Sketching Expessions in Pen and Ink

Capturing the essence of a person without overloading on detail is one of the advantages of working with ink within a time limit. As Bob Ross used to say "there are no such things as mistakes, just happy accidents". That is what makes it art instead of a being a copy of a photograph. 
Here are some 20-minute portrait sketches that I use to capture the mood and moment. Don't look for perfection, look for a reaction from your audience. Using a quick watercolor washed background this crabby old lady has a little more character than just a using a plain white background. It doesn't have to be perfect or refined to add a little zip. 
 This dude with a crazy-eyed expression is far from perfect and even with the corrections made along the way it is hard to tell what was an intentional mark and what was not. Don't be intimidated by ink, be confident in your strokes and embrace your mistakes.