As mentioned previously, I have become a little too reliant upon Sakura Micron pens. In particular the 005 which produces a brilliantly fine line ...at least for a little while.
In hindsight the Faber Castell SX is not on par with the this pen, at least in the journal I use for this sketching/daily doodling project. While it IS does produce a fine line on 32lb paper that I sampled it upon, it did not work as well with the Moleskine paper, which although smooth, is probably 19 lb stock and immediately renders the ink in the FBSX the equivalent of 02. EEP!
The same happened with the OHTO graphic liners, the paper draws too much ink causing feathering of the lines to a thickness that works against my style of drawing. The Platinum Carbon Desk fountain pen & Sailor Desk Fountain pen Extra fine, work very well but suffer a similar fate, bleeding to be more of a 01 rather than a 005 in this journal.... so I have found myself at a point where I need to start exploring other surfaces.
For this particular project I may or may not continue with the Moleskine cashier journal for consistency and convenience (sucking it up and chewing through 005 Microns)...however I have begun the process of sourcing other papers, and ironically the best way to start is to read internet calligraphy forums. If there is one thing I have learned about online culture, it is that people with common passions just can't not share their experiences and opinions upon a subject with tremendous enthusiasm. It really is one of the most brilliant things about the www. Not only do they make recommendations, but often times will display images of various inks and nibs samples scratched across a particular papers in order to demonstrate their reviews. My gratitude to fountain pen geeks knows no bounds. Their analysis is not less valuable to an artist than it would be to a scribe :)
At issue now will be tackling my lifetime of not wasting really good materials on scriblings. All these daily drawings I am doing are not polished pieces of work. They are elaborate doodles at the best of times...but if I am going to learn to work in this medium I need to allow myself to neuter the habit of hording the pricier materials for that mythical day in the future when I will be good enough to use them. I have to allow myself to make mistakes on good paper. I'm not perfect. I will never be perfect. I am not aiming for perfection and I certainly can't take the perfect paper with me when I die so what the Hell am I not using it for?
Have I mentioned that I harbor a lot of idiocy with myself or did you just come to that conclusion on your own?
It's just as well that I am having my hand forced in this matter because my intentions in 2013 are to not just do a doodle a day, but work toward actual proper finished pieces, on a larger scale than the Moleskine journal affords ...as well as explore working with fountain pens (both cartridge and dip).
I will start with the Moleskine Folio book I have at hand as I'm waiting upon the delivery of the Stillman & Birn notebooks (Alpha, Gamma and Epsilon series respectively) and eyeballing the lovely pads of Japanese Holbein KENT pads that I purchased from the North American distributor showing at NYCC in October. I haven't used those as they were just trying them out at the show and the paper is NOT available anywhere outside of Japan on a regular basis ...yet. While my inner horder screams 'NO, don't do it!'...my new, improved, sense of creativity says, 'If you love the product then pick up the phone, call the distributor and place an private order'.
I will report any successes and general headbanging at a later date...
Above: #85 of 365 Daily Drawings
Inspiration: 12 Days of Christmas
Result: 6 Ducks a Laying
Materials: Pentel 0.3 HB, Sakura Micron 005 & 02 pens, in a Moleskine
plain journal
Note: I did NOT want to draw the same old boring waterfowl sitting on
eggs. So I present to you these hard working girls who I guarantee
know all about laying.. Welcome to Chateau Canard, the original duck
brothel!
No comments:
Post a Comment