pen and ink – Page 3 – Mellanie Collins, Artist

A Quick Portrait Sketch

Here’s a sketch of my husband Michael doing his duty as model. He’s such a good sport. I didn’t even have to add an obligation to model in the marriage vows. He just sees the pen and submits. In this sketch he is ignoring me and reading his book.

Drawing Him Drawing

This morning Michael and I were talking about old trucks and he started to draw one from memory. I whipped out my pen and drew him drawing the truck. It’s really hard to draw someone’s moving hand, but I managed.

Back to Sketching

The other day I was waiting for the library to open and there was quite a crowd of people waiting with me. I grabbed a pen and sketched frantically, trying to draw as many people as I could before the doors opened. It was wonderful to just draw without a plan and not care aboutContinue reading “Back to Sketching”

Portrait Swap with Ujwala

I just completed my first portrait swap. Aside from a little nail biting it went great. My swap was with Ujwala from draw the line. We thought it would be fun to combine a portrait swap for the Portrait Party blog with an ATC exchange. Here is my entry. It took a lot of sketchingContinue reading “Portrait Swap with Ujwala”

Trading My Cards

Hi there everyone. Last week I started trading my art cards. It’s a blast. I’ve traded almost every card I’ve made. I made a few today. Here are two I made using my new comic book style: I’ve already traded the one on the right. Minutes after I posted it, I had someone offer aContinue reading “Trading My Cards”

Black and White in the Green Season

Here are the latest entries in my art card series. I’m getting pretty addicted to these. It does seem strange to do these black and white drawings when there is this riot of spring color outside. My neighborhood’s gardens are erupting with new flowers. When I go about my daily walking, all the colors andContinue reading “Black and White in the Green Season”

Meet Mitzi – Another Art Card

I’ve been having a wonderful time working on these little cards. I’ve decided to call this young woman Mitzi. I have no idea why. It just seems to be her name. She’s inspired by Louise Brooks and Clara Bow, two of my favorite silent film stars. Mitzi seems audacious and crafty. You know, the typeContinue reading “Meet Mitzi – Another Art Card”

Rev. Jesse Jackson and Others

Rev. Jesse Jackson was the second African America to run for the Democratic presidential nomination. A civil rights activist, and Baptist minister, he ran twice in 1984 and 1988. In 1984, he was pretty much written off as a fringe candidate. Therefore, it was quite a surprise when he came in third in the nominationContinue reading “Rev. Jesse Jackson and Others”

Shirley Chisholm: Unbossed and Unbought

This year’s race for the U.S. Democratic nomination has been interesting to watch and it got me thinking about the other African American candidates of the past. Interesting enough, they have all run during my lifetime. I decided to work on ink portraits of each candidate as way to practice my technique. I’m no historian,Continue reading “Shirley Chisholm: Unbossed and Unbought”

ATCs? Why not?

I’ve been doing little doodles and deciding to call them artist trading cards. These are little art pieces that measure 2.5 inches by 3.5 inches and can be created in any medium. I’ve been seeing a lot of these and thought it would be fun to see what I would be able to do withContinue reading “ATCs? Why not?”