Fountain Pen Sketching

After last week's urban sketching workshop in Chicago I wanted to learn more about fountain pens. So I signed up for a class at St Louis Art Supply taught by Emmett Catedral. Emmett is a local urban sketcher who specializes in ink and watercolor. You can see her work on Instagram @e.catedral.

One of the nice things about the classes at St Louis Art Supply is that the registration fee includes all the supplies you need to do the exercises - in this case, a Pilot Kakuno fountain pen, a Midori MD paper pad (A5 size), and a Pentel water brush.

Emmett helped us put our fountain pens together and fill our water brushes, and then we jumped right into sketching the flowers on the cafe tables. She showed us how to put a squiggle of ink on the shadows and then dissolve it into a nice gray tone with the water brush. It was amazing how you could make something look really nice with just a quick sketch. Emmett even let me try out one of her pens with a golden yellow ink.

The highlight of the class was getting to go up on the roof deck and sketch the architectural details of the nearby historic buildings. Emmett was a font of information regarding pen styles, ink brands, sketching and shading techniques, types of paper, travel journaling, and even a local pen club. I was so fascinated taking notes of all her tips that I really didn't get much sketching done, but I would love to go back (the views were gorgeous and the patio area was shaded and quiet). The class is being offered again in early July. You can find details on the St Louis Art Supply website. I thought the class was really enlightening (well worth a Sunday afternoon). But if you are interested you'd better sign up early. Registration is limited to 10 participants.