Because my Kung Te-Cheng Noodlers ink blocked up my Lamy pen, and having done a bit of research, I decided buy a cheap but good fountain pen that I can fill with it (the site I looked at also recommended watering the ink down with distilled water – but that hasn’t worked for me). Anyway I am now the proud owner of a Platinum Preppy fountain pen – though I drew this with my Sailor pen!
Wed-4-Feb-2026
In this sketch I was struggling through a sketch using a dip pen and sludgy Kung Te-Cheng Noodlers ink. This is supposed to be my wife’s Kipling bag (really expensive but very well worth it) but it’s hard to make out! I sketched this while taking to my mum on the phone – a very distressing call as she seemed to have forgotten my father has passed away and talked about how she missed him and wanted to be with him.
Wed-28-Jan-2026
For this sketch I was just doodling around in the evening. This plastic bin holds our collection of freebie (mostly BDO) umbrellas, several of which we haven’t even opened! The whole thing only avoids falling over because the an ancient heavyweight socket-set (something I used in the UK when I actually did a tiny bit of car maintenance) at the bottom (why we still have that I don’t know).
Wed-28-Jan-2026
The day I drew this I spent some of my evening glueing back together various broken fridge magnets. That includes one from Jordan that has been broken so many times I have lost count and one made from a coke can. Not all of them are magnets though – the mask, which I sketched back in November 2020 (see Sketch No. 1570), often gets broken and the cat is made from two painted stones (by our daughter), glued together.
Sat-24-Jan-2026
The other day the nib on my Sailor Fude fountain pen broke! Maybe I have done too much sketching…I did drop it a while back but the cap was on. Anyway it’s given me excellent service since July 2018, when my first sketch using it was of fruit (No.780). As I use it so much I quickly got a replacement from scribe.ph – a 30th anniversary version with a sparkly blue colour (Sailor have been making them since 1995).
Thu-22-Jan-2026
This tripod was a freebie from the guy who sold us a Canon Camera (see Sketch No.112-3313), which we gave to our daughter for her birthday. She couldn’t fit in in her check in bag through (to take back to the UK)…what stingy airline allows only 5kg for carryon! So it will stay here for a while.
Thu-15-Jan-2026
In this sketch I followed the suggestion of Koosje Koene, and Draw Tip Tuesday by starting with a wash of colour before drawing. This helps to loosen up when starting a sketch and facing a blank page.
Wed-14-Jan-2026
Why not kick off a short break in sketching (I missed a day), with some fruit? I picked the simplest I could find – some avocados. Mostly for this one, I used watercolour pencils.
Tue-13-Jan-2026
This is a sketch of my daughters new shoes (which she got as a Christmas present from her sister…and yes they are pink), done before she headed back to the UK. She packed the day I sketched this, squeezing in all her pasalubong (pancit canton, iced tea and chocnut!).
Mon-12-Jan-2026