Thank you to Dromgoole’s for letting me review this set and feel like I can be part of the cool crowd.

I never did have those markers. Either I was too old when they were introduced to the market or I wasn’t cool enough – I’m not sure. However, now I can relive that disappointment with a new set from Monteverde – Color Changing Inks.

The set comes in a nice magnetically closing box that looks great on a bookshelf, saving you space in your ink drawer. It consists of 9 colorful inks and one clear color changer bottle.

The color changer ink is a bit thicker than normal inks but has little to no odor and leaves no trace of a mark on paper.

I decided to start with filling up a few Kakimori refillable felt tip pens, but I swatched the following cards as I normally do – paintbrush and a dip pen.

This part was so fun! Each color changes differently with the addition of the color changer ink. Some, like the black and brown, change rather slowly and can take several minutes to fully change. Others, especially the Green and Blue, change as soon as the color changer touches them.

I learned through trial and error that you should let the first ink totally dry before adding the color changing ink. Also, be careful if you go back over your clear ink with a second coat as it can spread.

The color changer ink acts almost like a bleach pen, but not as harsh to the paper.

You can see in the swatch below that the color changer pushed slightly to the edges of the heavier swatch. A fun effect to watch.

As a graduate from Virginia Tech, I deeply appreciate the Burgundy to Orange color since it is the school color combination.

You can see a dark version of the color changed pink haloing the entire swatch of the Dark Blue ink below – almost like the deep blue portion shrank back to reveal the color underneath.

The Fuchsia ink was nearly bleached to white with the color changing ink, but the ink itself feathered quite a bit in the swatch below – Cosmo Air Light paper.

The Pink that came from the color changing ink on Green ink is a unique combination – the pink comes through as rather dark at first but lightens over time.

I also loved the Purple to Yellow combination – a very dark ink that lightens dramatically to Yellow.

The Red ink seemed to be closer to orange than actual red.

You can see on a few of these swatch cards that some colors performed poorly in the feathering department, although this is not enough for me to not use the ink.

Below is the Monteverde Color Changing lineup on Midori MD paper:

The Monteverde Color Changing lineup on Tomoe River (TR7) 52gsm paper:

Finally, the Monteverde Color Changing lineup on Cosmo Air Light paper:

The set as I have shown it is available at retailers who carry Monteverde inks for $124 or $13 per ink bottle and $7 per bottle of color changer.

Which color duo is your favorite combination?

DISCLAIMER: Some of the items in this review were provided at a discounted rate for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.

The post Ink Review: Monteverde Color Changing Ink Set appeared first on The Well-Appointed Desk.

Did you know that the USPS is doing stamp collaborations with Field Notes now? That’s right, you can get a Field Notes pocket notebook with the most recent stamp release on the front with the official cancellation. There are waterfalls, famous people, holidays, The Peanuts Gang and more available on a Field Notes. Check out the current USPS Philatelic Catalog for all the current stamp releases. There are some really beautiful designs.

Pens:

• Pen Review: MIG Brass Fountain Pen with Mini Kit (via Macchiato Man)
• Ballpoints… (via Nero’s Notes)
• Pilot Iro-Utsushi Dip Pen Review (via The Pen Addict)
• Pilot ILMILY Nuance Gel Pen Review (via The Pen Addict)
• Whelp. My pen collection has hit capacity (via mnmlscholar)
• My Parker 61 Flighter fountain pen: a cautionary tale. (via Fountain pen blog)
• My Personal Approach to Vintage Fountain Pens (via The Gentleman Stationer)

Ink:

• Troublemaker Tablea Fountain Pen Ink Review (via The Pen Addict)
• Ink Review: Anderillium Viceroy Butterfly Orange and Atlas Moth Brown (via The Gentleman Stationer)
• Ink Review #2379: J Herbin Fuchsia de Magellan (via Mountain of Ink)
• Kuretake Kuroganeiro (via Inkcredible Colours)
• Ink Review #2377: Dominant Industry Matin (via Mountain of Ink)
• Ink Review #783: Van Dieman’s Colors of Tasmania: Tasmanian Devil (via Fountain Pen Pharmacist)
• thINKthursday – Iroshizuku Tsutsuji (via Anderson Pens Blog)

Notebooks & Paper:

• Archer and Olive versus Notebook Therapy: Which Dot Grid Notebook is better? (via All About Planners)
• Are A5 Organisers Too Big and Bulky? (via Philofaxy)
• Origin One Notebook Review (via Notebook Stories)
• Yamamoto Paper’s Fountain Pen Friendly Paper Collection, Vol 7, Part 2 (via The Pen Addict)
• How to keep a film journal (via The Pen Company Blog)

