Le Scale e La Cantina - I (step 4)

9”x12” Smooth Bristol Board,
Pari, Grosseto Italia

After taking the time to lay out the basic strokes for this piece in pencil, I began inking everything in, adjusting the line work as I went along. Once the outlines are made in ink, they are more or less set in stone — more or less. If you look at the top left-hand corner of this piece, you will see some white correcting fluid (actually Dr. Ph Martin's Pen White Ink, which seems to be brighter than Dr. Ph Martin's Bleed-Proof White). I had attempted to ink in the corner of the cantina which showed up in my reference foto to give a sense of depth by adding in a foreground element.

I wasn't completely satisfied with the end result, since it interfered with the sense of openness and spaciousness that I was attempting to develop in this piece. While inking, I was careful to adopt the same mentality, la mentalità, that I had mentioned in my previous post about perspective. One of the advantages of starting with a pencil sketch is that one can adjust, eliminate, and add in elements and details to further refine the piece before painting.

As with the other pieces that I have created, I took this photo after erasing the extra lines from the pencil sketch. This typically opens up the sketch and allows me to have a clear canvas, or in this case bristol board, to paint upon. Like many of my pieces in the last part of 2024, I used seppia India ink in combination with the Tachikawa mapping and spoon nibs for the inking process.

Yours in inspiration,
Michael Weaver