IF:Hatch

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This little ink drawing (with a hint of gouache) is my submission to this week's Illustration Friday topic: hatch. I always work very quickly when I draw with ink. Each mark is so definite. You make a line and there it is: black on white, no hiding, no fussing, no second-guessing, no going back. If I didn't have such a strong aversion to cleaning out pen nibs I would draw with ink every day. Curse my laziness!

I spent the better part of today working on this illustration. I'm very happy because I successfully pushed myself over the psychological hump that I like to call, "almost almost finished." This is the stage in each painting where I suddenly see 1) how I want to resolve the image, and 2) exactly how much work will be required to do so. In that instant all of my motivation flies right out the window. So I spent today fighting against my gnat-like attention span, but ultimately getting over the hump so that now I am really, truly and simply "almost finished."

I get a lot of inspiration from my mom's and stepdad's garden. I keep pictures of their dahlias on my desk to use for reference, and to help get me through the winter months.