Art & Creativity:

• Atlas Insider: Finding the Spark Again (via Modern Daily Knitting)
• The Difference Between Watercolor, Gouache, and Poster Color Paints (via JetPens Blog)
• InkTober, Days 14 – 20 (via Fueled by Clouds & Coffee)
• Patience in Watercolor (via RozWoundUp)
• My New Standing Palette (and the Palette Journey So Far) (via Fueled by Clouds & Coffee)
• New Roman Szmal Aquarius Colours 2023 (via Liz Steel)
• Learning illustration from other artists – Lee Kow Fong (via Drewscape)

Other Interesting Things:

• Girl Goes Door to Door Offering to Read a Book for Seniors (via My Modern Met)
• Colorful Illustrations Document the Layouts of Japanese Hotels (via My Modern Met)
• Review: Boox Note Air3 C e-Ink tablet (via Parka Blogs)
• Amazing Cover Photos of the Startling Stories Magazine in the 1940s (via Design You Trust)
• I’ve been using Mimestream as my MacOS email client for… (via Kottke.org)
• Great Books Explained (via Kottke.org)
• Pens hows and product updates (via Fountain Pen Love)

Thanks for continuing to read our blog. Please support our sponsors or join our Patreon. Your patronage supports this site. Without you, we could not continue to do what we do.

The post Link Love: Postage Notes appeared first on The Well-Appointed Desk.

I’ve always been a fan of Musubi. The owner Daryl is completely transparent about what he is trying to do: create beautiful writing tools and notebooks that fully support artisans who hand make many of the products. The Pocket Folio Notebooks are just the newest to a wonderful product lineup.

There are a lot of pocket folio notebooks out there to choose from, often at similar price points. This particular one comes in a slim A6 size (90mm x 140mm, or 3.5″ x 5.5″. The books have cardstock covers and sewn binding, reinforced with tape.

The paper itself is Spica Bond 75, a white 75gsm paper made from 25% cotton. The books are available in blank, lined (7.2mm) or cross grid (5mm) and each book contains 48 pages.

The notebooks come in eco-friendly packaging of cardboard and ribbon. And here is why I love Daryl’s products so much – he truly thinks about how every part of the product and packaging can be used. The cardboard used to hold the package of 3 notebooks together is actually perforate and designed as index cards. These cards can then be used to sort your notebooks (for easy storage in any box that can store standard 3.5″ x 5.5″ index cards or photos). The only part of the cardboard that is “waste” is the small tab connecting the two index cards. The ribbon can be repurposed to be a bookmark, or used to tie the notebooks back together.

So let’s talk about the paper a little more. The paper is smooth to the touch and my pens glide across it easily. One thing I do really like is that the cross grid still absorbs the ink as normal – in some notebooks the ink is repelled by those grid points making it harder to read. I don’t see any feathering on the front side.  As for the backs, it’s not bad news. There is some bleed through where I reinforced my lines (the musubi up top) and when I used larger nibs (the Sailor Music nib I used for “pocket notebooks are the best!”)

Even so, I think these notebooks are perfectly functional for an every day carry. I can see carrying one in my purse or pen case (specifically the Sinclair) to jot notes, quotes I want to remember, to do lists, or more. And again, I appreciate that if I want to keep the notebooks as an archive of my daily life, I have some handy index tabs to sort them by! Are they the cheapest notebooks on the market? No, but it’s roughly comparable to other popular pocket notebooks like Field Notes and a number of other smaller brands. However, if you want to support a business that is committed to creating great craftsmanship and ethical production, I can’t think of a better place to shop.

DISCLAIMER: Some of the items in this review were provided free of charge for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.

The post Paper Review: Musubi Pocket Folio Notebook appeared first on The Well-Appointed Desk.

I wandered into my local art supply store recently to get a couple very specific pencils. But of course I had to browse. I wandered down the watercolor aisle muttering to myself, “I do not need anymore watercolor palettes.” So of course, I bought a new palette. But it’s different!!!! It’s the Derwent Inktense Paint Palette Set ($25). The set includes 12 small pans of color, a sponge along one edge and a portable waterbrush. The waterbrush is too long to be assembled. The top brush section cannot be screwed into the water reservoir bottom section and then still fit into the space at the bottom of the palette. Weird. I didn’t bother filling the waterbrush and instead used a watercolor brush but it seems like an odd choice. If the sponge section had been made smaller, I think the brush would have fit. Anyway…

If you are not familiar with the Derwent Inktense line, the line started with a variety of water-soluble colored pencils. The interesting thing about the Inktense pencils is that after water is added to create a watercolor effect, once dry, the color is no longer water soluble. So, its water color, until it dries and then it sticks where it is. For multimedia artists, art journalists and collagists, this is a very cool feature. Inktense pencils, and now the Paint Pan Sets, can be used like watercolors then dry and other water soluble art supplies can be used over the color.

