I Admit, I Was Hoping for Darth Vader

10/5/13 water-soluble/waterproof ink mix, Strathmore 140 lb. paper

As was true for many people my age, the summer of 1977 wasn’t so much about high school graduation as it was about the release of the first Star Wars movie. To date, it is still the only movie I’ve seen more than 20 times.

I’m not as much of a fan now – at least I don’t keep up with blogs about the two trilogies, read the gazillions of books that came after the films, or collect the action figures. (OK, I do own a Luke Skywalker riding a Tauntaun, but it’s not in mint condition, so don’t e-mail me.) However, Star Wars still captures my attention from time to time. (Yes, I am using a limited-edition Moleskine Star Wars planner, and I have one already for next year, too.)

So when urban sketcher Kate Buike told me that the Star Wars costuming organization she belongs to would be appearing at a book reading at the nearby University Bookstore, I couldn’t resist. I knew she belonged to the rebel side, so I didn’t tell her this, but I was secretly hoping to meet Darth Vader.

10/5/13 ink mix, Canson XL 140 lb. paper

Alas, Vader didn’t participate. Nonetheless, it was fun to sketch Jedi archive librarian Jocasta Nu (AKA Kate!), a scruffy-looking Tatooine Sandtrooper and a Jawa (all three of whom kindly autographed my sketch).

To be polite, I also sketched the author giving the reading, Jeff Grubb, whom I had never heard of, nor did I have any intention of buying or reading his book.

Worldwide Photowalk

10/5/13 Platinum Carbon ink, watercolor, Strathmore 140 lb. paper

I’m not a photographer, but when I first heard about the Worldwide Photowalk that was to be held on Oct. 5, I thought it might be a fun sketch opportunity. I had no idea how many would show up for the Seattle event – hundreds? Thousands? Five? – nor whether it would be sketchworthy. But the meeting location was Cal Anderson Park on Capitol Hill on a beautiful afternoon, so I knew I couldn’t lose.

I arrived at the appointed time, and about 25 or 30 people with cameras milled about. Unlike Urban Sketchers, who meet at the end of a sketch gathering to take a photo together, the photographers did their group photo first. I had just started a sketch of the fountain when they gathered there, so their timing was perfect (or mine was).

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.)  

Nonconformist Traffic Circle

10/4/13 Platinum Carbon ink, watercolor, Strathmore 140 lb. paper

In the Maple Leaf neighborhood where I live, a traffic circle is in the center of each unmarked intersection planted with flowers and usually a small tree. Two reflective diamonds are also prominent in each circle, since the objective of the circle is to make cars slow down and go around the circle. All of the cement circles themselves have a maple leaf motif going around them.

Except for one – the circle at Northeast 84^th Street and Eighth Avenue Northeast. More than 20 years ago when the circles were first being put in, a huge controversy arose when the contractor who put in that circle decided to use stars and moons as the motif instead of maple leaves. Some community members got so upset that they wanted the contractor to redo it at a cost of thousands of dollars. (If you’re interested, you can read about the whole controversy.)

Everyone forgot about it after a while, and the stars-and-moons traffic circle still stands. I don’t feel strongly about the motif one way or another, but I like that I’ve lived in the neighborhood long enough that I remember the controversy.

Today I noticed that the small tree in that circle was suddenly blazing with color, so I walked the few blocks from my home to sketch it. (After putting up with our record-breaking wet September, we’re enjoying a beautiful early October! At least today.) I had always assumed that the tree was a maple, as many of the traffic circles trees are. But as I sketched it, I realized it’s not – the leaves are small and roundish, or a little heart-shaped. I did a Google image search, and I know it’s not an elm, either. I don’t think it ever turns red – only a bright yellow-orange. I’ll have to talk to someone who knows trees more than I do (in other words, almost everyone) and find out what it is. (Edited 10/5/13: Further research indicates that the tree is an aspen.)

It’s somewhat appropriate that the tree growing in the nonconformist traffic circle is also nonconformist.

