Sunday, September 25, 2011

The Drawing Adventure Begins!

This is a blog about the grand adventure of drawing.

This blog will feature several aspects of drawing: 1) what materials and instruments to use 2) how to use them, and 3) how they have been used in the past and are currently being used.

I decided to start a blog about drawing because several friends recently talked to me about drawing and said that they wanted to begin doing it. 

Instruments: let's start with one of the most basic of all drawing instruments: the cane pen. I cut the cane pens with a blade; also featured in the photographs. I bought the blade--a Husky-- at Home Depot for eleven dollars. The blades are replaceable. Howerever, a sharp knife, a carpet knife, or box cutter will also work.

Materials: I got the canes from  Hirons, an all-purpose store in Eugene Oregon. The stakes were intended for use in the garden and were four for a dollar. I am sure they can be found in most gardening sections of most stores.

The cane pen is the bamboo version of the reed pen.


I dipped the pen in a small bottle of Pro Art India Ink, but any ink will do.


I am soaking the cane pens in water for 5 minutes to soften the tips; this is optional.

Close up of the tip of the cane pen.

Close up of the tip of the cane pen: underside

The knife and cane pens.

Here is a photo (below) of the drawing I did with my newly cut cane pens:


Sunflower drawn with India ink, on Pro Art sketchbook paper, applied with cane pen


Here is a drawing (below) I did with a drawing stick--a more crude version of the cane pen:


Detail of self-portrait

 Vincent van Gogh drew a lot and drew for several years before he ever touched oil paint. Most of his drawings were done with a reed pen, which he dipped in ink.

This is what Vincent said abour drawing:

“Not a day without a line...." – Vincent Van Gogh



"There are two ways of thinking about painting, how not to do it and how to do it.
 How to do it; with much drawing and little color.
 How not to do it; with much color and little drawing." --Vincent in a letter to Theo van Gogh, April 1882)

Here is what Vincent did with a reed pen:








Now, my friends, I encourage you to go and try out the reed pen and see what happens as you begin your own drawing adventure.

If you don't want to cut your own pens you can usually get some bamboo dip pens at any art supply store. They are somewhat different than those featured in my photographs but they work pretty well.

I my next post I will write about how to use some of the basic fundamentals of drawing to create a composition, using the values of black, white, and gray.

It is time for me to post this and go draw!