The set includes a range of colors including an opaque white. Many watercolor sets will include an opaque white gouache pan but the Derwent Inktense set has a waterproof-when-dry “watercolor” white. This pan is particularly interesting for adding highlights, eye lights, and other touches of white over color.

The other colors include a cool yellow (sherbet lemon), bright orange, cherry (warm red), fuchsia, violet, turquoise, ionian green (forest green), Hooker’s Green (spring green), red oxide, Payne’s Grey (cool grey) and antique white.

Some of the colors show a lot of granulating when applied directly from the pan. I did begin to blend colors and add more water and the granulation wasn’t as apparent.

The swatch above is the opaque antique white which is slightly visible on white paper.

I played around with colors both blended and straight from the palette. I really like the turquoise shade, it is quite dark and really pretty.

Shown above is a close-up of the shadow which was added under the apple after the paint was dry so you can see how the colors can be layered without the previous color moving or changing. I really like this!

The above image shows the orange I painted with added Payne’s Grey and Antique White after the original orange color had dried. In previous efforts, I would have had to use a gel pen to create the white highlights which may or may not have stayed in place because gel pens are water-based as well.

Overall, I think the Inktense Paint Pan Set is a very cool addition to anyone’s art supply kit. I look forward to experimenting my layering these colors with a wider range of supplies. I do wish the pans of color were larger and that Derwent just skipped trying to squeeze a water brush into the kit as its a waste of space.

DISCLAIMER: Some items included in this review were purchased with funds from our amazing Patrons. You can help support this blog by joining our Patreon. Please see the About page for more details.

Finally, I acquired a new iPhone last week and with its new fancy camera, I am trying to determine if its now higher quality than my Canon that I’ve been using for the last few years. Can you tell which photo below was taken with the iPhone and which was taken with the Canon?

The post Art Supply Review: Derwent Inktense Paint Pan Set appeared first on The Well-Appointed Desk.

Above are a couple of my favorite images on the fabric. Those toe beans!!! The cat on this bag looks just like our Pepper.

The Yuki Cat Banzai Bag is my first Rickshaw Banzai Bag. I don’t know why I waited so long to get one. The medium, boxy shape accommodates lots of notebooks and other squarish objects that I carry with me on a daily basis. It’s not large enough for a laptop but will hold my 10.5” iPad as well as very comfortably holding my B6 planner in its leather cover. A5 notebooks would also fit into the Banzai Bag.

I love the double zips on the zippered sections (one opens the main compartment and one opens the slash pocket on the back side of the bag). The double-ended zippers mean, regardless of whether you are left or right handed, the zips can be placed where it is most convenient when wearing the bag or when it is stationary (Look! Correct spelling for the use case!).

The interior of the bag is a bright yellow which matches the cats’ eyes and makes it much easier to see the contents inside the bag. While a black interior hides a lot of dirt and grime, it also hides the contents which is a drag. (Note to self!)

The rear pocket is a bit too narrow to hold my 10.5″ iPad and zip closed but it will fit inside the bag and close properly. Sticking out like this is fine for driving back and forth to work or going from the airport lobby to the flight. It’s secure as in it won’t fall out but its not secure from a pickpocket. (Note to self. Again.)

My keys and earbuds fit into the outside slash pocket for quick access.

Inside are a divided pocket on one side and a slash pocket on the other. The rest of the bag is open space for all your stuff.

The Sinclair Model R Pen Case was a must-have because who doesn’t need matchy-matchy? It has all the same features of the Sinclair case but the plush lining is the same bright yellow as the Banzai bag. If you’re not familiar with the Sinclair, it was originally designed and produced by Nock Co. When Nock Co shuttered operations, they worked with Rickshaw to redevelop it under the Rickshaw brand. So now, the Sinclair is readily available and in a myriad of fabric colors and designs, including Yuki Cat. Life is good!

The Sinclair has three pen slots on one side and an open slash pocket on the other. I use the open pocket for various tools like a small ruler, a bone folder and mechanical pencil. The pen slots are used for various fountain pens.

