Sometimes there’s a thing you know, and you know you know it, but then for a time, you forget you knew it. Like, that you should really take the 30 seconds to find your umbrella in the closet, because you’ll regret it when the rain starts. Or you forget whether to put the eggs in before the water boils or after it’s rolling to make the perfect peelable egg. (I gotta google that EVERY time, even at my age!)

I re-learned something that I’ve told people before – years ago. I told them that because others I trust told it to me; but this time I might remember it because *I learned it myself.*

Sandy Allnock Is ink good for drawing speedball 1

Tutorial: Is this ink good for drawing?

Watch the video below and scroll to the end to leave comments or questions — or click HERE to watch it on YouTube and leave comments over there. I read both dutifully!

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Inks

Platinum Carbon Black Fountain Pen Ink
Speedball Super black india ink BLICK AMZ JACKSONS

To clean India Ink from a pen:

Ph Martins Bombay Pen Cleaner BLICK AMZ
Or Artisto cleaner at JACKSONS

Fountain pen

TWSBI Eco fountain pen EF
TWSBI Eco fountain pen F
TWSBI Eco fountain pen M (the one I use most)

Paper

Arches Bright White CP 22×30 sheet BLICK JACKSONS

Color

Daniel Smith Watercolors

Sheep

The sheep reference shows the sheep from slightly below him – looking up, perhaps at the top of a little hill.

Sandy Allnock Is ink good for drawing speedball 2

Border Collie

The Border Collie reference has the black dog against a black background, so we have to look closely to work out the body shape and hidden foot.

Sandy Allnock Is ink good for drawing speedball 3

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My hopes

I’d like to create a bunch of sketches this summer in this loose style for my friend to take with her to the sheep dog trials and see how they sell – and eventually to get brave enough to take wash and ink to my life drawing group. I usually work in pencil or charcoal so I can change the lines and make the head the right size or shorten that leg….drawing people is so intimidating but I keep working at it!

Sandy Allnock Is ink good for drawing speedball f

Perspective class coming soon for urban sketchers

The last “long” visit I had with my Mom, about a year before she died, was a special one. I was thinking about teaching the class I’m working on next….perspective for urban sketchers. I spent time with Mom driving around her old town to see the neighborhoods she knew; I was looking for doorways, windows, porches, stairs, etc. She’d sit in the car while I jumped out to take photos and shoot a little footage for the eventual class.

As she became more ill, I was less interested in creating that class, because it just made me so wistful. Once she passed, I couldn’t even look through the footage without crying. But I’ve been looking at it recently, and it’s bringing me back to the trip and the special time I had with her. So it’s underway, hopefully to launch in July.

If you want some other wash and ink classes – there are some fun ones on this page! A few examples: Powellswood Sketches for beginners wanting to do nature sketches with lovely footage from a garden near me; Wash and Ink to learn how to splooge some color then add the ink lines; and for those ready for an architectural deepdive, Market Street Sketches which is based on buildings in my Mom’s town.