100 portraits

To keep the momentum going after Inktober I have decided to embark on my next project: 100 Portraits. Being on Sktchy has made it convenient to find subjects to paint, and I have also started painting people I know. Here are my first two portraits:

Portrait No 1

Portrait No 2

Both of these are done with Ink over a watercolour wash, in the pages of an A5 sketchbook. To keep it manageable, I've started with a smaller size, and the portraits can be completed in less than an hour. I have found that drawing everyday during Inktober definitely improved my speed and dexterity. I am now able to sketch directly with the pen without doing a preliminary pencil sketch and am getting better at controlling my ink pens. These two paintings were done using my ancient Rotring art pen which came out of storage after 20 years. This is very sturdy and the nib glides smoothly over the page though the ink tends to smudge. I have also used fine liners.

What I have discovered during Inktober is that if I turn up, inspiration will turn up. Even on the days when I found some prompts uninspiring, I was able to make things work once I got started. The main difficulty is getting started. So now that I have started, I do not want to stop creating.