The open area between the pockets can hold some mobile phones (mine is an iPhone 11). The outside slash pocket is also big enough to hold some phones or a card (credit card, hotel room key, couple bucks cash, business cards, etc).

I have one other Rickshaw bag — the small/medium Soho Tote (starts at $89). I thought visually comparing the size might be helpful for anyone who might own one or the other. The Banzai is a couple inches smaller in each direction. Because of the gusseted shape, it is a little more structured. Both bags — when they are full, they’re full and it’s hard to fit even one more item into it. So, if you are someone who sometimes needs to carry a few things and sometimes needs to carry everything, including the kitchen sink, these bags might not be large enough to accommodate.

But for day-to-day carry, for personal items, the Banzai and Sinclair are perfect. What’s your favorite print pattern?

DISCLAIMER: Some items included in this review were provided free of charge by JetPens for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.

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The Colorado pen show is one of a few pen shows that take place in a state that doesn’t touch an ocean. Chicago, Ohio, St. Louis, Detroit, and Colorado are all important shows to provide the experience to pen users in land locked states.

While the Colorado pen show is smaller than others, that doesn’t reflect the variety of items and events available at the event. I mean, look at the incredible variety of ink available at a single table! (Just to be transparent, I was the one selling this ink for the Dromgooles…)

The downside of working with a retailer at a show is that I have a limited amount of time to wander around and take great photos. But I’ve taken several photos from a single spot (my ink station) to try to give a feeling of the Colorado show.

One amazing point of the Colorado show is the help from the local pen club – the Colorado Pen Posse. In these photos, look for people in red shirts with white writing. They were always asking if they could help with anything, bring water, or if we had any issues. A hot lunch was delivered both Saturday and Sunday which helped us keep the table fully staffed through lunch.

Most of the tables in this show were in a single large conference room with surprisingly good lighting.

Pen Realm had specific show nibs that were only available during the show engraved with a great looking raven.

These photos were taken Friday evening before the busy time began.

This product — Bibliofile – was a new product sighting during the show – offered by Good Made Better. It’s an eye-catching way to carry all of your notebooks at once!

The Penwell is the other popular offer from Good Made Better.

Laughs were something that were never in short supply in Colorado!

Plenty of laughs!

My pen show purchases were not huge this time, but there was definitely a Traveler’s theme.

But the Color Changing Ink from Monteverde was the most exciting item in my opinion! I can’t wait to show these soon in a review!

I caught a few casual photos after the show was done on Saturday – good friends and plenty of drinks. The hotel offered a happy hour each evening, complete with free drinks, soda, juice, and snacks. It was a good time to relax for a few minutes and figure out what to do for dinner.

I’ve attended the Colorado pen show since it first started ten years ago and I do believe this was the best year I’ve seen so far. The show was well run, the hotel was helpful, the pen club was friendly, and the attendance was high.

Thank you to everyone who attended, sold, and purchased at the show this year.

I can’t wait to see what 2024 has in store!

The post The Colorado Pen Show 2023 appeared first on The Well-Appointed Desk.

I have been panicked, sad, angry, annoyed and an array of other emotions since discovering that my pens were gone. But as the days have passed and they have not returned, my hope is that wherever they went, someone is truly appreciating their beauty and functionality.

Maybe, if my luck reverses, they will return to me. Can you all say a little prayer to the pen gods for me? I miss my pens.

Pens:

• Carolina Pen Co. Charleston Slim Fountain Pen Review (via The Pen Addict)

Ink:

• Ink Review #782: Dominant Industry: Dominant Blue No. 104 (via Fountain Pen Pharmacist)
• Van Dieman’s Feline Part 3 (via Mountain of Ink)
• Color Traveler Saijo Sakagura Black (via Inkcredible Colours)
• Dominant Industry Royal Azalea on Kokuyo Perpanep Tsuru Tsuru (via Inkcredible Colours)
• Jacques Herbin 1670 Anniversary and 1798 Special Collection Inks (via JetPens Blog)
• Krishna Autumn Orange Ink Review (via Pen Chalet)

Pencils:

• Vintage Sanford Prismacolors (via Fueled by Clouds & Coffee)

Notebooks, Paper & Planners:

• A cut too far: The people who can’t give up paper – BBC Future (via The Cramped)
• Printing Inserts (via Philofaxy)
• Yamamoto Paper’s Fountain Pen Friendly Paper Collection, Volume 7 Review (via The Pen Addict)
• Planner rant (via Stationery Pizza)

