with a twig. By the fourth sketch, I was bored with her; I turned 90 degrees and sketched the other artists.

(This makes 53 sketches for NaNoDrawMo!)

11/21/14 India ink, twig, Canson all-media paper

11/21/14 Caran d'Ache Museum water-soluble colored
pencil, Canson drawing paper

11/21/14 Diamine Chocolate Brown ink, Museum
pencils, Canson all-media paper

Wider Than Tall

11/17/14 India ink, twig, Canson XL 140 lb. paper

Driving through my neighborhood, I spotted a black locust tree with an asymmetrical shape that might have been natural but was more likely due to the nearby power lines. Still, it isn’t nearly as haphazardly chopped as most trees I’ve been sketching. It still retains its gracefully wide reach.

11/17/14 India ink, twig, Canson XL 140 lb. paper

Its reach, in fact, is so wide that my first attempt (at left) wouldn’t fit properly on the sketchbook page. Somewhere in my brain is the incorrect “knowledge” that trees are taller than they are wide. After I saw that my sketch wasn’t proportioned correctly, I sight-sized closely and realized that this tree is, in fact, a little wider than it is tall. I tried again, this time using a full sketchbook spread.