New Faves For 2016

This past year I made some new friends. Links are to sources for the products.

• Pilot Metropolitan – medium – Acquired two. Both have very good nibs with excellent flow.
• Platinum Plaisir – medium – Larger form than the Metro, but with a Slip & Seal cap. Same nib as the Preppy.
• Pilot Kaküno – medium – Very lightweight and comes in a variety of cheerful colors. Winking nib is a nice touch.
• Noodler’s Civilization’s Blue (discontinued) and Upper Ganges Blue inks – Civ Blue hit all the right notes, but Upper Ganges is a close second.
• Noodler’s 1820 Essex with Dostoyevsky ink – This pen and ink were made for each other.
• Super5 Dublin ink – My first Super5 ink. Good performance and a very appealing color.
• Robert Oster Red Orange ink – A very happy color.
• Platinum Carbon Ink Black – Very smooth, saturated black ink. No performance issues whatsoever with a Plaisir.
• Diamine Marine Ink – For a teal/turquoise fan, this one brings lots of joy.
• Quo Vadis Plan & Note – The 2017 edition will be my daily journal. Love the layout and paper quality.
• Stillman & Birn soft flexible sketchbooks – Lightweight form and great paper make a superior journal.
• Staples Arc System – Used sporadically in the past, but worked well for several projects this year.
• Shotshell box for storing ink samples – Easily my best paraphernalia find of the year.

Art Supplies

• Silver Brush Black Velvet watercolor brushes – Acquired several this year. Supple, retain shape very well and hold lots of fluid.
• Daniel Smith Prussian Blue and Transparent Red Oxide watercolors – Good additions to my transparent palette.
• Aureolin by Winsor & Newton or Daniel Smith – Excellent yellow combined with Permanent Rose or Quinacridone Rose and Cobalt Blue for mixing a full range of colors. This has become my “Less Is More” triad and a staple for my mini kit. (h/t Pat Weaver)
• Pentel Touch Brush Tip Felt Pen – Good at line variation whether for writing or drawing.
• Uniball Air marker – More durable than a felt marker and glides effortlessly across the page. Makes my hand happy.
• Buddha board – Great tool for practicing strokes without wasting ink, paint or paper.