J. Herbin Bleu Pervenche

Aqua and turquoise inks can fight with paper color and make the ink like seem a separate, free-floating element. In the past five years, I’ve probably used fewer than five fills of aqua. For an inkophile that is downright pathetic. Then came the opportunity to request another ink from Karen at Exaclair, so I opted for Bleu Pervenche after reading what Biffybeans had to say about it.

Finally an aqua blue with a little clarity and softness! Bleu Pervenche in English means Blue Periwinkle and whether named for the snail or the flower, it is a lovely color that balances blue and green without a hint of red.

J. Herbin Bleu Pervenche on Rhodia Paper

Its closest competitors are Lamy Turquoise, Diamine Aqua Blue, Rohrer & Klingner Blue Mare, Diamine Turquoise, and Waterman South Sea Blue. Color-wise Lamy Turquoise is a near match though it would take a good eye to see the variations between any of these inks. The biggest difference is in translucency and saturation and this is what sets Bleu Pervenche apart from the pack.

J. Herbin excels at creating soft, watercolor-like inks that evoke the sun-bleached tones of summer. Bleu Pervenche is a perfect example of that skill. With an eyedropper tool and a few calculations, it turns out that Herbin’s version of aqua is about ten percent less saturated and that is what produces the translucency. The result is that the color of the paper shows through ever so slightly modifying the ink to blend better with the overall tone of its background. So white paper produces a clear aqua color while cream paper makes Bleu Pervenche look more saturated, darker, and closer to turquoise. Two ink colors in one bottle is definitely good value.

J. Herbin Bleu Pervenche on Original Crown Mill Cream Laid Paper

In addition its drying time is average and  shading quite good even with a very fine nib like my Sailor 1911 H-F. Bleu Pervenche would be wonderful for a happy letter, thank you note, or a lively journal entry. The only question that remains is which way to use it first…