A couple of sketches done using found/improvised resources during a trip to Grinda, the Stockholm island where I drew the 38 boats. The first was drawn using a dip-nib cut into the tip of a swan’s feather that I found (a bottle lid with Lexington grey from my water-brush was the ink-pot). I’ve never used a real quill pen before, but the nib was surprisingly smooth, and the unpredictable ink-flow created some happy accidents (the shadow in the centre of the rocks where the lines ran together).

Lexington grey in water-brush and swan’s feather, watercolour, A7 – 10 minutes

Then I used strong black tea, left at the bottom of a cup, to add a wash to three scenes I drew from the top deck of the island ferry. It was very pale and went well with the light pencil lines but needed several layers to build up the tone, so it then took a long time to dry… Could work well as a complementary wash  with the sepia ink I’ve started using?

Pencil, black tea, Lexington grey in water-brush, A6 – 30 minutes