Sybil's Iris Drawing

After I sent my friend Sybil a scan of my iris drawing, she felt inspired to do one of her own. Her drawings, also done with pen and markers (usually Copic), are very different from mine. I love the colors, lines, and detailed patterns in this one. (Used with her permission.)

Iris Bouquet 2

I used one of my line drawings from 1983 for this. (Photocopied the line drawing, then colored it.) The bouquet was from my garden. In real life, the iris were the old-fashioned purple type, and I think the other flowers were spirea (red-violet with green leaves.)

For some of the iris flowers, I used "splotching through paper" for the mottled effect.

Edited Dec. 2009: Click on the "iris" label, below or in the label list to the right, to see a later version with softer coloring, and also the original line drawing.

Fruit Bowl 1

This is a bowl of plastic fruit on my dining room table, where I draw. I used some white colored pencil on the gourds and grapes. Otherwise, it's all Copics. I used "splotching through paper" to make the uneven coloring.

I did this about one month after I started using Copic markers. Shows how easy they are to work with. The back of the paper is also nice in its own way (below).

Edited October 11, 2009: See Fruit Bowl 2 for a later, sketchy version of this subject.

Yellow and Red Banner

A sketchy drawing. The bar and the banner tips are glittery with Copic Spica gold and black, though it doesn't show up well in the scan.

Copic colors used: I didn't write them down.
Paper: small piece of sketch paper, lightly textured, approx. 3.5 x 4.25"

Tea Strainer 2

Tracing around the tea strainer handle again. See below for the actual object. This drawing used partial shapes, but in an earlier drawing I used the full shape.


Copic colors used: probably RV11, R02, W3, G12,17,21, Y19, E33, B14,32
Paper: white Crane's card approx. 4x6"

To try this, click here.

Ribbon Doodle 1

Ribbons of color. Almost always, I make a line drawing to color. But this was done with just the markers.

Copic colors used: B06, YR24, RV29
Paper: white Crane's card, approx. 4x6

Pair of Abstract Drawings

The top drawing was the original. Drawn with sepia multiliner, then colored with Copic markers.

When I finished it, I saw that the next layer of paper was interesting too. I rotated it 180 degrees, added some lines with cobalt blue multiliner, and touched up the coloring in a few places. That became the bottom drawing.

It also gave me the idea for "splotching through paper" as a technique, using 20 lb. or lighter weight paper as the top layer.

Copic colors used: Sepia and cobalt multiliners, G21, V09, B32, R02, RV11
Paper: 20 lb. all-purpose copier paper.

Landscape with Round Animals

Still experimenting with my new Copics, as the streaky coloring shows. The round shapes are animals, I think, but I'm not sure what kind of animals, or even which way they are facing.

Copic colors used: I didn't write them down
Paper: white Crane's card approx. 4x6"

Geode - First Drawing with New Copics

When I received my first order of Copic markers, this is what I drew. Sometimes my drawings are bright inside, dark or plain outside. Like geodes, someone told me.

Copic colors used: I didn't write them down
Paper: white Crane's card approx. 4x6"

To try this, click here.

My First Copic Drawing

My first drawing in years. Such a good feeling. My friend Sybil was visiting, and she brought some Copic markers. She wanted me to try them, so I drew this and colored it.

Wow. First of all, the marker caps went on and off easily... no small thing, compared to the Bad Markers. Then, the colors went on smoothly - no bleeding or blotching. Beautiful, transparent colors! I bought some the next week. And I Like Markers, Marianne Walker's blog, told me everything I needed to know about them. See Bad Marker Disclaimer.

Copic colors used: Probably Y13, YR14, BG14.
Paper: 20 lb multipurpose copier paper.

Sybil's Cat Drawing

My friend Sybil's drawing. Mysterious and very cat-like. (Used with her permission.)

February Trees

Late February, New England. Tree trunks and branches might be the only color in the landscape.

The verse, "Behold, I make all things new" is Revelations 21:5.

Woman with Shawl

She is holding a shawl. That's all I know about her.

Rose Hips

New England rose hips in the fall with the rose leaves changing color. I'm not sure why I drew the leaves as single leaves and not as leaflets.

This is one of my few drawings that has no ink or pencil lines, just marker for everything.

Paper: ecru Crane's card approx. 4x6"

Bad Marker Example

This is what I mean by Bad Markers. Blotchy, bleedy, smeary, muddy, streaky colors. And the caps were hard to get on and off. It was very frustrating for me to work with them. At least in my memory, they smelled bad, too. I like the shapes in this drawing, but the coloring spoiled it for me. See Bad Marker Disclaimer.

As a result, I pretty much stopped drawing for 23 years. Then in 2008, I was introduced to Copic markers, and I started drawing again.

Bird in Bright Colors

This bird was colored with Pentel fine tip markers (water based). The notched oval shapes are tracings around a beautiful Norwegian silver necklace, shown at right, a gift from my sister-in-law.

The background was done with some Bad Markers, and thankfully I have repressed the brand name. It just looked ugly to me - streaky and blotchy. Then, more than 20 years later, I used my Copic markers in similar colors to go back over the background. Now, I'm happy to say, it looks smooth and even. See Bad Marker Disclaimer.

Ribbon Abstract 1985

Ribbons drawn with Pentel fine point markers.

Paper: unknown drawing paper, lightly textured

Landscape with Seated Person

Glass Jewelry Box

Someone made this leaded-glass jewelry box for me. Pale golden glass, with a clear beveled diamond shape in the lid. I drew it in pencil on cheap thin typing paper and colored it with colored pencils.

I still have the jewelry, including the beaded necklace and earrings (below) and the pin with blue stones. But the box fell apart after years of use.

Linoleum Print Tree

One time I bought a small linoleum carving kit, with tools, brayer, ink, and a linoleum block. This was my only output. Not my medium, but I do like this tree.

Stamped on textured gray paper. The image is about 1.5 x 1.5 inches.