Glorious Rapidograph Pens
I drove to the art store a couple days ago and bought some waterproof india ink and a few prisma color markers (2 replacements and 4 new colors!).
I honestly think that filling up my set of pens with the india ink, tapping on their tips til the ink started flowing and finally drawing with them on paper was one of the most satisfying, fulfilling experiences I've ever had. I am literally in technical pen heaven. I have 7 different widths, all refillable and all with metal nibs. No more felt nibs that get mushed down to nothing or smashed into a different width/consistency after a few drawings. No, these rapidograph pen nibs will stay the same drawing after drawing; ink refill after ink refill.
A set of varied width felt tipped micron pens costs about $12. The ink cost me about $2. I did a search for a similar set of pens to what I have and the one I found was over $225!!! I found my treasure in my basement of course. The magical land beneath my house that has all the art supplies you can ever imagine. I remember seeing them when I was cleaning up sometime last year. They didn't make much of an impression on me then, but the memory stuck, and the pen set popped into my head while I was in Portland. I made a mental note to dig them up when I got home, so that's what I did.
The word "excitement" doesn't begin to describe how I felt when I brought my new found treasure upstairs and carefully unthreaded the cartridge and carefully opened the ink bottle and carefully poured the liquid from the ink bottle into the reservoir. The word "disappointment" doesn't begin to describe how I felt when I realized that the liquid was completely clear and that all the pigment had caked together in the middle of the ink container, giving the appearance that it was still inky black, even though it definitely wasn't. Worse yet was that my mom was leaving the very next day for at least 5 days, and it was way too icy outside to drive anywhere on that "day of disappointment."
I had to resign myself to the fact that I wouldn't be able to use the pens for many long days. At a suggestion from one of my brothers, I checked my oldest brother's attic which is a treasure trove in its own right. I found an art box, and actually found an inkwell, but sadly, this ink too was caked and separated.
So instead I checked all my felt tipped pens to find the best ones, and drew what I could with them. I also found some seed pods to sew, some old art books to thumb through, and some wood to clean up and prepare for greater things.
The day my mom got back, the first thing I did was take the car to the art store where I bought fresh ink. I filled up my pens with the rich black liquid and soon was drawing away. These pens are amazing. The draw so smoothly and precisely. It's really a joy to work with them.
I drew a pattern using all the 7 different pens.
Then I drew a swirly pattern with the fattest tipped pen just for fun. Just because it felt good to do.
My next goal is to step outside of the sketchbook arena and do some drawings on nicer paper so that I can make a more finished piece. I realized that at least some of my drawings aren't really sketches anymore, but could be finished works, only they are bound into a sketchbook.
I honestly think that filling up my set of pens with the india ink, tapping on their tips til the ink started flowing and finally drawing with them on paper was one of the most satisfying, fulfilling experiences I've ever had. I am literally in technical pen heaven. I have 7 different widths, all refillable and all with metal nibs. No more felt nibs that get mushed down to nothing or smashed into a different width/consistency after a few drawings. No, these rapidograph pen nibs will stay the same drawing after drawing; ink refill after ink refill.
A set of varied width felt tipped micron pens costs about $12. The ink cost me about $2. I did a search for a similar set of pens to what I have and the one I found was over $225!!! I found my treasure in my basement of course. The magical land beneath my house that has all the art supplies you can ever imagine. I remember seeing them when I was cleaning up sometime last year. They didn't make much of an impression on me then, but the memory stuck, and the pen set popped into my head while I was in Portland. I made a mental note to dig them up when I got home, so that's what I did.
The word "excitement" doesn't begin to describe how I felt when I brought my new found treasure upstairs and carefully unthreaded the cartridge and carefully opened the ink bottle and carefully poured the liquid from the ink bottle into the reservoir. The word "disappointment" doesn't begin to describe how I felt when I realized that the liquid was completely clear and that all the pigment had caked together in the middle of the ink container, giving the appearance that it was still inky black, even though it definitely wasn't. Worse yet was that my mom was leaving the very next day for at least 5 days, and it was way too icy outside to drive anywhere on that "day of disappointment."
I had to resign myself to the fact that I wouldn't be able to use the pens for many long days. At a suggestion from one of my brothers, I checked my oldest brother's attic which is a treasure trove in its own right. I found an art box, and actually found an inkwell, but sadly, this ink too was caked and separated.
So instead I checked all my felt tipped pens to find the best ones, and drew what I could with them. I also found some seed pods to sew, some old art books to thumb through, and some wood to clean up and prepare for greater things.
The day my mom got back, the first thing I did was take the car to the art store where I bought fresh ink. I filled up my pens with the rich black liquid and soon was drawing away. These pens are amazing. The draw so smoothly and precisely. It's really a joy to work with them.
I drew a pattern using all the 7 different pens.
Then I drew a swirly pattern with the fattest tipped pen just for fun. Just because it felt good to do.
My next goal is to step outside of the sketchbook arena and do some drawings on nicer paper so that I can make a more finished piece. I realized that at least some of my drawings aren't really sketches anymore, but could be finished works, only they are bound into a sketchbook.