There was a tree that caught my eye from my favorite patio, and I settled in to sketch it, with my fun little Prius in front. I like drawing my small car in an age of hulking SUVs. I've been on a dip pen kick lately, and I used some walnut ink. I had thought to add paint afterwards, but I ended up liking the line and deciding not to overdo it. I didn't get nearly the full tree on the page, however -- I usually go bigger than I mean to. So I did a second version.

This time I started with the tree and got *almost* all of it in. I started with paint too and added very little line afterwards (in my current favorite Diamine Chopin ink). I like this one for different reasons, but as so often happens, neither one is even close to the vision I had in my head before I started. In my better moods I think of the paint or ink as a partner in the process that takes me in a different direction. In my worse, I wonder why on earth I can't manage to draw a tree the way I want to. Mostly I was pleased with the outcomes, so we'll go with that today.