I have three videos uploaded that are about ink stippling.  The third is one I just finished today and talks about using a flesh-tone ink where yellow is not wanted.  All three videos can be seen at this Playlist

I am working on a small American Flag for the demonstration in the video.

I have recently posted a couple of new videos on YouTube:

First-   "Transferring A Repetitive Design to Paper or Board "

I use a photograph of my mother to demonstrate how to transfer a design.  Below is a sample of the design, worked in copperpoint and pewter. (This work is a derivative of a photograph taken by W.S.)

and the second video is  "Ink Stippling - Layering and Color 1"

One of the examples I use in that video is a stippled Knitting Doll, as shown below.

"Sinningia 'Mini Sinn' ", pen and ink, (c) laeom

When I went to college for a horticulture degree, one of the projects that had to be completed was to make a book or binder that identified 500 different types of trees.  My diploma is in Ornamental Horticulture and the curriculum was heavy with landscaping, as well as growing, information.  My favorite tree personally is the White pine, Pinus strobus.

Living on Cape Cod, I am surrounded by Pinus rigida, or Scrub pine.  They are subject to boring hole beetles, are very rustic looking, and are somewhat scrubby-looking next to an elegant White pine, which also grows here.  I grew a White pine in a large tub for about 12 years, and then two years ago, had to plant it in the ground so that it could grow to its potential.  It is my "birthday tree" and Christmas tree, in my back yard.

Knowing I may be moving, I am somewhat heartbroken over leaving my tree behind.  I have purchased 50 White pine seedlings to grow on in pots until they are large enough to plant in the ground.  I will be drawing different aspects of this tree, but I have also started working in oils again, in order to capture the spirit of the tree, without all of the detail.

Below is one description of the history of this tree:


"The Eastern White Pine tree has been referred to as "the monarch of the forest." Some that greeted the first settlers reached a height of 250 feet with diameters of 6 feet. They were a bonanza for England in colonial times, as they met a vital military and commercial need for sailing ship masts. Since the colonists were rapidly using up the existing supply of trees close to the ocean that were large enough for masts, the Royal Navy appealed to Parliament. As a result, in 1691 Great Britain imposed the first of the so-called "broad arrow" acts, so named because of the axe mark placed on the reserved trees by the king's men, that reserved these trees for the English government. Growing resentment to the crown's appropriation of the choicest White Pines helped precipitate the Revolutionary War, and the first flag of the revolutionary forces even had a White Pine as its emblem." (from ebay seller drillstore nursery)


and another view of its history:

"The White pine , known by the native Americans as the Tree of peace and sometimes called the monarch of the forest , is a fast grower , and can reach up to 80- 100 ft at maturity . Because of the ease of transplanting , they are the ideal tree  for lanscaping or windbreaks as well as privacy fences or barriers . They are the tree of choice for bald eagles and many other forms of birds and wildlife . They are great for white tail deer, turkeys and the black bear .They grow best in partial sun to full shade .
 They are also friendly to other trees and shrubs , which allows for placing other shrubs  and  plants under them . They are frequently used as christmas trees . They can be pruned and shaped to grow as wider trees or can be allowed to grow freely . They have small yellowish cones as flowers and are evergreen , providing a beautiful tree all year long . " (from ebay seller icando3d, seller of the trees I purchased)

I have even designed a new logo for myself with the tree as a main design element.  I will be posting photos soon.

I have just uploaded a new video to YouTube - Rapidograph Slow Ink Flow

June 22, 2015 -
I have said that since I was hit by lightning, that I see in gray colors now in my mind.  Shades of gray.  Having gotten to the point of being a colorist just before getting hit by lightning, this has been difficult.  I have been drawing in graphite and in few colors because now, color actually hurts.

I have also realized something else.  After the lightning strike, there have been a couple of times when it appeared as if I had had a stroke.  The first time, about a year after the lightning, left me not being able to speak or form words in my mind.  It was as if my brain had simply stopped working.  I remember walking around the house, trying to say a word, trying to think.  I made it to the neighbor's house and she brought me to the hospital.  Before I was able to do that though, the only word I could get out was "cat".  My cat had passed away before this, and it was actually the first time in 33 years that I was without a pet.  But I said "cat". Meaning, that I came out with a word that had absolutely nothing to do with my situation at that moment.  "Did you have a stroke?" I ask myself, "cat" is the answer.

One of my videos listed on YouTube is about an abstract bead tapestry and working against your own thinking to keep your mind open to color and shapes.  I think that when I got hit by lightning, my perception of color went away to some extent, my language has completely changed (becoming simpler and non-expressive), and yet I am constantly aware of the vast time and thoughts that are part of our collective existence.  By that I mean everything.  I hear differently now, in all ways, and although psychic for most of my life, I am now, in it.  Not just a psychic, because I'm not psychic like I used to be, but I am in it, all the thoughts, all the colors, all of it.  I have been working on pieces called "Through The Tunnel" that describe my ten minutes of near-death experience.  And I am finding that my tunnel doesn't seem to have closed after the lightning event.  This can be overwhelming, but not really, because it's a true state of where I am.  Do I "see" the other side?  I'm not sure.  I do know I hear it all the time.

