I've been so impressed with the ball point pen art that I have seen on this site, that I decided to give it a try. This is a Betta fish (Siamese fighting fish) done in red, blue, and purple ball point pens. Obviously, I have much to learn....but it was great fun and I have ordered some more colors since I plan on experimenting more. I've enclosed a photo of the work in progress and the various reference photos I used. The colors are more true to the final scan than in the flash photo of my drawing table.
More ballpoint pen experiments. This was trying to "blend" colors, using ball point pens in a similar way to colored pencils. I found Layering evenly to be pretty difficult, esp with the pens blotching and very very limited burnishing. The interesting thing is that the paper doesn't seem to get "tired" the way it does with pencils. This is just cheap printer card stock.
Seemingly trapped indoors and inside your head indefinitely, the possibility of living a normal life after COVID seems like a fevered dream. Still one of my favourite drawings from 2020 and a technique breakthrough. Ballpoint Pen on Archival 8.5" x 11" paper
Imagining a better future in the time of COVID isolation seems like a fevered dream.
Bic4 Ballpoint Pen, Sanrio Novelty 10 Colour Ballpoint Pen on Archival 8.5" x 11" paper
Bic4 Ballpoint Pen, Sanrio Novelty 10 Colour Ballpoint Pen on Archival 8.5" x 11" paper.
A breakdown of the Bic4 pen and No-name 10 colour pen layering that I’ve used.
Drawing in a single direction instead of using back-and-forth movement alleviates some of the blotching that happens when using ballpoint pens. The back-and-forth method usually deposits the gunk that builds up on the tip of the ballpoint, smearing them in unexpected and unfortunate places on the drawing. When using the back-and-forth method, I usually have a napkin handy in order to clean the tip of the pen. Model: Meadhbh (Maeve)
Some months ago, I uploaded a drawing of the front of our house. This time, I drew the back of the house---in the same style. Last time, I used a Pigma Micron 005 pen, this time, I used a Uniball Signo Gel pen---which made the drawing a bit looser. This is a large house in the Pacific NW Modern style (a late 70's incarnation) with characteristic big windows, skylights, and jutting angles.
BIC ballpoint stick pen drawing on Richeson bulk drawing paper. This started as a contour drawing and just got squiggly (not the original intent). This was clipped to my board for weeks and I would add a few squiggles from time to time when I wanted to make marks, but didn't have inspiration. It's just a bit under 15 inches (12x18 inch paper) and is probably about 25 hours of making little lines and squiggles. The reference was a Dreamstime royalty-free photo.
Ball point pen over wash. Being a mild-mannered Aries (married to a mild-mannered Aries), I didn't want the usual warlike ram, rather a friendly guy with nice "shofar" horns!
Not a ‘robot’ per se, but an android/replicant. From the classic movie Blade Runner about an alternative future 2019-2049 and beyond. Replicants were used as slaves for humans. Red Bic4 Ballpoint Pen on Archival 9” x 12” paper.
Overwhelmed...started as a little tiny sketchbook sketch and turned into my statement about recent events. It complements my previous post "Fevered Dreams." Bic ballpoint pen on archival 9” x 12” paper, scanned into Photoshop where the text overlay was added. Model: Jose
Nat checking her email. The polar fleece blanket colour and texture didn't turn out the way I wanted it to.
Bic4 Ballpoint Pen, Sanrio Novelty 10 Colour Ballpoint Pen on Archival 8.5" x 11" paper
More ballpoint pen experiments. This is with a Bic Round Stic (12 for $1.49 at Staples!) on just a bond paper. Making progress with this medium, methinks!
