September 22 work in progress

For years before I was an exhibitor at Draft Horse Classic, I was a visitor. And I always showed up at prime-visiting-hours, right before the horse show, when the art show is jam packed. So I thought the art show always must be busy. Ha! I will never forget seven years ago when I sat around and twiddled my thumbs all weekend, read the same magazine over and over, wrote random things in a notebook, and generally was bored out of my gourd. Now I know better. I bring something to work on. There were maybe six artists working on stuff this year, and not only is it a good opportunity to get a lot done (what else can ya do?) but it's a great crowdpleaser. I'll get a big group of people standing around watching me draw, and asking questions. I was self-conscious about it at first, years ago, but it doesn't bother me at all now, I kinda like the crowd! So if I'm not actively writing out receipts, or wandering around the building visiting with other artists, I just sit and draw, and usually get a LOT done in all those hours.

I had sketched this out right before the show, and started the final drawing on Thursday. Here's how it looked as of Sunday evening:

not yet titled
12x18 inches
graphite and charcoal on velour paper
price TBD

I had wanted to finish another real eyepopping scrimshaw piece this week but that won't happen, not enough time. So I'll make do with what I have for the art show entry. I think I need to try using India ink again instead of etching ink (at least for some projects). I would really like to be able to use Renaissance wax as a barrier between colors (I DO want to get good at doing color scrim, even though I prefer the look of B/W) and I find that wax and etching ink are not a good combo. The wax will wipe the etching ink out of the scrim, unless it's been drying for a *very* long time (seems to be at least a couple months, based on some experimenting I've done). Who has time for that? Psh!

India ink is in my opinion a pain to work with, which is why I don't use it. I like the way that etching ink is applied and buffed down. But... I think India ink is my best bet for color work, and possibly also for "high use" B/W pieces (jewelry).

I did a little experiment tonight. This is a broken piece of unpolished ivory about the size of my thumbnail. The top part is black waterproof Higgins India Ink. The middle part is black etching ink. The bottom part is carmine fadeproof Higgins Drawing Ink. I let them dry for about, oh, a minute, and then applied Ren Wax. I knew the etching ink would come right out, and sure enough it did, but I'm pleased to see that neither of the liquid drawing inks pulled out with the wax. This is good, I'm optimistic about trying some new techniques. I need to get more ink colors, I only have black and red.