ink drawing

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Inktober Portrait

I am running way behind on posting to the blog! If you want to catch me in real time, I can also be found on Facebook or Instagram. Instagram has short process reels starting to appear also, as I am learning how to create them (and overcome my nerves!)

This year I am wanting to work more seriously on my portraiture. So I asked a coworker if I could draw his son, whom I met at a company BBQ, thus the company hat and keychain. He was such a delight to work on and my first Inktober piece. Nothing like warming up to the inks in the most intense way possible! When Jasper saw his picture he told his dad he wanted it on his wall. What a sweet compliment!

I did the entire piece with a pencil sketch, then this brush dipped in Higgins black waterproof ink (and a raccoon mug of water.) Again – Inktober was about working on the balance of tones and values with the ink. I saw myself progress as the month did. I doubt an artist every feels they have arrived, though, so I have learned to just accept where I am, knowing with each piece I am growing my skill.

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Pet Commission

Something I have been doing with these inked pet commissions is asking for donations to a favorite local dog rescue where we have gotten our dogs in the past.

These rescues are suffering during covid times, so every little bit helps. I appreciate those who are donating this way! Makes me feel good.

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Inktober 2021 Day 16 – Compass

Rushing but having fun! I have said for a long time that I want to learn how to be looser with my art. This is going to force that!

This is for all the wildlife rescuers out there whose compass is True North.

This was a fast one with the brush and a few pens. I am needing to catch up!!! This comes from a story that had me laughing and supporting Wild Heart Ranch Wildlife Rescue this summer. A state of the art, new racoon holding pen was breached by the little rascals in rehab this summer. They call it The Great Escape and the rehab director kept us on the edge of our seats with the hilarious antics as they worked to recapture 40 escaped babies.

60 were still in the cage, but 40 sets of destructive little hands can wreak havoc.

4 are still roaming the wildlife center at night, but the others have been safely rehabbed and released where they can live without wreaking destruction. You can’t help but love these cuties tho.

Thank you to all the rehabbers out there giving their life to help wildlife.

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Inktober Day 14 – Tick

Did you know the opossum is our little vacuum cleaners in nature? They can eat 10k-12k ticks in a month. Be kind to these gentle creatures.

This little fella was placed in rehab when he fell off his mama’s back. Opossums do not go searching for their young so when they fall off, they are on their own.


A couple of places I love who rehab opossums:
IN – Humane Indiana Wildlife
OK – Wild Heart Ranch

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Finalizing Inktober

So Inktober almost went bust for me mid month when my brother passed, but I finally jumped back in on day 21 and did a few more pieces.

Here is my wrapup:

Day 6 – Rodent
Day 7 Fancy – this was a rare bird who showed up in our area – I was practicing ink washes and will watercolor this later
Day 8 Teeth – I added this to my Nature Journal since I heard the coyotes again behind the house.
Day 21 – Sleep – this was my re-entry into my creativeness after the loss of my brother. It seemed a nice, gentle way to get back to it. My cat and pointillism.
Day 23 – RIP – My brother, Aaron
Day 25 – Buddy – My brother Ron – we were buddies growing up on the farm as the closest to my age of the 7 of us.

I had to catch up on some Christmas commissions at this point, so I put my energy into those. I also was meeting once a week with a set of nieces who were participating with me, which I will share in another post.

One other thing that kept me involved is that I am an Admin on a Facebook group called Inktober SafeSpace where artists, young and old, can share their work without imagery depicting violence, hate, and sexually explicit material. The larger Inktober can trigger someone due to depictions of suicide and depression etc. Also, some of us simply do not like all that in-your-face art.

This is a place where people can safely have fun, share and not have to deal with the artists who are going for the shock factor, edginess, and trying to push the envelope of how disgusting they can be. Sometimes life is hard enough without having it in your face 24/7. We are a small group, but we certainly had fun this year.

All of this kept me Inktober-busy! I did enjoy the “season”.