More ink, less wash

Here are some further experimentations with ink. Helen said that she was advised to include some areas of solid black in her ink drawings. I am taking a page from her book - literally. Helen illustrated a book on B & Bs in Atlantic Canada, Comforts of home by Anne Fawcett with illustrations by Helen Brigham Opie (1994).

Granville B&B (7 x 10.5 inches)

On Granville Road (7 x 10.5 inches)

More washes

As promised last time, I have done more ink and wash. These are done in the same manner as "Dancing on the Shore" These three are the start to a series of illustrations for a poem/song written by my friend Kate. More on this latter.

South Shore Beach

Sand Dunes

Ink and Wash

Helen's Tilley Hat 1
(2.5 x 2.5 inches)

The pilot pen used to draw this little study is one of my favourite drawing tools and I wanted to see how it would behave with a wash of watercolour. The scribble on the left shows the amount of pigment that would be spread with just water. I like the fact that the ink lines can be softened a little and that the colour can be muted or kept bright depending on wether or not you cover the lines with your wet brush.

Helen's Tilley Hat 2
(3 x 3 inches)

This second study was drawn with a waterproof Staedtler pigment liner. There is no bleeding of the lines but this pen does not feel as responsive as the first one. A good pen nonetheless and I use it a great deal.

Dancing on the Shore (Ink and Wash, 6 x 12 inches)

I like the light airy feel of this illustration and I am going to try some more of these.

By the way, all of these ink and wash drawings have been done on Canson's Drawing Bristol. It takes the ink beautifully but allows only the most direct application of paint. 

The Green Man

The Green Man (Charcoal, 14 x 17 inches)

Search the hidden corners of English, French, or German Gothic churches, and you'll often find the Green Man. It's a composite of face and foliage--an image that appears in dozens of forms. Often a face of the Green Man (or Green Woman) is a mask made entirely of leaves; other times the face may be surrounded or transformed by leaves and vines.

Typically Green Man figures are carved in stone or wood; they also may be crafted in stained glass or inked in the style of illuminated manuscripts. Over 2000 Green Man images have been identified in England alone. They can be found on any surface that's open to ornamentation: capitals, corbels, choir stalls, fonts, screens, or roof bosses.

The Green Man is often perceived as an ancient Celtic symbol. In Celtic mythology, he is a god of spring and summer. He disappears and returns year after year, century after century, enacting themes of death and resurrection, the ebb and flow of life and creativity. 

The Green Man has been suppressed and reinvented throughout history. He was banned during the Reformation, but appeared on 17th century memorials and is found on 18th century Scottish gravestones. In the Victorian era, The Green Man was used as an architectural motif from Ireland in the west to Russia in the east. At this time he played a major role in church restorations and as a decorative motif on street architecture. The 20th Century Green Man stands as a modern ecological symbol as well as a model of godhood and nurturance within the male. (excerpt from the Kentucky educational television site)

It may be a little early for the god of spring to make an appearance but the days are getting longer and we are passed the halfway mark to spring. My friend Helen says that the tradition in Maine is that "by Groundhog Day you've used half the wood and half the hay."