Some welcome amusements from the past week…
- Seriously cute peeps! (Good subjects for doodles, too.)
- What say you, dinosaur?
- Trees Meet Wood
- Funny Snowmen Photos
Huh?
A Few Sunday Links
12/18/2016New Faves For 2016
12/18/2016
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.
Ink And The Pantone 2017 Color Of The Year
12/15/2016Pantone has selected Greenery as the 2017 Color of the Year. Which ink do you think best matches it?
Fountain Pens That Would Make Good Gifts
12/10/2016This week my list of Favorite Fountain Pens received its annual update. A number of the pens have been inked since they arrived. That is a very good measure of user satisfaction when they go into rotation and remain there for months if not years. Kudos to those manufacturers who have earned my loyalty.
Once the list was set, it struck me that any of them would make a good gift. To make it simple, here is the list with links to Amazon for models that are currently available. Prices fluctuate so do shop around. If you purchase from Amazon, Inkophile earns a tiny commission that will be used towards the purchase of new products to review.
Happy shopping!
- Conklin Duragraph 1.1 mm stub
- Montblanc 220 with an oblique broad nib (1960’s)
- Namiki Falcon with a soft fine nib (takes time to break in)
- Parker “51” Aero-metric Mark I in Navy Gray with a fine or medium-fine nib (1950’s)
- Pelikan M250 with a fine italic nib (post-’97 model)
- Pelikan M400 fine
- Pilot MR Metropolitan medium
- Platinum #3776 Century with a medium or broad nib
- Platinum #3776 with a music nib
- Platinum Plaisir medium in Nova Orange
- TWSBI Diamond 580 1.1 mm stub
Sunday Reads From Pens To Cellphones To Veggies?
12/04/2016Total cuteness at the first link. Total yum at the last one…
- One of the best Vines ever
- Kim Komando: Stop unwanted calls and texts from hitting your cellphone
- Thriving Garden in Sealed Bottle Hasn’t Been Watered in Over 40 Years
- Dutch designer releases titanium 3D printed fountain pen
- Watch Inspired Fountain Pens That Make A Lasting Impression
- The Japan News: Budget-priced fountain pens popular with young people
- The Pen Shop Blog: Christmas Calligraphy with Angela Reed
- Winter Veggies
For your shopping needs this holiday season, please consider using the Inkophile Amazon Portal. The commissions are tiny, but they do help bankroll new products to review. Your support is greatly appreciated.
Iroshizuku Tsuki-yo And Prussian Blue
12/02/2016It wasn’t the plan, but while playing with Daniel Smith Prussian Blue watercolor, I discovered that on natural white paper, it’s nearly a perfect match for Iroshizuku tsuki-yo ink. The paper warms the colors slightly as is my preference.
The doodles initiated a practice session for two seldom used brushes. Then swatches and slender lines followed. Finally, squiggles and tiny trees emerged. Once the page was filled, the hunt for a matching ink was on. There might be better matches, but of the inks on hand, tsuki-yo came the closest. As always, playing with paint and ink was good, clean fun.
Available at Amazon:
Daniel Smith Prussian Blue Watercolor
Princeton Neptune 4750 1/4″ square wash brush
Inks And Pens For December 2016
11/30/2016The flowers from a watercolor video prompted my December ink rotation and prove that inspiration can be found anywhere. The colors might suggest summer, but they are making me happy today. And that is what counts.
Diamine Eau de Nile, Sailor Tokiwa-matsu, Rohrer & Klingner Alt-Goldgrun, Diamine Violet, Diamine Tyrian Purple, Noodler’s Black Swan in English Roses, J. Herbin Terre de Feu, Diamine Vermilion, and Stipula Calamo Sapphron. The pens include a Pelikan M215, Platinum #3776 music nib, Platinum Century Nice, TWSBI 580, Pilot Metropolitan, Platinum Plaisir and a Noodler’s 1820 Essex.
Watercolor video by Andrew Geeson.
Here are some of these items at Amazon.
Platinum #3776 Century MU: http://amzn.to/2dKtK2y
Pelikan M215 Med: http://amzn.to/2dSUInO
Pilot Black Metro Med: http://amzn.to/2cl4gat
J Herbin Terre de Feu: http://amzn.to/2dKww7M
R&K alt-goldgrun: http://amzn.to/2dKyxRt
Sailor Tokiwa-matsu: http://amzn.to/2eb7vnb
Stipula Calamo Sapphron: http://amzn.to/2gKnuas
Diamine Eau de Nile: http://amzn.to/2gHTOwV
