Tuesday, January 22, 2008

Dip pens!


Every now and then I just have to bring out my dip pens and a bottle or two of ink. As much as I love drawing with Lamy Safari (I use it every day, even at work), nothing, and I mean NOTHING, beats dip pens for drawing with ink. Once you find the nibs you love, you just have to keep on drawing with them. A little more pressure and you suddenly have a thicker line, hold the pen straight up on it´s tip and the lines get thin as hairs...

I have no idea what nibs I used for these drawings, I have a whole jar of them, and I change them quite often while drawing.

They all have their own personality, and depending on my mood or what I want to do, I like different nibs.

The only disadvantage with these lovely drawing instruments is that it´s kind of messy to bring them along to draw somewhere else than at a sturdy table at home. I would love to take them with me on a drawing tour on the town, but I haven´t dared to yet. I know I will spill ink all over my jeans, I just know it.

Drawings are different sizes, dip pens and different inks on large Moleskine sketchbook pages.

22 comments:

Laura Frankstone said...

I know exactly what you mean--I've been using them a lot lately, too! Many of the other artists who were showing at Clermont-Ferrand seemed to use dip pens in their travel sketchbooks! I'm going to try them out next month when I go to Hawaii and I'll report on how it went. Love your amaryllis drawing.

Lin said...

SUPER sketching, Nina!!! I love the colors you've used too!

Linda said...

That's funny. I pulled mine out the other day and used it for the first time in ages. Something must be in the air!
These drawings are great -- my eye keeps wanting to return to the ink bottle, in particular!

Anita Davies said...

Love he ink bottle sketches especially. I've never used dip pens...Oh no, something else to add to my growing list.

andrea joseph's sketchblog said...

These are all SO beautiful.

Jeff (trout bum) said...

Great sketches! dip pen drawings have such character. Look forward to seeing more.

Laurel Neustadter said...

Beautiful drawings and a very inspiring post. I am going to get my dip pens and ink out right now ...

Anonymous said...

I agree, there's nothing as pleasing as watching the ink flow from the end! I've been using a dip pen with a nib that looks like a calligraphy pen - is the one in your illustration a dip pen especially for drawing?

Lydia Velarde said...

Whoa nina these are just remarkable!
I am a lamy and koh i noor lover.

but ou sure made me want to get out my dip pens!

Thanks for sharing your beautiful drawings!
Lydia

Genine said...

Nina, Your line works is amazing. I love these!
Makes me want to give dip pens a try.

Kate (Cathy Johnson) said...

Nina, ages ago in time past there were wonderful little bottles that artists took with them that didn't spill...wish I could remember what they were called. There's an Oriental equivalent, but I'm drawing a blank. What I DO remember is that I've read that some artists push a wad of cotton down into their ink bottle and then dip their pen into that, making less likely spillage.

I've taken mine out into the field with me (sans cotton ball!), but it was a crow quill pen and acrylic ink, and after a while things clogged up and wanted to stutter and splatter!

Ann said...

Stunning drawings Nina! Thanks for sharing and I enjoyed your commentary too. When I'm brave enough I'll have to try pen and ink :)

Andrea and Kim said...

These are beautiful, Nina! When I was a student (in design), we used the dip pens and the technical pens a lot...long before the disposable technical pens of today. You have made your pens sing! I can't wait to see what you do next.

Sandy said...

Great Sketches and I love learning about new tools/toys!

littlemithi said...

Wow! Those flowers are BEAUTIFUL! I know what you mean about the quality of dip-pens ... can't get anything else to come close. I carry some little plastic soya sauce bottles (the kind you get when you buy sushi) filled with ink, in a little tin when I go out drawing sometimes. My nibs live in the tin too, and when I draw I leave the bottles in the tin so any spillage is caught inside the tin. Maybe you too can make a small portable drawing tin ;)

juj said...

beautiful beautiful beautiful!! oh my gosh Nina! I am in LOVE with all of these!!

E-J said...

Beautiful little ink bottles! I would love to learn to hatch that delicately.

For months I've been meaning to venture out with my dip pen to sketch geese down by the river - the first exercise in Sarah Simblet's "The Drawing Book". The thought of spilling ink all over myself is definitely one of the reasons I've not yet done it!

Jennifer Lawson said...

I am so new to blogging. I have learned a lot about pens, paint and paper over the past months as I have read all the emails and visited blogs. I love your "dip pen" drawings. I'm not sure I even I now what they are. I've just discovered that Pigma Micron won't bleed when I use watercolor. I have a lot to learn...

Your drawings and paintings are wonderful.

joanieART said...

Lovely ink drawings...so concise and the hatching superb. Love the ink colors....what kind do you use?

Tracy said...

your drawings look amazing. i wish i was able to draw like that with ink. the last time i tried i spilt the bottle of indian ink on my carpet. lets just say i now know that spilling liquids on carpet can become permanent stains. lol.

Maureen said...

I love these drawings, and I can't believe how controlled your dip pen pieces are. I always get blothces and those skippy lines when the ink runs dry.

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