Gothic Barn

7"X5" Pen on paper

It is hard to go anywhere in Niagara-on-the-Lake without tripping over an antique shop. This barn is a classic "gothic vernacular", a style which was very common for homes in Southern Ontario in the latter part of the 19th century. It is a little more unusual to find barns in this style but this one has been converted anyway, into the ubiquitous antique shop.

This is a relatively new medium for me. I am using a fountain pen and a water brush with ordinary (not watercolour) sketch-book paper. I am constantly trying to find the most compact and inexpensive sketching kit that will still allow me to get as much information down as possible. This setup is promising, although I am on the lookout for a better drawing pen. The nib if this one isn't quite ideal. The sketching paper seems to work, I was afraid it would buckle, but it holds up quite well.