I’m often asked about my Bic pen drawings and how I do them. It starts with a good foundational drawing, the ballpoint pen part is just trying to colour within the lines. I try to do my best to explain the process, but the best way to show my progress is by posting my efforts to master pen drawings over the span of 3 or so years. I have been doodling/drawing with ballpoint pens as far back as I can remember - they were cheap, readily available and always lying around the house. It wasn’t until I was bored during a particularly long team meeting-conference call (around 2016-17) that I started to think about the possibilities of ballpoint pens as serious portrait illustration tools. My first experiments with full colour ink portrait drawings were rather crude, but that’s the point of learning new techniques—as long as the curiosity and the love of drawing is there, you can transfer that skill and passion into any medium. Remember, the most exquisite drawings and paintings you see didn’t materialise fully formed, they started out as failed experiments. Failure after failure after failure. It’s important to remember this when you get discouraged (I've failed spectacularly over the years). The only difference between the accomplished artist and the beginner is hundreds of hours of practice. Talent can only get you so far. It’s the hard work that you do behind the scenes that makes your work look effortless. Keep doodling. Keep learning. Stay curious.
I modified the challenge a wee bit. I didn't use the same paper for the various drawings since I was using (top row, left to right) hard graphite pencils (3H to HB), watercolor pencils, (bottom row, left to right) brush pens and ballpoint pen. These media work best on very different paper textures and moisture absorbing qualities. The second picture shows the object of my study --- and the apparatus I use to hold botanical subjects. "Third hand" tools are very useful and cheap. This one was under $10 and serves my purposes well. Just FYI. (Each drawing/painting was scanned and composited in Photoshop.)
I do generally put pen (or some kind of tool), to paper (or some kind of surface), every day, but I'm really TRYING to do it purposefully in one singular location (journal). Here is a successful attempt from that particular day.
I'm also super lazy, which means I never go up to my actual studio and only use what's out on my computer desk.
. . . Whimsy and nostalgia all entwined in an inky world of discovery . . . This piece was the last piece of artwork my Grandmother got to see of mine before she passed into the Lord's presence this past summer
Every time she squatted in the clump of wavy grass, she felt like a Phoenix reborn.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CWbcNmtroTp/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
My mum and i call him morise. (His real name is moritz). he made us delicious tea and coffee in his artstudio. we talked, painted and i drew alot at his place. he turned into family. when i heard that he passed away, i couldnt pick up a paintingbrush, acrylics or watercolours because it reminded me so much of him. now, for this drawing i started to experiment with watercolours again and added it in the drawing. honestly, i cried during the process of painting but i am proud that i dared to use it. i enjoyed to experiment.
thank you so much for reading, wish you a wonderful day !
Alison is a plant person (aloe vera) she and Alfonso are cousins.She unintentionally joined the mob when Parsnip wanted to hire her as cryptanalyst,with no way to escape she and Alfonso eventually became part of Ruthleen's team.she is an expert at breaking codes whenever they need to trespass security in order to move large amounts of money or weapons.during missions she carries her own firearm and wears cargo pants and boots.
Stream of consciousness portrait. Just for fun and... to use of old markers and pens that have been lying around forever. In other words, getting rid of old materials.
