What with the holidays, year-end tax issues and that “nightmare for the self-employed” called Obamacare, there is little time for the pleasure of gathering fun and eclectic articles, so this paltry few will have to do. Hopefully, January will be saner…
It was an interesting week…
Usually by June, my tools get pared to a minimum. This year things have gone the other direction.
Instead of a limited three to five ink selection, my rotation is getting a color infusion. For inspiration, there is a swatch on my desk to remind me what is on hand. It isn’t a watercolor palette, but it has the same come play with me effect.
Elaine from Jet Pens sent a bottle of Sailor Four Seasons Nioi-sumire (Sweet Violet) and Karen at Exaclair has promised bottles of two J. Herbin inks so my rotation will be changing in short order. Now to find an empty, italic pen for some doodling in my Stillman & Birn sketchbook.
Along with modifying my ink rotation, summer is a good time for some colorful experimentation with my watercolor palette. Starting with a dozen basic paints, I added another dozen that I seldom use. That leaves a few empty slots for new acquisitions. My choices are brighter than usual and painting with them will provide a good challenge for the next few months. Even so, I included a modifier, Neutral Tint, just in case a color shouts a bit too loudly.
Certainly a palette needs to be functional, but it can also benefit from visual appeal. This Kremer is a good example of that. The beautiful arrangement encourages playful interaction.
A girl’s gotta have fun you know and what better way than color infused days. Love you guys, but the muse is calling. See ya later!
It’s starting to feel a lot like summer and a good time to put together a new rotation. Matching nibs that don’t dry out quickly with inks that suit the season takes some planning. Orange, turquoise and pink will get added to the black and gray already at hand. In hot weather, ink can evaporate and leave a clogged nib, so the number of pens on my desk gets reduced to half its usual size. Five or so will be plenty.
Some likely prospects:
Chiku-rin and Blue Pervenche are beautiful together but I have too little of the latter so I would have to order that one. Kosumosu and chiku-rin are small samples, but good for a fill or two. Time for a few swatches.
That was useful in settling on a short list.
How do you put together your seasonal rotation?
There is no lack of green ink for those who fancy the color. Every March I wade through swatches looking for just the right shade for the current year and the fountain pen in waiting.
Over the weekend Diamine Emerald got the nod for the Pelikan M200 OB. Yesterday a bottle of J. Herbin Lierre Sauvage (a gift from Karen at Exaclair) called very loudly to the Noodler’s Konrad flex nib. Who was I to keep them apart?
Have you succumbed to the green and if so, which ink and pen are paired as your intrepid duo?
Well, sort of. These are the inks in use today from the assortment of pens on my desk. The tally is telling with seven of nine in the blue family. The nibs are with one exception in the wide range and only the Platinum and Lamy nibs were not tweaked in some way. The paper is the outstanding Tomoe River from PaperForFountainPens.com. It might be unfair that it makes every ink and nib look good, but that’s hardly a complaint.
March is the month in which green ink invariably gets a twirl. This year it will be either J. Herbin Lierre Sauvage or Iroshizuku Shin-Ryoku or possibly both. Now for the pen. Italic or flex? Which would you choose for green ink?
The ink colors could be more saturated and the paper is actually a warm white, but adjusting the scan might make it less honest. So no adjustments this time.
Diamine has always offered excellent ink and in recent years expanded to offer one of the most varied color catalogs in inkdom. So I was happy to accept a bottle of Raw Sienna from Jet Pens for review.
The substantial Diamine range of browns makes it difficult to settle on just one favorite, but Raw Sienna makes my short list along with Sepia, Dark Brown and Chocolate Brown. The latter is the most saturated and the slowest to dry, but those two characteristics tend to happen together. Sepia and Dark Brown have gone in and out of my regular rotation for at least eight years
Then there is Raw Sienna. It is a neutral, medium shade that shows no ghosting or bleed-through on the usual assortment of papers. It takes magnification to see just a tiny amount of feathering or imperfect outlines on pineapple or copy paper. No issues on high quality paper so don’t let the fuzz put you off.
The color swatches around the ink’s name are watercolors applied with a brush. The purpose was to see how well the ink color matches the name. It lacks the orange hue of raw sepia watercolor and is closer to burnt umber. However, there is no law that says an ink name must have any relationship to reality and whose reality would it match anyway.
Diamine Raw Sienna is understated and makes a good match for a wide nib especially since it has some shading to offer. Highly saturated, bright colors demand attention, while Raw Sienna invites a cozy friendship. A page of it says the writer took the time to select an easy to read color that is warm and relaxed. You can send me a letter in it anytime.
Inkophile