I drew an ACEO of Saint Michael in gray.  I believe I "see" and "hear" color in gray now.  There is a gray world out there, a brownish world of thoughts, and a black world.  Someone might call them dimensions, or they might be aspects of thinking or perception.  For me, they are separate from each other now.  I used to dream in color.  Now, not only do I not dream during sleep, I don't seem to reach REM sleep at all,  You could almost say I live in a walking, awake dream.

My latest "problem" has been deciding whether to draw my Saint Michael ACEOs in colors such as red, blue, etc., or gray.  I have seen him in gray.  I have seen him in gray.  The Saint Michael.  Because I have a degree in horticulture, and was a botanical illustrator for so long, I have recently been buying plants again, to draw, trying to get back to a "normal" of the past.  I seem to have stored some words or vocabulary in my ACEOS of Saint Michael- my own language maybe, as I sat and stippled his image for hours.  So, drawing ACEOs of him is next to breathing, and may be where my thinking will always be.  That takes care of a subject - and a language - and I am not sure yet why the question of color is still bothering me.  I always tried to work "from life", and as I said, I have seen him in gray.  If I draw his image as an ACEO in color, am I contributing to his existence at all? Adding color to his life or time? or taking away from it?

Being of a very knowledgeable religious background does not mean I believe everything I am told by a church.  I do believe the Bible is true, and Saint Michael is mentioned at least four times in the Old Testament, so yes I believe in Saint Michael.  If my mind is creating a "safe" image and color range because I got hit by lightning, I'm not sure I (it) would have chosen Saint Michael.  He spends his life battling the worst of the worst, and although I also believe he protects us, on some level we have to acknowledge the horror he sees in order to acknowledge him.

So, here I am.  Surrounded by new plants, green and yellow inks, all ready to draw geraniums and sinningias, orchids and trees.  Transcribing the gray colors I see into other colors. In an open tunnel of a near-death existence. Seeing, not only faces of other souls, but Saint Michael, walking in gray.  Did I mention that at least three times I have both purchased and then thrown away Saint Michael items?  Some that were expensive- his mountain as a statue, an Italian statue of him, books of Mont Saint Michel, medals, etc.  I keep trying to stick him back into a small part of my thinking, and the more I do it, over a month or two, there he is again, walking in gray.  And if my language is also tied up into the ACEO image I designed, well, how exactly am I supposed to get away from him?

Gray, as I see him, or in color, as others see him?

ACEO No. 40, "Saint Michael No. 8" - finished this ACEO recently.  I sometimes have drawings come out a certain way on their own.  I had decided to make his hair brown for this image, but he seems to have a darker tone overall, even though I use consistent ink colors. This was completed on Crescent hot press illustration board.

I have started another one.  This will be on Winsor and Newton hot press 140 lb. watercolor paper.  The absorbancy rate of the watercolor paper is higher than illustration board, so the drawing may come out darker still, as more ink will be absorbed into the paper.

"#998 Sinningia 'Bright Eyes' "

I have been working further on this drawing - photo below

I have also mixed the ink for the blossom color - a combination of lavender and magenta.

If you are looking for a great way to take your pen and ink supplies with you, there is a very nice storage box to use.  It is called the Artbin Sidekick, and I have one of these as well as another of the Dick Blick version of the Sidekick. With the Blick version being just $12.59, this makes a very affordable, spacious storage box.

I keep all of my current ink bottles in the bottom half.  Currently I have 38 one-ounce bottles of ink stored here.

In the top half I keep two Syringe cleaners, vintage pens, ACEO-size boards, sample size bottles of Rotring Artist Color ink, etc., and in the top's top container I keep crowquill pens and extra nibs.

Along with my leather pen case that holds 24 filled technical pens, I can work anywhere.

If you are like me, you buy used pens when you get the chance.  Recently I purchased some used Koh-I-Noor Rapidograph pens.  They were sizes 3 x 0 and 1, two sizes I use often when working with multiple colors of ink.

Below are some photos that show what to watch out for when purchasing used technical pens. In the first photo below, you see three pens and an extra nib that I purchased.

This photo below shows a "typical" used pen.  There is old ink in the ink reservoir, and the nib is stuck in the nib collar.

 Here is another pen below showing typical use.  The cap has dried ink, and there is old ink in the nib weight.

Below is a photo of the extra nib that came with the pens, and it too needed a cleaning.

 The photos below show a nib in a nib collar, and then the bottom area of the nib collar.  The bottom area has to have that rectangle opening clear (sometimes they are a different shape) or the nib won't be able to draw ink.

 The nib shown below is really stuck.  This pen had been used and then left to have all the ink dry up in it.  When they are this stuck, there is no sense in forcing it.  The nib was put in an ultrasonic cleaner for four cycles before it started to free up.

