Pen and Ink

I am keenly interested in pen and ink sketching. Everything beneath the sky is lit up by the sun’s rays creating an interesting interplay of light and shadow.

I started sketching outdoors from my college days along with my friend. After some years my sketching became more disciplined and precise. Sketching became almost a second nature to me , staying with me for life , giving me boundless joys , which I try to share with others through my sketching.

Pen and ink is medium with a great scope and has played a phenomenal role in my evolution as an artist.

Constant sketching helped improve my observation skills and the ability to pick only the essential content for paintings from the variety of objects and forms that lay before me. This improved the quality of my lines.

The most important benefit of using pen and ink as a medium is that while working outdoors only a pen and paper is needed negative the need to carry accessories that are required for other medium. Once you have chosen the desired spot , you can immediately start drawing with a pen and can complete the sketch quickly. Also , working on the spot improves your ability to select your subjects as well as improving your perspective and compositional sense which are crucial to a good painting.

While working in pen and ink , I have used different pens such as fountain pens , ball – point pens and felt – tipped pens ( sketch pen ). Use of different types of paper such as newsprint handmade paper , art paper etc. gives different visual effects.

I usually work using three different methods in pen and ink :

1) Linear Sketches : The formof any subject is conveyed by using very fine lines and does not involve finer details of the subject.

2) Lines and Dot : When the subject of my sketch is complicated , i consciously develop the drawing with linear marks and Dot.

3) Tonal Drawing : In this method , my main objective is to capture the effect of shade light. Achieving light and shadow effect with linear treatment can be quite challenging and time consuming.

When I am working outdoors , I try to complete a single sketch in approximately 15 to 20 minutes since working for more time may result in overwork. In the beginning you may feel like drawing everything that you see before you , but practice and conscious efforts will help you to gradually simplify the subjects. It also will help improve your sense of composition and the artistic quality of your work.

I have travelled all over for outdoor sketching. Travelling to different regions enriches our experiences. There is a pure bliss in capturing the different variety of costumes , houses , trees , forests , naturals as well as man-made beauties etc. in our own way.

Rather than experiencing this bliss all on my own , I prefer to enjoy the same with my fellow artists.