Jul 24

Jul 24 Black & White... and a Splash of Color

Lately I’ve been drawn to working in black and white. It’s such a nice limitation.

With just line and value, the focus shifts to shapes, contrast, texture and layout.

I’ve been combining different materials too: fountain pen, Pilot Parallel pen, pencils, waterproof and watersoluble. There’s so much variation, even when you strip things down. It can be surprisingly refreshing.

But then… I met up with my colorful friend Sabine Wisman.

We had lunch and drew together in Amsterdam (as we often do), and of course we shared materials. That’s always fun, exploring someone else’s pencil case, seeing what they’re excited about. Inspiration is contagious.
I tested some of her Sakura watercolors in a corner of my sketchbook pages, and played with combining black and white with one extra color.

And before I knew it, I found myself walking into my favorite art supply shop: A.J. van der Linde. When i’m in Amsterdam and I’m close to it, I just have to go there. Just for a look, right? But let’s be honest, you can probably guess how that went.

I did keep it modest! A few carefully chosen items, and I stuck to a limited color palette. That’s the thing about color: even just a few hues can be enough to spark a whole different vibe and new ideas for the sketchbook.

I tried some of the new goodies while sipping a cold brew coffee at a coffee roastery I used to often buy beans when I lived in Amsterdam. Bought a couple of coffee beans to bring home too, of course.

It’s funny how the mood of your drawings can shift just by what you put in your pencil case. Whether it’s a brush pen and a splash of watercolor, or just one black pencil, it all works. The important part is taking time to draw. And when you bring limited tools, there’s less decisions to make which leaves you with more time to draw.