In the photos above, you can see the different pens as I took them apart to check their condition.  That is the first step.  The next step is to put each one in an ultrasonic cleaner, unassembled, until there is no ink residue left on each part.  You could also soak them in Koh-I-Noor Cleaning Concentrate or even water, but an ultrasonic cleaner is faster.  When taking the nib out of the nib collar, be sure to use the correct nib key.  Vintage Koh-I-Noor pens came with a gold-colored nib key, and although it looks similar to the more modern black key, it is shaped differently.

Below is a photo of the ultrasonic cleaner I use.  For many years I had a Koh-I-Noor Ultrasonic Cleaner, but when they became hard to find, I purchased one made for cleaning jewelry.

Ultrasonic Cleaners will run a little hot if used continually to clean several pens.  I leave mine open every few cycles to allow the fluid in the tank to cool off.

After cleaning each pen, I let the different parts dry on a paper towel unless I am going to use the pen right away.  When fully dry, I re-assemble the pen.  The process of taking a pen completely apart and fully cleaning it should be done whenever a pen isn't in use.

One note on vintage Koh-I-Noor pens.  I had a size 0 vintage pen that needed a new nib.  When I started to insert a new nib, it didn't screw in easily.  I thought it just needed to be screwed in a little hard, until I had a second thought and took it out again.  The original nib's weight collar had been in the nib area of the barrel, and prevented the new nib from being inserted easily.  The resistance wasn't that much, but I probably would have ruined the pen if I had forced it.  Try to look inside the barrel of a vintage pen before inserting a replacement nib.

Below is my current work space.  The pens on the left are in use, each with a different color.  The pens on the right are empty and clean and ready to be used.

This morning I am working on a Saint Michael ACEO.  In order to fill in the tones of his face, it takes many layers of stippling.

Miniature Pen and Ink Drawings - ACEOS

Art Cards, Editions and Originals

ACEO stands for "Art Cards, Editions and Originals" and the concept behind these miniature works of art is that they are always 2.5 inches by 3.5 inches. 

I offer only one icon-style ACEO design, Saint Michael, Archangel. I have decided to offer original miniatures of the one particular design due to a couple of reasons. One reason is the time consuming format of pen and ink stippling, and the care I take in producing all of my stipple ink work. As with egg tempera icons, working with one "model" or image consistently, improves the results of all the images completed. A second, perhaps more important reason, is that I feel that Saint Michael can guide each of us, and he represents both guidance and safety to me personally. As such, I hope anyone would benefit from owning an original image of Saint Michael.

An ACEO in stippled ink offers an affordable way to own an original stippled piece. Even with their small size (the size of a baseball or trading card), each one takes between 18 and 24 hours to complete. I use professional inks (Rotring Artist Color or FW Acrylic inks ) and now offer them only on genuine sheep or calf skin. These are permanent and original drawings, having light and water resistance to a high degree. Although I recommend each piece be matted and framed by the consumer, each will come in its own protective poly sleeve. ACEOs created on sheep or calf skin are highly recommended to be framed, due to the natural elements of the skin. Humidity and temperature will affect a skin more than any other art surface. 

Please note - these pieces are "only" two and a half inches x three and a half inches in size.

Traditionally, true icons are always created to look the same, using the same "model" icon for each new icon. I consider my icon-style pen work to be just that, and not a true icon. My icon-style artwork will not be signed on the front, as is the tradition with true icons. With religious subjects, it is always hoped that God has worked through the artist, eliminating the need for the artist's signature. However, my ACEOs that are religious in nature will be signed and dated on the back.

Saint Michael Design Available

You may expect that Saint Michael's wings would be a color other than red. At the time I originally designed the "model" for these drawings, I was also working on Orthodox-style religious icons. In iconography, Saint Michael's wings are depicted as red when he is in battle against evil, most especially when done in the Voevoda style. Voevoda is a slavic term that means "leader of warriors". An example of this type of traditional icon may be seen here. My model and design is meant to depict Saint Michael as the triumphant leader of the angels over evil, but to also depict the Light of God reflected in his face. I believe we are always protected by Saint Michael.

On Genuine Sheep or Calf Skin

ACEO " Saint Michael "

2.5 inches x 3.5 inches 

$48.00 each plus $5.80 shipping - on genuine sheep or calf skin 

To Order: 

Please email me to special order a Saint Michael, Archangel ACEO, The time for me to complete a special order is two weeks. Payment method is Paypal and payment must be received prior to my beginning the work.

Laurie A.E. O'Meara

Cape Cod Artist and Horticulturist
PenStroke Studio

New England Simple Living

South Yarmouth, Massachusetts  02664

Pen and ink artist. Horticulturist.

Graduate, Ontario Agricultural College, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario.

Celebrating 36 years as a fine artist, 10 years as a fiber artist.

all artwork (c) 1976-2015 laeom  (Laurie A.E. O'Meara)