Inklinations
July 10, 2004
The Art Pen has one obvious design flaw, the back end tapers to a near point which mean that when you take off the cap, you can't snap it onto the back and have to lay it down somewhere and then be mildly distracted about whether or not you've left it behind which may effect your drawing in a sort of stone-in-your-shoe sort of way.
Then, poolside, I discovered a more significant problem.
The Art Pen comes with a half dozen little prefilled plastic ink cartridges. The ink, I discovered after laboriously drawing this geezery couple and then beginning to slather on the old water color, is not waterproof. The ink began to branch out into spidery tendrils and my lines became fuzzy.Fortunately I had bought a special bladder, the "Piston Fill Ink Converter", that allows me to fill the pen manually and later I tossed out the feeble cartridge and pumped in some India Ink.
Another minor problem arose which is that the bladder, which is a sort of syringe that you advance and withdraw by rotating a little stick at the end, doesn't seem to draw entirely of its own accord and one must ocasionally recrank it up and refill the nib. If you don't do this very carefully, big drops of ink fall onto your drawing.All that having been said, I continue to use the Art Pen but plan to send Richard a nasty note.
I'll admit, I am a fickle pen owner. I search for years, find perfection, but my eyes keep roaming. Another pen I keep on the side is called the Grumbacher Artist Pen (there's not alot of creativity in the pen naming community, it would seem) which has the teeniest needle point and the same pointed-end, cap-losing design as the Art Pen.
It is not refillable but the line is so fine it seems to last forever anyway. I did a drawing or two with it on my trip and still quite like it but for optimal performance, use very smooth paper.
Finally, the Art-Pal Creative pen — a very groovy-looking, gold pen with a brush nib that you fill with the ink of your choice. Looks, however, are horribly deceiving. It is a piece of junk. I filled it, used it briefly twice, and the nib sort of crumbled and the tip broke off. It might be possible to replace the nib but the pen came from Jerrys Artarama with no instructions and no way to buy new nibs. I've written to them for explanation but so far they have been mute.
And finally, I am determined to pick up some gouache today. I tried working with watercolor and no line drawing but the results felt wishy-washy. I need to be able to add a layer that is more defined and sharp and bright on top of watercolor and I have resorted to white ink put on with a dip pen and then tinted the ink with watercolor which works okay but is fiddly and hard to control.I'm sure if I paid better attention to my lessons from Roz I wouldn't have this dilemma but it seems easier to just buy more art supplies.
A record of my exploration into all aspects of drawing, illustrated journaling, creativity, and the inspiring aspects of art. By the author of "Everyday Matters," "The Creative License", and "An Illustrated Life" and other books.
Comments
Danny- Please go out and get yourself some art supplies! You have been gouache-less far too long. If only you'd had better tools and gouache for these fine vacation drawings, imagine how gorgeous they might be right now. You owe it to yourself and your work to have the best supplies. Having the best wife just isn't enough when it comes to golf and custard stands!
Posted by: patti Gregory | July 10, 2004 04:22 PM
I don't want to be gauche, but I've had a hankering for some gouache myself. I thought I could satisfy the yen with some new colored pencils, but no, I'm still craving gouache. Then Roz posts her new journals that are stuffed wth gouache, and now I find myself getting in the car to drive to A.I. Friedman's even tho I promised myself no new art supplies for 6 months......hope the hubby is as understanding as Patti!
Posted by: Loretta | July 10, 2004 05:14 PM
sometimes spidery tendrils and fuzzy lines can be cool
Posted by: tracy | July 10, 2004 07:34 PM
Be honest, Danny, it was just a subconcious act that would give you an excuse to go into an art supply shop and binge. We all do this occasionally. I believe the greatest therapy for anyone even vaguely artisitic (me, not you) is to stand in the middle of an art supply shop with an empty shopping basket and then go for you life! Holidays seem to be a really great excuse to spend money that you wouldn't otherwise spend. Enjoy!
