Pens and VACATION

Vay-cay-shun with the whole Sevigney clan is coming soon for us! Relaxation is the key (does that happen with a 3 year old?)  I’m really looking forward to looking over one of my largest (literally and figuratively) influences; the ocean. It is beautiful here in NH and I know the Big Blue is only 1.5 hrs away but I miss having the smell of the salty bay (Narragansett Bay) at my doorstep or being able to drive to the beach in 5 minutes (Wells, Maine). Plans are to walk the Jetties @ Wells beach, Big Daddy’s Ice Cream, flying kites and having a few barley hopsilicious treats on the beach. Lobsters and steamers are a must!!! One of Graham’s favorite stops at the grocery store is to visit the Lobster tank.  I’m wondering how he’ll feel about having one on his plate?

Sketching for ideas.

The September exhibit deadline edges ever closer so I’ll be bringing my sketchbook, drawing pad and pens to get some ideas down. When the brain relaxes good ideas tend to surface.  Mmmmmmmm…..pennnnnnnnnns.  I stopped using pencils because erasers are not a good thing for my sketchbook.  I’m already obsessively compulsive in my working habits and pencils allowed me to erase “mistakes”. A pen’s permanent line requires me to work with all the marks I create and adds a random variable important for idea generation. My favorite pens are  Lamy AL- Star fountains  loaded with Noodler’s Heart of Darkness ink. I spent too much money on disposable pens over the past decades. I have experimented with gels, Microns, and rollerballs but most have fallen out of favor for numerous reasons. Fountain pens create the best line quality and allow for ink choice since they are refillable. For larger drawings good old Sharpie bold fits the bill.

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