Maris Peer

drawing potatoes

Just harvested half a row – that’s two or three feet across our raised beds – of Maris Peer second early potatoes and decided they’d be a suitable subject for attempting to draw with a Canada goose quill.

quill and feather ink and wash drawing of Maris Peer potatoes.

I tried using the feathered end of one of the quills to add the wash. This is Noodler’s Black Ink.

I’ve been reading books on Hokusai and Quentin Blake, who was one of the tutors during my time on the Illustration course at the Royal College of Art. Birds feature a lot in Blake’s work and he’ll sometimes use a feather to draw and paint with.

2 comments

  1. Richard,
    I enjoyed receiving three posts today and I’m impressed with the variety and the information about each subject. Is the quill handmade by you? Great lines with it. Thanks.
    Frank

    1. Yes, I made a slanting cut on each one and then a slit, like a regular pen nib. They must be over ten years old and are a bit the worse for wear but, after reading up on Quentin Blake and Hokusai, that’s good because it makes the line so unpredictable. I’m going to try drawing with one on location tomorrow.

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.