Thursday, June 25, 2009

New Sketchbook... Same Brushpen

Ok so the unthinkable happened. I ran out of pages in my sketchbook... and forgot to bring a replacement to London with me from Montreal. This might not sound like a big deal but it is - the sketchbook I've been using was PERFECT for its rough pages that gave the brushpen its characteristic texture while holding the ink without bleeding - even when doing the thinnest lines. After a hard day's work of sampling different books (what is it with sketchbooks these days that have almost no "tooth" - smooth as glass plates?) I finally found a decent replacement book. These are the first few drawings from it (I bought it at the London Graphics Centre in Covent Garden so these scenes are all from the C.Garden area). Overall the results are good - it's textured enough to show what the brushpen can do; however, its ink retention leaves something to be desired (you might not notice but these lines all bleed, or "spider," in a way the previous lines in the other book didn't...). Still, I think it was a good buy in a pinch. When I return home in 2 months, I'll be sure to return to my original sketchbook - and probably buy 2 or 3 extras for the future! ............ Anyway, so these drawings are of an outdoor clothing market on Earlham St, Covent Garden (that's a car and bike in the foreground against the post if you didn't notice); of the famous 7 Dials in C. Garden, and finally of three lovely elderly ladies eating and gossiping in a regal looking pub... also in C.G.

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