Sketches from Mackinac

We went up to the Mackinac/Mackinaw area this weekend.

I’ve been wanting to get away for a weekend; to sleep in, see the water, find a diner for some greasy breakfast and explore nature with the pup (And of course, to paint a bit…) so we decided to make the 4 hour drive northward.

I had just gotten a new sketchbook that I was really excited to try out. It’s an accordion fold from Hahnemule with really heavy watercolor paper. It felt a bit like a AAA map from road trips of yesteryear, so I decided to make some contour drawings of the land and use the colors of our drive to be a ‘map’ in another sense.

I also brought along these water-soluble ink blocks from Derwent that I tried out a few weeks ago.

It was a beautiful drive up. Seriously, Michigan is a gorgeous state.

We got in a bit later than planned, so we let the pup walk around and headed straight to dinner. I was hoping to make a few beach-side color studies but had lost all my light. Sketching would have to wait until tomorrow.

Mackinaw City Sunrise.

The next morning I was greeted with a spectacular sunrise and whatever irritation I felt for missing a chance to sketch by the water last night, was totally gone.

Once the sky had lightened enough I gathered my ink blocks, drawing board and a fresh rolled canvas from Fredrix and set up on the chilly, windy beach.

I didn’t exactly dress for the weather, so this was a quick painting session. The Inktense blocks worked beautifully on the canvas (pre-gessoed) allowing me to get the color and motion down in quick strokes.

A new thing I just discovered with the pup; usually I bring back my work to dry on the hotel floor. I can’t do that anymore unless I want to add little paw prints to the design ( paint is definitely not something that should be on dog feet…) so I had to get creative about where to store the wet canvas overnight.

Luckily, there was a perfect sized luggage rack in the cabin’s closet.

We’ll head home in a few days, hoping to get a few more chances to paint along the water - the colors up here are just so incredible.

Hope you’re all having a wonderful weekend!

Trying out the Derwent Inktense Blocks

(Not sponsored, just excited to try out new materials. This post does contain affiliate links, if you’re interested in trying out these blocks consider purchasing through the link. No extra cost to you, but Amazon sends me a few bucks!)

I’m hoping to plan a weekend getaway soon - we’ve all been cooped up in here for most of the summer and I am ready for a little adventure.

Of course, as with every adventure my supplies come along for the ride - but if we’re gone for just a few days I don’t think I want to bring EVERYTHING I usually do. I might just concentrate on making a few small sketches while away instead.

To this end I picked up these water-soluble ink blocks from Derwent and I’m excited to try them out. They are certainly packable, and if they are versatile enough I might bring these and no other paints.

Dry block, with a bit water

The block are really vibrant dry AND wet.

Testing the layers/translucency

I’m really happy with hows these performed.

Really beautiful pigment when dry, and with water it’s easily blendable and layerable. Perfect for my purposes and exactly what I was looking for in a small set of travel paint/pigment.

We may not have the destination picked out yet, but at least I know what supplies I’m bringing along.

<3 <3