Examined: How to chose your Fountain Pen

Thinking of trying a fountain pen for your sketching? Thinking of going back to the future?

Bravo!

You can load a fountain pen with exactly the correct ink for the job at hand or to match your whim of the day.

Besides, fountain pens feel luxe in the hand.

The nib is the key element. Where the 'rubber' (or the silver or the gold or the steel), as it were, meets the road. If you are on your way to a fountain pen, here's help selecting a nib size:

. A posting in the Fountain Pen network forum entitled Nib size perference. (Here is the front door to the whole Fountain Pen network suite of pages and forums. Wealth of knowledge here!

. The Tools and Materials page from Russ Sutler's online Book about Sketching that discusses nib sizes and fountain pens for sketching.

. A quote from Chose Your Pen: "There's the question of nib size: extra-fine, fine, medium, bold. The right size is determined by the size of your handwriting. If you write small, look for a finer point; a wider nib will make your letters illegible. . . . But a fine nib may feel "scratchy" if you have a light touch or if the angle at which you hold the pen is less than straight-on." 

So we could extrapolate from that line or reasoning to sketching: if you are gestural and loose, a medium nib would be good. If you are into fine and precise detail in your drawing, then maybe the fine nib would be the best.

. Here's a posting called Chosing a Fountain Pen, at a UK pen shop's site, that discusses nibs.

. Make a special trip to the nearest annual Pen Show. At one of these extravaganzas (and I do mean serious extravaganzas) you will find everything from a two-buck plastic disposable Japanese fountain pen to an Italian-made jewel-encrusted pen worth as much as your Mercedes. As well as all manner of vintage and antique writing pieces. Hobnob with dealers and collectors. Nib makers set up booths at the bigger shows. Have your nib custom made! Go nuts.

. Finally find a local fine pen store and try different nibs. The staff are usually pen fanatics and will be delighted to advise you on your selection. My two faves: Pen Haven, in Kensington MD, and Fahrney's, downtown.

Examined: Ink Wash Color Tests

This is a review of 7 water-soluble inks that I have been using for my regular everyday sketching. (These tests shown below were done on 80lb. Strathmore Aquarius II watercolor paper, which is what I use in my sketchbook.)
[BEWARE: The color calibration of computer monitors varies quite a bit. So the colors of these inks may not look the same on all monitors.]

1 Noodler's Borealis Black - Straight, firm, pure warm black. Washes to a nice grey flannel. No color drop-out. (Considerable bleeding of the lines on the wc paper, as you might be able to see. Might be a problem.)
2 Noodler's Squeteague Green - Cool turquoise blue lines and wash. Nice.
3 Noodler's AirCorp Blue Black - Same wash color as the Squeteague, except that the lines stay very dark, almost black. Nice contrast with the wash color.
4 Noodler's Nightshade - Dark red/black lines that wash into a lovely violet/fuschia. There are faint undertones of blue as well. Very varied, very nice.
5 Noodler's Sequoia Green - Deep dark green lines that wash into a warm almost olive green, but with pronounced undertones of red, which is green's compliment. This one is quite nifty!
6 Private Reserve Midnight Blue - Good neutral ultramarine blue wash color, with very slight undertones of a yellowish green. Need to experiment with this one more.
7 Private Reserve Velvet Black - My benchmark and my favorite. Washes into violets, blues, and greens. I wanted to compare this side-by-side with these new inks.
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Links:

--Noodler's Inks from Swisher Pens
--Noodler's website
--Private Reserve inks website (beware the auto-audio--yuck!)
--Index of Ink Reviews on the Fountain Pen Network website - excellent resource for more on your ink of choice.

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This last one, at the bottom, is a side-by-side close-up of the Noodler's Borealis Black (on the left) and the PR Velvet Black (on the right), showing very clearly how the PR breaks into all manner of other colors. Love the Velvet Black!

Examined: Eight Adaptable Pastel Supports

Try quick-drying, clear Colourfix Primer on these 8 surfaces:






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. Regular Pastel Paper (100 lb.) -- I like some of the colors of the Daler-Rowney pastel paper. I had two different sized pads of this paper spiral-bound at Kinko's, with glassine bound between each page. Then I put a light coat of the clear primer in the "back" (smoother) side of each sheet. Now I have a coupla real nice traveling sketch pads! The primer causes the Daler-Rowney paper to buckle a bit. But I can flatten it after the clear primer dries with heavy books. These pads are just fine for sketching. (Try the same prep-work with Canson paper too, a paper which is, in my opinion, impossible to use without a coat of Colourfix primer.)
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. Heavy Japanese print paper (estimated at 100-140 lb.) -- With the heavenly surface texture and the beautiful deckle edges (and your 'image' going all the way to the edge) this makes a very nice 'floating' piece framed. If you apply the primer carefully with a damp "foam" brush, you can retain most of the paper's texture.
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. Saint-Armand 'Colours' watercolor paper (140 lb.) -- This is Canadian paper. Outstanding colors and texture. Nice edges if you want to make your own torn deckles.
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. Fabriano Artistico watercolor paper, 'Rough grain', 300 lb. -- Beautiful surface, real lush paper. Love the funky bumpiness, which is retained even after application of the primer.
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. Handmade one-of-a-kind paper -- We have a papermaking and book arts school/studio here in town that has workshop-made paper for sale on occasion. You can get some really nifty textures, colors, shapes, and sizes. Look around for handmade paper where you are. It can be mounted on museum board if it's too flimsy. Again, apply the primer carefully with a damp "foam" brush.
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. Museum Board or "Illustration Board" -- in "extra heavy weight", usually 40-ply. This is the ideal surface for me. I love this. I use this good board as the base for any and all of my other outlandish surface treatments and then finish with the Colourfix primer. A frame shop will cut big sheets of this for you with their mat cutter, into any sizes you wish.
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. Acid-free Foamboard -- I didn't like this surface. It bends too easily for me: too fragile. But the light weight is a plus, if you are plein-airing or traveling.
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. Ampersand Hardbord or masonite board -- Might need a few coats of gesso or something under the primer, but why not? I have used it successfully. If you are starting with a watercolor or gouache underpainting, you can begin on their "Aquabord".

