Month: August 2018

Third Draft Finished

I just finished the third draft of my novel! There’s another, short polishing round I need to do on a few sections that I added, and then I’ll start working on getting this in the hands of beta readers.

There were some massive plot holes that I had to fix and made for a challenging draft, but the overall narrative is so much better and tighter now, and my characters also grew in the process, so I’m very happy overall. It was totally worth the effort, though it was quite a slog to rewrite so much at this stage.

 

The Embassy

I went back and finished my sketch of the embassy today. I would have probably spent a little more time on it but I was eaten alive by mosquitoes, so I cut my sketching short. You can find the initial ink sketch here. As usual, I used Schminke watercolours.

Clouds and Hot Air Balloons

Went on a 5k run this evening, and though the weather was hot and humid, a breeze kicked up in the end, easing some of my sweaty discomfort.

It was a big cloud kind of day:

Stopped on my way to take a few pictures of ducks and a night heron:

A young woman was sitting by the artificial lake with her dog, taking in the view and adding to it:

A hot air balloon made escorted me for a while:

Then rushed back, before it was too dark to see the path back.

Work in Progress: the Embassy

Lost daylight while I drew this, so I couldn’t complete it in time. Will go back to I add watercolour, hopefully soon.

Drawn on a Moleskine A4 watercolour notebook, with a Sailor Fude 55 degree nib fountain pen filled with Noodler’s Lexington grey. This is the first time I’ve used the Sailor Fude pen, and it is taking some getting used to. Depending on the angle you hold it, it either creates thick, brush-like lines, medium lines, or extra fine lines (when flipped over and used upside down).

Pen Review: Staedler 308 Orange and Purple Pigment Liners

A first look at the new Staedler 308 colour pigment liners. The standard black ones are my fineliner of choice, since their barrel is more comfortable than the Sakura Pigma Micron or the Faber-Castell ones (Copics are overpriced, and I’ve had bad luck with them drying out).

I made a quick sketch of the vintage Parker ink bottle promo pen cup that I got at the local flea market. The ink spread a little, as most ink does on the Lebuchtterm sketchbook. Strangely enough that doesn’t bother me, and I still am a fan of these notebooks. The Staedler pigment liners are a joy to use, and their colours pop off the page:

Scanned in, you can see the ink spread, but also how vibrant the colours are.

Bottle of Ink Sketch 1

All in all, I’ll probably pick up a few more of these once I get the chance.

Coffee in Tel Aviv

Just finished my latest sketchbook page, and Coffee in Tel Aviv (and a little bit beyond) is apparently its theme. You can see earlier versions of this page here and here. Creating these kinds of pages is new to me, and so I’m still experimenting with it.

This week’s long run: for the birds

I ran a 5k yesterday, through the late night summer crowds, heat and humidity. It was low tide and a fisherman was out trying his luck at the beach, his footprints crisscrossing the floodlit sand.

Our bright and early for a relatively cool 8k, with some pretty great, no filter opportunities to photograph waterfowl in the sunrise.

Coffee shops

This page isn’t done yet. I’ll probably add another little sketch to the bottom right.