Papier Plume created an extra special ink for the Chicago Pen Show 2021. The ink was named after an icon of the Chicago skyline, the Cloud Gate sculpture, AKA the Bean. In designing the Cloud Gate ink, Papier Plume chose a color that is a multi-color grey ink with hints of blue and purple. Then Papier Plume introduced fine, gold shimmer particles to the ink. This combination simulates the sunlight and blue sky (or twilight or cloudy sky) reflecting off the metallic surface of the Bean. The dark grey that shades in some areas simulates the shadow colors from the underside.
On Col-o-Ring paper:
I did several samples with the new Cloud Gate ink. On Col-o-Ring cards and the Oversize notebook, the ink is a very cool grey with a lot of evidence of the gold shimmer particles. When the ink was wet, the shimmer particles weren’t as noticeable as when the ink dried. Once dry, the shimmer particles were very easy to see especially on Col-o-Ring and Tomoe River paper.
When the ink pools in any way, the shimmer is much more visible.
I love how the shimmer looks when the light hits the ink.
On Tomoe River Paper:
On Tomoe River paper, the ink still shades a lot but is a little more neutral grey, the evidence of the blues and purples was not as evident.
Again, when the ink pools, the shimmer is really evident.
Ink Color Comparison:
When compared to other shimmer inks, the closest comparison would probably be J. Herbin 1670 Stormy Grey though Stormy Grey doesn’t have the multi-color range that Cloud Gate has. Diamine Snowstorm is lighter and has silver shimmer rather than gold and Diamine Solstice is darker and features multi-chroma shimmer. On the furthest ends of the photo above is Starry Ink Lunar Halo which ends up looking much more brown (warmer dark) grey and features gold shimmer too while the Colorverse Glistening Anti-Matter is much more purply pink.
Final Thoughts:
The fact that Cloud Gate is (I think) Papier Plume’s first shimmer ink, and it’s a multi-chroma and a limited edition if you are an ink collector, this is a must-have. If you are new to shimmer inks, since this is Papier Plume’s first foray, the shimmer volume and particle size has not been thoroughly tested for flow and cleaning so it may not be the best place to start though I’ve not had issues with any of Papier Plume’s non-shimmer inks. However, I recommend new-to-shimmer to proceed with caution.
How Can I Buy This Ink?
The Cloud Gate ink will premiere at the pen show on Friday, October 1 and available at the Papier Plume booth. Any bottles left over after the show closes will be available for purchase online the following Monday, October 4, 2021.
DISCLAIMER: The items included in this review were provided free of charge by Papier Plume for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.
I never knew The Bean had a proper name! Funny that I read it first in an ink review.
I still think Bean is a more approachable name for the sculpture, don’t you?
Out in the park, “The Bean” is definitely a more suitable name! “Cloud Gate” sounds like the name the sculpture should be called by if they had to move it indoors, say to the Art Institute or something.