Apparently my muse really needed pens today!
A visit to both the craft store and the art shop this morning - conveniently but rather dangerously located a couple of minutes away from each other - resulted in rather more shopping than I had originally planned.
I bought 2 bottles of liquid acrylic (the only kind of acrylic I can stand the smell of), some varnish, some small metal brads and some stamps for the Diary Project - so far, so good. Unfortunately I then went a bit bananas with the pens and got 10 different ones that do a variety of exciting things. I've been doing lots of pages in my new art journal and need pens that will write over difficult surfaces such as soluble oil pastels; I'm hoping that at least some of these will.
For any fellow pen geeks out there, here's what I got:
A waterproof black Faber-Castell Pitt Artist pen - I have some of their sepia ones but I haven't tried the black before. I'm always on the look-out for good quality black pens for The Diary Project - at this point, I've probably tried most of the ones on the market.
Two Copic Ciao double-ended markers - I've never tried these before but I've heard good things about their ability to draw on almost every surface.
A Staedtler Triplus gel-liner in silver - because everyone needs a silver pen
A Sakura Gold Shadow pen in grey - these make a sort of two-tone metallic outline.
A Sakura Souffle pen in dark grey - these give a slightly embossed 3-D line, so they should be good when I want colour to stay contained within a certain area.
A Sakura Glaze pen in black - these dry to a nice glossy finish and can be used on all sorts of surfaces. I'm a bit excited by the idea of the clear one that you can write with and then layer colour over so it magically appears but I'll see how I do with this one first.
A Sakura waterproof and archival Micron 01 black ink pen - again, to test out for The Diary Project.
A Sakura fine point gold marker - see silver pen comment!
A Sakura White extra fine marker - surprisingly the most expensive pen at £3.10. I do already have a white ink gel pen that I use in the Diary Project but it sticks a lot, the one seems to give a much smoother line.
You know, I wasn't doing too badly until I saw that Sakura display in the craft shop - I've never seen this brand before and they were so alluring that I lost all sense of reason! What's truly scary is that I could easily have spent a lot more. I was actually pretty restrained: I didn't buy any sets and I didn't get every kind of Sakura pen they had, I could have added another 4 or 5 to my basket but chose not to. Instead I deliberately got a selection of different things to test out, with the idea that if I like any particular kind, then I can add a set or two to my birthday/Christmas list.
We all have things we find hard to resist - for some people it's magazines, clothes or electronics; with me it's art materials. It used to be books as well but I've managed to get into the habit of mostly ordering those from the library instead of from Amazon.
I can mostly control my addiction to art materials - I often go for months without buying anything at all but every so often I just need a bit of a splurge. My wallet is definitely a lot lighter - altogether I spent just under £40 and about half of that was on the pens. I came out feeling that I probably ought to feel guilty but really I just felt utterly gleeful and still do. I guess sometimes you just need to do these things.
Well, I guess I'll see you later - I've got a hot date with some pens!
Jen
Oh! I am SUCH a pen whore. Put me in a store that has any new selection and I HAVE to come out with at least one. I am always ALWAYS on the search for "The Perfect Pen". I haven't found it ... yet... but really it's all about the quest. If you DO find any of your recent purchases that warrant a shout out, please do. I'll be waiting. :)
Jen
Oh! I am SUCH a pen whore. Put me in a store that has any new selection and I HAVE to come out with at least one. I am always ALWAYS on the search for "The Perfect Pen". I haven't found it ... yet... but really it's all about the quest. If you DO find any of your recent purchases that warrant a shout out, please do. I'll be waiting. :)
Kirsty Hall
Apparently there are people out there who don't feel this way about pens - ah well, all the more for us!
I'll let you know how the pens do, I'm enjoying the Sakura Souffle one so far but I haven't had a chance to put the rest of them through their paces properly yet.
Kirsty
Post authorApparently there are people out there who don't feel this way about pens - ah well, all the more for us!
I'll let you know how the pens do, I'm enjoying the Sakura Souffle one so far but I haven't had a chance to put the rest of them through their paces properly yet.
Mikie
Stop thinking about sex. Is it too big? is it too small? Pens pens pens, it's all she ever thinks about.
I first bought Sakura when I came across this comic artist (name escapes me right now) interview in a 2005ish Comics Journal. He said he had found Sukura Pigma Micron pens and he had never looked back to dipping pens since. So I bought one, then some more, then some more. Have you tried Pigma Micron? I do recommend them. They're light-safe and suitable for use in acid-free environments : )
Lovely work btw.
tell us more about the pens!
Mikie
Stop thinking about sex. Is it too big? is it too small? Pens pens pens, it's all she ever thinks about.
I first bought Sakura when I came across this comic artist (name escapes me right now) interview in a 2005ish Comics Journal. He said he had found Sukura Pigma Micron pens and he had never looked back to dipping pens since. So I bought one, then some more, then some more. Have you tried Pigma Micron? I do recommend them. They're light-safe and suitable for use in acid-free environments : )
Lovely work btw.
tell us more about the pens!
Kirsty Hall
Ha, well pens aren't all I think about but they do come up quite often.
I've tried the Pigma Micron pens and they're lovely, they have the finest nib I've found so far and they're amazing for very detailed work. I like the quality of the black ink too. They're not always good over other mediums though, I killed my first one stone dead because I attempted to use it over acrylic ink.
I'm planning some proper pen reviews later in the month, so stick around for more hot pen action!
Kirsty
Post authorHa, well pens aren't all I think about but they do come up quite often.
I've tried the Pigma Micron pens and they're lovely, they have the finest nib I've found so far and they're amazing for very detailed work. I like the quality of the black ink too. They're not always good over other mediums though, I killed my first one stone dead because I attempted to use it over acrylic ink.
I'm planning some proper pen reviews later in the month, so stick around for more hot pen action!
Mikie
brum brum... Cant wait :)
Mikie
brum brum... Cant wait :)