Posted by: Robyn | July 10, 2004 09:13 PM
the drawing of the two guys in deck chairs is SO funny!
as for pens, I only use dip pens with indian ink, or, for carrying around, any good "uniball" as long as it's got permanent ink. my rotring art pens just sit in the pot because of the horrible non indian ink and because actually, their flow is almost as constant in its line as a rotring draught pen, something I don't want from a fountain pen and you hit the nail on the head with that pointy end being no use to hold the cap!
now, do as your wife says and buy some gouache... you deserve it. there is no better therapy for me than spending piles of cash in an art supplies store. do it.
Posted by: Majolica | July 11, 2004 07:00 AM
But isn't that a guy and a woman in the two chairs? What guy would carry that bag--even to the beach. And I succumbed just this week for the first time to goache, although I haven't tried it yet. Is all this Roz's fault? Bless her.
Posted by: Julianna | July 11, 2004 12:09 PM
yeah, you're right, and her hat is not a hat a guy would wear. me not look good at things.
Posted by: Majolica | July 11, 2004 03:42 PM
I kind of like the smooshy bits where the ink tried to escape...~Fern
Posted by: fern | July 11, 2004 08:36 PM
My friend Justin "Coro" uses copic or tria ink and rubbing alcohol to create washes in his sketchbook. It dries quickly, keeps normal inks and pencil from running, doesn't wrinkle the pages and then he goes over that with opaque applications of watercolor gouache and prismacolor.
I'd link to some examples (what he creates really shouldn't be considered a sketchbook!) but it appears that his domain has been highjacked!! @#%@%!!!
-Z
Posted by: Zack | July 12, 2004 11:55 AM
I don't visit often, but when I do, I could kick myself for not coming oftener. I would also give anything to be able to draw.
Fran aka redondowriter
Posted by: Fran | July 12, 2004 01:48 PM
So sorry about your pen problems...nothing worse that that when you are traveling. As I mentioned before my current favorite pen is the Bic 4Z...moving from the PilotV5 extra fine. Both seem to be waterproof. I too have hated the Grumbacher pen for just the same reason...the design is impossible and the cap thing ridiculous. Both the Bic and the Pilot have needle points and they always work..never leak and seem to flow nicely. On my recent trip to Prague I used just one pen and it was the Bic. Also discovered some nice sets of markers from Faber Castell Pitt...6 pens in a set in land scape colors and another set of 6 in gray tones. The gray tones worked well for quick shading and backgrounds in my sketches. If I could figure out how to do it I would/will try to put some on the website. I've been trying the rapidoliner .25 and find it pretty scratchy....Your drawings still look terrific......always...been missing you and the BLOG!!
Thanks always for this treat...Carole JOY
Posted by: Carole Joy | July 12, 2004 02:11 PM
I have one of those screwy-syringe things in my fountain pen. You don't say whether you tried filling it by putting the pen nib into the ink and sucking the ink into the syringe via the nib, or whether you remove the syringe from the nib and put it directly into the ink. I find the latter approach works far better.
Posted by: Richard | July 12, 2004 03:28 PM
it's back. check out some of the alcohol and ink washes I mentioned earlier here:
www.coro36ink.com/sketchbook.html
Posted by: Zack | July 13, 2004 05:01 PM
Danny, I love the 17th green 4pm one..the way the trees meander drew my eye into the piece. I love the colors of it too! I know what you mean about pens bleeding..it's o.k. when "happy accidents" occur on occassion, but when it wrecks a sketch (or 5) and frustrates you, it's time for a trip to..the art supply store!! Listen to the people!!
Zack,
That stuff is amazing! I took a quick glance tonight. Love his portraits!!..Bob, boy, and boy2 are my favs. The color, light, and compositions are so beautiful! If anyone else is reading this, go check it out!
Thanks for that!
Amy
Posted by: amy | July 14, 2004 12:03 PM