Pen and ink dog portrait sketch of a long coat Chihuahua. Sketched with a Sharpie gel pen. If you are interested in commissioning a pet portrait check out my website at styleartc.com/portrait.html

I'm practicing drawing directly with pen to paper, this pen and ink drawing of a Black Capped chickadee was made with Sharpie gel pen, nib size .05, I would prefer a smaller size but I think that's the smallest size gel pens offer.

Ever wonder how birds can survive the harsh cold of winter? During the colder months of the year birds are seen perched and looking plump from their fluffed up feathers, chickadees especially look like little round fluff balls. This is actually a form of insulation, keeping birds warm in the winter. 

The feathers trap warm air inside close to the bird's body and can reduce heat loss by as much as 50% or even more!

A member of an art forum I visit mentioned that he used a gel pen for some of his pen sketches so I gave it a try. This small landscape of a waterfall was made with a Sharpie gel pen, nib size .05 nib.

I wouldn't recommend gel pens for finished pen art because they don't use archival ink, and the point sizes they come in are limited, but for quick sketches they are great. I really enjoy sketching with the gel pen

I have been practicing drawing directly with a pen, no pencil or eraser used, and to tell you the truth, I'm actually surprised I can draw without using my eraser. It's not as accurate but maybe with practice I will get better and feel more at ease  not having an eraser standing by to fix my mistakes.

This pen sketch was drawn with a Micron pen, size .05 nib. Micron drawing pens are my favorite, they replaced the technical pens I used to make my pen and ink artwork with.

The pen and ink drawing of a Schnauzer was from a challenge on an art forum. Art challenges can take various forms, in this particular challenge photos were posted and artists could pick which ones they would like to draw or paint, then post their art interpretation of the photo to the forum.

This  dog pen and ink portrait drawing was made with a Micron pen with a .05 point.