Ink drawing is such a joy, and I was delighted to share my love of it with the wonderful participants of the 'Sketching Wildflowers in Ink' workshop that I taught this week. We explored some of the techniques involved in line-making, shading and creating texture using fineliners, dip pens and fountain pens. It's such a lovely medium to work in that the attendees understandably wanted to know where to get their own supplies. I thought I'd turn this into a blog post as it's likely to be useful for others too.
Pens
Twsbi Eco fountain pen (Note that the Twsbi Eco T is a different shape to the Twsbi Eco and people will have their own preference. The ones we use in the workshops are Twsbi Eco). I buy these in an extra fine tip.
Uni-Ball Uni Pin fineliner (Available in Bridge Bookshops on the Isle of Man)
Many others good fineliner pens are available but I personally use these brands and find them very good for giving a dark line and being water resistant. I tend to use the 03 and 05 sizes in most brands.
Inks
Many of the colours tried on the workshop are from the purple (2023) Diamine advent calendar and so aren't available in individual bottles. There are many similar inks in the Diamine range and these are very affordable, so it's worth buying a few and seeing what you get on with.
The star of the show from the Diamine inks is Earl Grey for the way it splits with water into its blue and pink pigments. This is available to buy in single bottles.
The waterproof black ink that I use in my fountain pens.
Paper
Seawhite Watercolour Travel Journal (Many Seawhite Journals are available from Bridge Bookshop on the Isle of Man).
Royal Talens Art Creation Sketchbook (These are great little sketchbooks for a very reasonable price. They aren't really designed for taking watercolour or water with ink, but they actually hold up quite well if only a little water is used. They come in lots of different sizes and are great for quick sketches. They have smooth paper.)
Many people love using smooth surfaces, such as Bristol board, with ink pens but I prefer a textured surface. I often add watercolour to waterproof ink sketches or add water to water soluble ink and so prefer cold-pressed (also called NOT) watercolour paper or mixed media paper. If you want a smoother watercolour paper then buy hot-pressed paper.
Brushes
Water brushes are very handy when wanting to do a quick sketch with ink and water. I use a variety of brands that I've picked up over the years and all work well. The Derwent Waterbrushes and Derwent Push Button Waterbrushes are my favourites.
The Daler Rowney Graduate brushes are very affordable and are my choice for use with ink. These are also available from the Bridge Bookshops on the Isle of Man.
Pencils and Erasers
Any graphite pencil can be used to make sketches before adding ink. I tend to use Faber-Castell 9000 pencils as I use these for my graphite drawings. Whatever brand it is, I use a B hardness when making sketches for ink drawings.
My Faber-Castell Dust-Free eraser is a reliable one and creates large rubbings that can easily be removed from the paper.
Books
I have lots of ink drawing book recommendations on the IOMNJ Bookshop.org page in the Art Techniques and Media section.
Shops and Websites
Clicking the links for the products above will take you to my preferred place to purchase these items. In general though, I love the product range and prices from Purepens.co.uk, Cultpens.com and Craftyarts.co.uk.
Bridge Bookshop in Ramsey and Port Erin have a good range of products for ink drawing, including the Uni Pin fineliners, Seawhite Journals and Winsor and Newton drawing inks.
YouTube Channels
Mark Kompaneyets Studio has some wonderful videos on drawing techniques in a variety of media, including inks.
Owings Art has some ink drawing videos and some very useful product reviews. I love Marty Owings videos and they always inspire me to sketch.
Alphonso Dunn has a fantastic channel featuring a wealth of videos on ink drawing techniques. He also has some great books to help you develop your skills, including a workbook to practise in.
I'll no doubt think of some more items to add, so I'll edit this page and add them as I remember or discover them. My preferences may well not be yours, so it's usually best to buy single pens or smaller sketchbooks to try before you invest in a set of pens or a larger pad of paper. We're so lucky to have Bridge Bookshop on the Island as they stock some wonderful products and it's so nice to be able to browse, however it's very difficult to browse without buying, so be warned!
I'll leave you this week with some fantastic artwork that I've recently added to the Isle of Man Nature Journal map. I continue to be blown away with the level of artistic talent the have on the Island. Thank you very much to Pat Kelly and John Sadler who have contributed photos of these wonderful pieces. Remember, we're growing the map together to show that there's no right or wrong way to 'do art' and to celebrate the beauty of our island. If you'd like to add your art to the map send it to me at emma@iomnj.com
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