Update: 08/06/22: This was the final drawing that I used the dip pen for, as it just didn’t work and ended up making more imperfections on the page, and was far too difficult to use to be practical. I was given some Rotring Isograph pens for Christmas which completely changed the way in which I could draw the pen and ink illustrations, and I am really thankful for tat, as it undoubtedly improved the quality and accuracy of my drawings ten-fold.
Two days ago, I finished my pen and ink drawing of the Catacol Whitebeam (Sorbus pseudomeinichii).
This was the first drawing from the list of Endangered Plants, and (as I said previously) therefore I felt a certain amount of pressure to draw it accurately and with no mistakes. This – predictably – didn’t happen, and I ended up having huge issues with the pen that I was using, which persisted on creating ink blots on my work, and the nib falling out of the holder, creating smudge marks over a small section of the page also. Thankfully however, I managed to find a new pen which worked much better and was much easier to control – allowing me to finish the piece without anymore mistakes or accidents caused by the pen. The biggest blot – or at least the one which caused the most grievance for me was the one below, where you can see the large dark area. The fact that it fell on the area I was working was particularly galling, and I tried to cover it up and make it a part of the work. Sadly, it didn’t quite work, and the area is a bit dark and highlights it. However, I have had a lot of feedback saying that the mistakes and blots on the work actually make the viewers appreciate the work more and the work that went into it – making it more human and more impactful overall.
Below are a few more photos showing the progress of the drawing:
Overall, I am very pleased with how the piece looks – in spite of the mistakes and flaws. I am trying to learn to embrace and accept all the flaws in the works (especially after the positive feedback I have had about them) – including differences in paper and minor imperfections in composition. Although these are elements which probably change the category of my work from illustration to art (due to issues with accuracy), I am accepting this – as I am not trained as a botanical illustrator at all – and this is only my second pen and ink illustration. Additionally, the flaws add an element of engagement and humanity to the illustrations – which makes people more interested in the works themselves and more likely to look into them further – and then therefore also at the plants themselves – which is the overall aim of the work after all.
Reference Image Source: RBGE. (2018) Royal botanic Gardens Edinburgh Herbarium Catalogue. Available at: https://data.rbge.org.uk/search/herbarium/?cfg=fulldetails.cfg&specimen_num=637456 (accessed: 11 November 2021)