Stickers

10/3/13 waterproof/water-soluble ink blends,
Canson Montval 140 lb. paper

Gleefully carrying pens containing inks that I had mixed up with my newly discovered secret formula, I went over to Zoka Coffee this morning to give the inks a solid workout. Unlike at Whole Foods, where everyone eats and runs in about 15 to 20 minutes, Zoka patrons linger over large cups of caffeine, giving me plenty of time to test out my ink blends. A man in a stocking cap was rockin’ out enthusiastically to his private music. I liked the stickers decorating his laptop, including one with a monkey.

In the sketch below, note the curls in both the man’s and the woman’s hair. I think those are textures I might have lost if I hadn’t been using the ink blends.

10/3/13 waterproof/water-soluble ink blends, Canson Montval 140 lb. paper 

Ink-Mixing Revelation

10/2/13 Blue-black waterproof/water-soluble mix, Canson XL 140 lb. paper

It’s obvious from my sketches that I love using water-soluble ink, especially when sketching people. A small touch of water to wash the ink line enables me to get subtle shading on faces that would be difficult (for me) to achieve with other media. But sometimes if I wash the line too vigorously, it loses its crispness.

I also love waterproof ink for, well, its waterproofedness, which enables me to add watercolor and other water-soluble media after I’ve drawn the sketch without dulling the hue or softening the initial ink line.

But I’ve always thought of these two types of inks as unmixable – as if the unique properties of each would cancel the other out, resulting in an ink mix that was neither sufficiently water-soluble nor fully waterproof.

At least I thought that until I saw some interesting sketches on Flickr by Joel Winstead, an urban sketcher I met in Barcelona. His sketches have a subtle brown wash while retaining a strong line. I asked him what kind of ink he was using, and his reply astounded me: A mix of a water-soluble ink and a waterproof ink! It was my V-8 moment: Why hadn’t that ever occurred to me? Is this a trick everyone knows, and I’ve been in the dark? Or did Joel just share his best-kept secret ink formula? Well, who cares – now that I knew, I had to try it myself immediately.

10/3/13 Blue-black waterproof/water-soluble mix
Canson XL 140 lb. paper

My first mix was an approximately 50/50 blend of Platinum Carbon Black (waterproof) and Private Reserve Naples Blue (water soluble). The blue turned out to be a bit garish (see sketch above), but I liked the way the lines stayed sharp. I added a bit more Carbon Black and some Private Reserve Velvet Black (water soluble), and I liked that blue blend better (at right).

I wanted to try a warm blend too, so I started with a 50/50 blend of Platinum Pigmented Sepia (waterproof) and Diamine Rustic Brown (water soluble). Even used alone, Platinum Sepia can be rather pale, and that was true when mixed too, so I added a few drops of Platinum Carbon Black to darken it. This time the line stayed crisp and dark, but I didn’t really care for the pinkish hue of the wash (below). I’m going to keep experimenting with that one. (I love mixing inks in the small plastic vials I get from GouletPens.com. It brings out my inner mad scientist. And yay for Goulet for selling ink samples in small quantities so I can play mad scientist economically!)

10/3/13 Brown-black waterproof/water-soluble
mix, Canson XL 140 lb. paper

I gave the ink blends a try yesterday and today. I think I have to use a lighter touch on the lines because I can’t blur them out with a wash as I had been used to doing. (And sometimes I really want the lines to blur.) But I do like the way the lines stay sharp even with vigorous washing.

“Bwaa-haa-haa,” says my inner mad scientist as I look forward to how I’m going to occupy the cold and rainy winter months ahead (which have already started – September was a record-breaking wet month in Seattle). Thanks for the (no-longer-secret) formula, Joel!

See the next post for more sketches I did with these ink blends.

Edited 10/25/13: I've discovered that, unlike plain water-soluble inks, a blend of inks including waterproof ink has to be washed fairly quickly – probably before it dries completely – to wash it easily. In the field, I tend to put in shading almost immediately, because I'm afraid my "models" will leave at any moment, so I hadn't noticed this. But yesterday in a life-drawing studio, I knew I had plenty of time, so I dawdled, and I found the ink became nearly waterproof after a while. In other words, its water-soluble properties started to diminish (which doesn't happen with pure water-soluble inks). Now that I know that, I might be able to use a blend to my advantage (draw an outline, make washes while the water-soluble properties are still active, wait longer, and then paint with watercolors? Hmmm. . .).

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.