Monday 28 November 2011

Pen and ink


It has been many years since I last dabbled in medium of pen and ink. Not since my college days and even then I was disconcerted by its unforgiving nature. Also the difficulty it poses with not being able to render in the subtle tones akin to my pencil work, especially when it came to drawing faces.  But in an attempt to broaden my repertoire of skills and cater for potential black and white commissions that could come my way, I have been dusting off my nibs and this is what flowed out. Being so accustomed to working in a laboriously layered fashion, I have to admit to enjoying its immediacy.

 

 Beauty and the beast



 A cat collector who was initially inspired by the character of 'Gertrude' from Mervyn Peake's 'Gormanghast'. It is however very loosely based on her and I might portray her quite differently if the opportunity to illustrate her came my way.



One of my 'Sproutings'. 'The Chestnut Nuptials' came into being as an idea for wedding gift. Thank you to Ari Berk for his suggestion for a title. Prints are now available of this in my Etsy shop- http://www.etsy.com/shop/virginialeeart

4 comments:

  1. I love pen and ink! And your drawings are just lovely! I'm particularly fond of the cat collector! :)

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  2. Good for you for trying something new, despite your great success with other mediums. I like Beauty the best. I think the pen and ink gives a sharpness, an extra character; maybe because of the risk involved in the medium, I don't know. I've gone back to look that picture many times as I'm writing this, and that is the measure of really good art, isn't it, that you keep on wanting to look at it?

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  3. You are amazing at this medium! Beautifully done and so creative!

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  4. so lovely to find you and your wonderful art. such a charming piece!

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