Back to Ink in Santa Barbara

 

Hotel Courtyard Around the Corner, Santa Barbara
8" x 8" on hot press paper, Stillman & Birns Sketchbook, Zeta Series

So my mate and I took a trip to Santa Barbara last week. I tried painting the beautiful county courthouse and the Old Mission with pencil and watercolor in my Hand Book watercolor journal, but I just wasn't feeling it. 

Then I switched to pen drawings in my Stillman & Birns Sketchbook. It seemed like my hands had been just waiting to use ink again. I sketched on site in ink, took reference photos, and then added watercolors back at the apartment where we stayed. I kept thinking, "This is what I want to do more of! Travel, sketch, and paint! And I'll never not use ink again!" 

Of course, that phase ended, as it always does. See next post. But it was sure a rush while it lasted. 

The 'Hood Across the Street from the Old Mission, Santa Barbara
8" x 8" on hot press paper, Stillman & Birns Sketchbook, Zeta Series

The Old Jail in the County Courthouse Complex, Santa Barbara
8" x 8" on hot press paper, Stillman & Birns Sketchbook, Zeta Series