Quick Sketch with my Lamy Joy pen

We went to see our godchild Molly Hammer in Sister Robert Anne's Cabaret Class in Amana, Iowa, over the weekend, and stayed, happily, at Rose's B & B again.  I had more time to sketch this time--by design--and even to the last minute, as J. was checking out and packing the car, I was squeezing in one more quick sketch!

I loved this tiny shed, and knew I didn't have time for color, so I whipped out my Lamy Joy pen with the 1.1 calligraphy nib and jumped right in there.  I added a few details with my regular Lamy with the EF nib, which is somewhat more controllable.  Loved the morning shadows here...as J. was putting the last of our stuff in the Jeep, I took a quick reference photo...

As I noted before, I would REALLY like a fountain pen with a good flex so I get a variation in my lines, but so far only the antique ones really fill that bill, and they're temperamental and sometimes want to leak. So if I turn the calligraphy pen in different directions, as Laure suggested in her wonderful little video, I get some thick and thin!

I've got the Lamy joy with a 1.1 nib and also a couple of regular Lamys with the EF nib. Again, the charcoal seems to be smoother than the silver nib. (My Lamys are both Vista--that's the same as the Safari only transparent--I can see when I need to think about refilling, instead of just running out of ink.)

Earlier Monday morning, I had taken time to do a longer watercolor...I'd imagined doing sketches all over town, Amana is so picturesque and the old homes and businesses just beg to be recorded, but there just isn't time for everything...

Because I knew how quickly the long, raking shadows of the morning would change,  I sketched in their shapes FIRST, with a pencil, then sat on my folding stool to add the details.  I used my beloved retrofitted Prang box, a 1/2" flat and a #8 round brush.

The sun was strong on my white paper, and my paint dried REALLY quickly, both on the paper and on my palette, so I worked very fast...

And again, shot a quick photo to freeze those shadows!  If I wanted, I could do a more formal painting of the garage/shed at Rose's...