Plein air TIP:  Bring a jar of clear Colourfix primer along on your plein air painting trip. So if you run out of Wallis or Uart paper, you can prepare your own surface using 300lb watercolor paper or board. Never be without good sanded paper again!

More Info:

 -- Colourfix primer how-to tip sheet (PDF file)
 -- Product Test: Art Spectrum Colourfix primer, from Benoit Phillipe on My French Easel
 -- Creating Pastel Surfaces...The Products and Techniques! is a video from Fine Arts in Rochester
 -- Colourfix Primer on Watercolor Paper is a thread in WetCanvas

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Did I leave anything out? Are there any good surfaces you've used with Colourfix primer? Click on COMMENTS, below, and tell us!

Examined: Pastemat paper

revised14Sept10
Before I jumped onto the Pastelmat bandwagon, I decided to do some research and a few experiments to learn more about it. I am sharing the results. Maybe others can learn and benefit. More knowledge will help you and me use this paper in the best, most appropriate ways.

.Where does it come from?

.What is it made of?

.What is the support? What is the surface?

.How does it "take" a mark?

.How does it react to washes?

.Is it lightfast?

.What colors does it come in and how much does it cost?

.My Conclusion

.Links to other reviews of Pastelmat paper.

continue reading - - - -

Examined: Seven Essentials for Plein Air Adventure (rev03Jan10)

rev03Jan1
(or Seven Things That You Ought To Have IN THE CAR. All The Time. Anyway.)
One: Tall kitchen garbage bags. Avoid damp trowser bottoms if you have to sit on a dew-covered bench. Fold into a pad to add insulation between you and a metal bench. Use to cover your pochade box (or you) if you get caught in a shower. Spread below your easel if you are in a location where you have to catch your pastel dust. Use as a sled on snow-covered slopes.

Two: Bug spray or bug repellant of some kind, chemical, electronic, or magical. There is nothing that will drive you, shrieking, out of a field more quickly than a swarm of gnats. Well, maybe a swarm of mosquitoes. Other uses for chemical version: bear repellent (works at close quarters only), after-hike cologne, solvent for underpainting, auto fuel. For electronic version: gag gift. Alternative use for magical: pick up line repellant. You wish.

Three: Binoculars. Keep compact binocs tucked away in the car at all times. There are numerous occasions when your eyesight will need a boost or when you think you see something very interesting way out there but just can't be sure. Besides, mavens say that you can't really do justice to a plein air scene until after you have taken the time to walk all over it, through it, and around it. If restrictions of mobility, distance, barriers, or the imaginary lines of "private property" constrain, binocs can get you there. Or help you pretend you're there.

Four: Duh! A roll of paper towels. Use for: Picnic napkins, wipes, and placemats. Soaking up spilled coffee. Cleaning fingers covered with pastel dust. Dry wipes for panpastel applicators. Blotter for watercolor painting. Lumbar support. Lens-less telescope.



Five: Stash of small bottles of water. Anyone who lives or has car-toured in the Southwest knows about always keeping water in the car. Your life may hang in the balance. Other more everyday uses: dampen paper towels to wash pastel dust off hands, to dip your brush for watercolor or gouache underpainting, to help swallowing asprin, to slake thirst at picnics, to soak neckerchief and tie it around your neck on warm days, counterweight for the tripod easel, etc.

Six: Windbreaker, lightweight, hooded, and neutral-colored. Protects when the weather double-crosses. Hood (along with the beanie, see below) keeps your brain from losing essential heat when it's chilly. Neutral color won't reflect untoward hues onto your painting surface. Dress jacket up with a shining bow tie for white-tie-and-tails events. Dress jacket down with a neckerchief for hoe-downs.

Seven: Hats. One big-brimmed sun hat and one beanie for the colder days. Invert the big-brimmed one and place at the base of your plein air tripod; you may make coffee money. Place big-brimmed one on building and hire mariachi band. Invert the beanie to hold harvested raspberries.

Misc: stuff . . .(rev.4Oct09)
. Tooth Brush (take an old tootbrush, preferably a stiff one, use a hacksaw to cut the handle off pretty close to the bristle end; voila! --> a tiny traveling nail brush)
. chapstick
. reading glasses
. moistened hand cleaners in packets
. fleece hoody
. rubber bands
. binder clips (at least 2 big ones)
. Swiss Army knife (with scissors)
. folding 3-legged chair
. MORE --->  Suggestions for the New Plein Air Painter, from Katherine Simmons (06Mar)


What's on YOUR list? Click on the COMMENTS button and contribute to the general wisdom.