Falls of the Ohio, beginning and end.

I finished this black walnut ink drawing earlier in the year, but was looking at my sketchbook the other day and I thought it would be fun to post the earliest draft of the drawing alongside the finished product.

The ink drawing is the completed work, about 11 x 14 inches.  The sketch done in pencil is the first thumbnail sketch I did.  It’s about two inches wide.

I got five jars (various sizes) from this batch of walnuts. Now I'll just add a little gum arabic and denatured alcohol, and I'm done.

Making more black walnut ink

Well, I was planning to get some artwork done today, but I've been multiply foiled. So I decided to get that pot of walnuts that's been in the garage for two years and make more black walnut ink.
They've been soaking in water the whole time, and I also added some old screws and nails a while back to see if the rust will help the color.
Two years of soaking is probably excessive, but I just haven't needed more ink. Plus, I've had better things to do. Now I'm home alone and it doesn't matter how bad the kitchen smells. And it does, in fact, smell.
Looks like it will be good ink, though.

Initial post

Well, I decided I'd better start a new blog that is dedicated solely to visual arts and related subjects; I'll do my best to keep out things like what I cooked for dinner or what I'm growing in my garden.