Over the years, the medium in which l work fluctuates from season to season. l occasionally dwell in the sculptural, working in papier mache, or in the fibre arts l enjoy needle felting

Most often though l gravitate to the two dimensional and often times l find myself returning to drawing in permanent ink. I have rarely tried ink and quill. I do recall floating ink on wet watercolor. Fantastic effect as shown modestly below. I love the texture like fine lichen on the bottle on the right.

Most often it is merely the humble Sharpie I find in my hand, with fine point and permanent ink. I love it. It is clean and crisp and holds up under layers of watercolor wash. They are manufactured in an array of colors, one of my favourites being the sepia brown below.

Once upon a time when volunteering in several artist co-ops here on the Eastern Shore, l would take along supplies and keep productive on the quieter days, adding “inventory” to pass the time. One of these wonderful shops was adjacent to Lisa Bedell’s print shop, “Shore Print” in the Mitchell Cove community commerce building. It was then an energetic enterprise that also held a great café and a community gathering space. I loved my time there.

She was kind enough, one quiet day, to give me a quantity of one-fold card stock and suitably sized envelopes. So l kept the shop in blank one-off original note cards. It was a blast, as customers would stroll through and take a peek at what l was working on before sitting down in Lisa’s lunchroom for the best soup and sandwiches on the shore. To my great enjoyment many times, after their lunch they’d return and purchase the piece.

l used to get some fun requests and l did love a challenge. One of my favorites was from a friend who’s nephew was a Star Wars fanatic. l tried a compilation of iconic images from the series. Often l would snap a pic of the originals to keep on file.

I suppose l should be pouring through my photo files to find a few of the best ones. They could have potential as note cards in my shop this summer!

I’ve just purchase a dozen new Sharpies. It’s high time l stopped texting and plunked myself down at my drawing table to whip up something new. Til next time..

Stay safe, stay healthy, keep smiling.