Art & Creativity:

• An Artist Recreated Monsters Into Their Cute Alternative Versions (via Design You Trust)
• Welcome To the Great Un-Cursiving of Logos (via Dieline)

Other Interesting Things:

• The London Autumn Pen Show, 2023: my haul. (via Fountain pen blog)
• October London Pen Show Selling Experience (via dapprman)
• Don’t Be Precious, Use It (via Dime Novel Raven)
• Back from Vacation! Recapping The Year In Pen Show Travel, Upcoming Shows, Etc. (via The Gentleman Stationer)
• This 2024 Calendar Stars a Bunch of Adorable Pissed-Off Cats (via My Modern Met)
• Marilyn Monroe’s LA Home Saved From Demolition, For Now (via Hyperallergic)
• Introducing TPK’s Spooktacular Halloween Mail Art Templates (via The Postman’s Knock)
• The Best Backpacks For Back-to-School In 2023 (via Carryology)

Thanks for wasting another perfectly good half hour reading Link Love. We so appreciate you! If you can, please support our sponsors or join our Patreon. Your patronage supports this site and without you, we could not continue to do what we do. Thank you!

The post Link Love: The One Where I Keep Losing My Pens appeared first on The Well-Appointed Desk.

While I tossed and turned in my hotel bed on Sunday night, I realized that the answer to the question “When was the last time you had your septic tank cleaned?” and my blank puzzling for a date/time could be resolved by none other than pen and paper. This morning, when we stopped back at the house, I grabbed a trusty Leuchtturm 1917 Hardcover A5 Metallic Edition. I also approached the file cabinet of doom, and grabbed the extra thick “House” file and took it with me. Today I have been busy building a journal of my house’s greatest and shittiest events (see what I did there?) so that I have dates and repair companies and what type of work was done.

I’ll see you again when indoor plumbing has been restored.

via GIPHY

The post Home Sweet Money Pit appeared first on The Well-Appointed Desk.

In the make-up and cosmetics world its referred to as a “dupe”. This term is often used when trying to find a. cheaper version of an expensive item or one that might have only been available in a limited edition kit. While the ink I want to dupe is neither expensive nor rare necessarily, I was hoping that I could use an ink I already own rather than buying yet another bottle of ink.

As you may have already guessed from the photos or if you have been following my daily writing journey this year, the ink I have been using is Monteverde Birthday Cake. The 30ml bottle I had cost about $12 at the time of purchase. So, there’s a bit of irony as I try to dupe it with inks that range in price from $12 – $40+ per bottle.

This was not an exhaustive search across every purple/violet ink currently available. Rather, this was a search through my personal collection. We all do it, right? We often buy colors we love over and over again. I like dark smokier purple/violets and so I tend to buy similar hues from different brands.

The Inks

In the end, I found about 27 or so bottles of purple/violet or purple-adjacent inks in my collection. There may have been a couple more but this seemed like a good range. Using a sheet of Col-o-ring paper in my FOLIO pad, I was able to swatch each bottle, one after the other, to get a bird’s eye view of the color range.

Several bottles were much too reddish purple. And several colors were too sheeny for everyday use (for me) like Troublemaker Grapevine and Lamy Azurite (see below).

The Short List

In the end, I found three close matches for me. The closest was Monteverde Mulberry Noir but it is a bit darker. Sydney Lavender has a similar smoky quality but it is much more reddish. Waterman Tender Purple was also a close dupe and probably closest in color but its a bit more saturated and the color sheens a bit.

So, what do you think I decided to do?

Off-Topic!

In the process of doing this experiment, I discovered that one of the inks I had dramatically changed colors. What was once “Canterbury Raisin” from Birmingham Pen Company had turned turquoise. this was from their earlier ink batches and the bottle was labelled “made in Germany” so it is at least four or five years old. My inks are stored in drawers to keep them out of the sun so this was quite a surprise. I have a swatch on the lid of the bottle showing the color to be closer to Sailor Manyo Fuji — a bit of a shifting color but definitely a purple color. I talked with some of our Patrons about it and they each had a similar tale of an ink in their collection shifting colors. Has this happened to you?

In Closing

If you decide to attempt a similar experiment with a favorite ink color, remember that the pen nib size and the paper you use may alter the experience. In my case, I am using Stalogy paper and a Fine nib in my Sailor Pro Gear Slim as my daily carry. I discovered when I switched nib to an EF, the ink color altered slightly with more shading range making my experience less consistent. This is definitely something to consider when deciding if you like an ink: try it in a couple nib sizes and on a few papers. This is a prime example of YMMV.

