Meet Dr. Lorna Breen. She was in the trenches of the front line inside the New York hot zone during the first wave of the pandemic. She saw the massive influx of patients she knew she could not save (29,000 deaths reported in April, 2020). She contracted the virus and after recuperating, went straight back to work. A week and a half later, the hospital sent her home. Her family intervened to bring her back home to Charlottesville, Virginia. During her visit with her family, she seemed “detached.” She passed away April 26, 2020 at the UVA University Hospital in Charlottesville from self-inflicted wounds.
"She tried to do her job, and it killed her… Make sure she’s praised as a hero. Because she was, she’s a casualty just as much as anyone else who has died."
—Dr. Philip C. Breen, Father
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
I finally attempted to do a drawing completely in ballpoint pen (I faced my fears of messing up). Thank you to my friend for donating their face to this cause, very much appreciated. The drawing isn't 100% accurate, I think we can all agree on that, but a decent first try.
Bic4 Ballpoint Pen, Sanrio Novelty 10 Colour Ballpoint Pen on Archival 8.5" x 11" paper
Quick ballpoint sketch of Mr. Batman (that’s why it’s a little wonky).
A piece that coincidently fits the prompt for InkTober Day 27: music. An anxiety notebook doodle based on a song that I cut up out of frustration. It ended up looking better, in my opinion, now that it's rearranged.
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)
Bic4 Ballpoint Pen, Sanrio Novelty 10 Colour Ballpoint Pen on Archival 8.5" x 11" paper.
Inspired by Charles Dana Gibson’s “Woman: The Eternal Question” (supposedly a drawing of his muse Evelyn Nesbit). I’ve always loved Gibson’s loose, graphical penwork. Working hard to be more ‘loose’ with my pen drawings.
Model: Meadhbh (Maeve)
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!
Still playing with ballpoint pens. This time, I tried a “scribble” drawing, holding the pen way back on the shaft and making little circles and scribbles….then layering them over and over. It was actually very liberating and fun. I did this on a Canson sketch paper….which didn’t wear through, but did buckle a little towards the end.
NIghtly BIC ballpoint pen doodles while watching the news. These are drawn on light weight construction paper. The reference drawings are from the book Humans of NY.
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.
My first ballpoint pen person. This was a lot more time consuming than I expected, but I'm glad I hung in there and finally finished it. The reference for the drawing was a Getty Image.
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
Ballpoint pen and Stabilos; this took longer than it should've. I think it turned out pretty nicely, but the coloring isn't the best (my pens started running out of ink). "I reject your reality and substitute my own"- Adam Savage
A close friend recently lost their family pet, Joey. As a tribute gift, I did his portrait.
I usually just draw people, so this presented quite the challenge for me. I have never attempted to draw animals/pets.
Bic4 Ballpoint Pen, Sanrio Novelty 10 Colour Ballpoint Pen on Archival 8.5" x 11" paper
