Since my first year of studying art in college, I have drawn in ink. I began with contour drawing in ink and gesture  drawing with pencil.

Every time I begin any session in drawing and/or painting, I begin with a gesture drawing to assess the energy of the subject matter and a contour drawing to better see the details of the image.

Contour Drawing Helps Me to Better See What I Want to Paint – Frederick Franck on Zen Drawing

Socks with Red-Hot Rocket Ships to Help Her Clear th Moon
Jacki Kellum Illustration Study

I also begin my illustrations with the same routine of feeling the energy of the subject matter with gestural studies and understanding the detail with contour drawing.

Sunflower 1
Jacki Kellum Repurposed Book

Again, I begin my sketches in repurposed books with the same routine of feeling the energy of the subject matter with gestural studies and understanding the detail with contour drawing.

After about 50 years of this approach to art, I have merged into my own style of working in ink–which is a combination of contour and gesture drawing. That is the style you see in my Weeping Sunflowers:

Weeping Sunflowers: Sunflower’s Last Days
Jacki Kellum Ink Drawing

Unlike my earlier contour drawings, which are more linear, Weeping Sunflowers is more gestural–or feeling oriented. Throughout the years, I have continued to do my ink studies with one continuous line.

Why I Draw Without Lifting My Pen

When I pick up my pen, my concentration is interrupted–I lose the energy of the subject matter–and I lose my place in the actual drawing.

After I drew Weeping Sunflowers, a bit of whimsy directed me toward Inktober52–part of the Inktober program on Instagram. I have finally accepted the fact that I AM an ink artist. My ink drawings are not typical of Inktober,  but they are my version of drawing in Ink. Serendipitously, I saw that the Inktober52 prompt for that week was Dive, and I acknowledged that my Sunflowers were weeping into the abyss of the otherwise white paper around it.  I applied the appropriate hashtags and entered my drawing on Instagram.

#inktober52 #inktober52DIVE

And Voila! I did Inktober52. Just Like That!

The Natural Way to Draw – Understanding Gesture Drawing and Contour Drawing