Tools:

• Paper: Col-o-ring FOLIO ($40)
• Pens: Toronto Pen Company Brass Folded Nib (no longer available) and Nib Holder (start at $8) plus Zebra G titanium dip nib ($25 for 10) in a vintage nib holder
• Ink:  Too many to list

The post Finding a Ink “Dupe” in My Collection appeared first on The Well-Appointed Desk.

Colorverse “Golden Gate Bridge” is the “Show ink” for SF pen show 2023. I was excited to see how Colorverse would interpret such an iconic color,  which can be hard to pin down. Is it orange? Red? Red-orange?

As a Bay Area native, I learned early that the paint color is called “International Orange” (only do an image search on that if you are wearing sunglasses), but as it appears on the bridge itself, it is a deep and rich vermillion. This color is not-red, not-orange, not-pink, an elusive beauty much like the deeper shades of coral.

In this review, I compare the ink with others in my collection, write on a few different papers with a fountain pen, and paint with the ink using a brush in my Art Test.

What is the color like?

The ink is a saturated, non-shading color. I found it to really resemble the bridge color when the ink is wet, but dry to a more magenta-leaning shade.

Some Col-o-ring comparisons

The closest “red” shade I have is Kyo-pro “Flaming red of Fushimi”. This comparison shows how much more saturated, GGB is, and how it has leans away from the yellow-orange tones.

I thought KWZ Grapefruit would be a good match. In this comparison, more shading is evident in Grapefruit, as well as the yellow-orange tones.

Possibly the closest match from the inks in my collection is Pelikan Edelstein “Star Ruby”. This ink to my eye is straight-up magenta. GGB next to it appears just a bit more a true red, but matches the saturation level really well.

To further illustrate this point, I have an entry from my Hobonichi Techo, which shows lines in a Fine nib of GGB to the left, a short sentence written with Star Ruby in a Fine nib to the right of that. For extra credit, the rubber stamps were inked with the Ranger Archival Ink stamp pad in the color Vermillion! In a Fine fountain pen nib, there is very little difference in perceived shade of the two inks.

Note: The owl rubber stamp is part of a collection I bought from the Hobonichi  store, and the lovely ink bottle stamp is of course from the Well-Appointed Desk! One of my favorites in there. But I digress.

Standard Paper tests

So far we have seen the ink with Col-o-ring paper, and Tomoe River paper. What if all we have are a standard Field Notes book, or some copy paper?

In the Field Notes, I detect a little bit of feathering, if I look closely. Slight show-through on the back, but usable on both sides for sure.

As for the copy paper, I have HP 24lb bright white inkjet paper for my own printer. I found the ink to behave pretty nicely on this paper, with a little bit of feathering visible and minimal show-through.

The Art Test

If we have met before, you knew this was coming! The best way I know to discover the true range of an ink, is to paint with it. I use the ink direct from the bottle, as well as dilutions with water. The paper is cold-press watercolor paper. For this piece, I started out with pencil, then used various dilutions of ink and water for the light wash effect. I built depth and shading with straight ink, and when dry, drew fine details with the ink in my fountain pen.

From the lightest light that I could get with dilutions of water, to the darkest dark with fully saturated ink, there are not too many middle shades in this one. This tracks for me in how saturated a color it is in the pen.  I also see clearly in the painting, how magenta the lighter shades are. The darkest areas looked more vermillion and had more orange tones when wet. With the detail lines in place, I can see there is a bit of sheen on this paper, which shows more of the warmer hues. I have posted a VoiceOver narration video  of my process YouTube while painting this piece over on YouTube, for those curious to see the painting unfold in real time.

TL;DR

Colorverse Golden Gate Bridge is a bright, saturated color. It writes well on a variety of papers. The wet shade is an orangey vermillion, which dries to a magenta-leaning red color. There is no shading, but a bit of sheen can be detected with more intense applications.

Julia van der Wyk is an artist, classical musician, knitter, and professional web developer (The Web Atrium). She teaches an Ink Painting class at the SF Pen Show, and resides in Santa Cruz, California, where she can draw Pelicans with Pelikans, and brag about the weather. Follow her adventures on Instagram @juliavdw and Juliavanderwyk.com. Also check out her Ink Wash Painting Class!

The post Ink Review: Colorverse Golden Gate Bridge appeared first on The Well-Appointed Desk.