The Isle of Man Nature Journal's take on Inktober

Inktober, created by artist Jake Parker in 2009, is an annual October challenge motivating artists worldwide to create daily ink drawings. Drawing in ink is so much fun but it can be difficult to keep up with daily sketches and respond to all 31 prompts. Here at the Isle of Man Nature Journal, we've decided to provide four prompts that each relate to features found on the Isle of Man. I will be completing an ink sketch in response to each one and sharing it on the blog, social media and the interactive map. We'd love it if you could join in too! No fancy materials are required, a ballpoint pen and the back of an envelope can lead to fantastic sketches, and no level of expertise is necessary, just have a go and see what happens!

This view of the MER bridge, road bridge and flour mill in Laxey was just packed with heritage.

The prompts:

The prompts are deliberately general so they can be suited to your local area and yet encapsulate the varied nature of Manx scenery. The prompts are:

1. Heritage

2. Hills

3. Beach

4. Glen

If you feel like doing more than one drawing for each one, or love one so much that you want to spend all month on that subject, that's fine. The prompts are for inspiration and a starting point only.

A great resource for learning about ink drawing on Youtube is the channel Marc Kompaneyets Studio. It features many drawing tutorials as well as a wealth of fountain pen reviews and is well worth a watch just to see his beautiful drawings come to life.

A sheep on the Manx hills drawn with watersoluble ink.

If you start getting into ink drawing in a big way or want to renew your current supplies, the Bridge Bookshop in Ramsey and Port Erin have ink, fineliners and sketchbooks. Online suppliers include Pure Pens, Cult Pens and Jackson's Art. Pure Pens have a good range of fountain pens, including my favourite, the Twsbi Eco.

Once you've had a go please share your work with us. You can email a photo of the drawing to emma@iomnj.com for inclusion on our map, or share it to Instagram and tag us using @iomnaturejournal, or on Facebook @Isle of Man Nature Journal. For more information about how to share your artwork with us, please see the blog post here.

Glen Maye waterfall drawn in black ink.

So, whether you're an experienced artist or someone looking to explore the world of ink drawing for the first time, the Isle of Man Nature Journal's take on Inktober is an opportunity to slow down, savour the beauty of our island's nature, and create art that reflects your view of the beautiful place we live. Why not grab your sketchbook and some ink (or an envelope and a Biro), and join the Isle of Man Nature Journal community in our quest to celebrate nature through drawing, this October?

I look forward to seeing your sketches and sharing mine!

Emma