A while ago, during my Watercolour Sketch a Day/Daily Art Practice venture I discovered the joys of ‘Line and Wash’ and started off with thin Artline pens then progressed to Staedtler Pigment Liners and still enjoy using them immensely.
Parallel to this I have been enjoying using a couple of Fountain Pens to write my poems with. I do so enjoy the ‘flow of the ink’ and just then general feeling one gets when writing with them. For me, there is no better writing experience.
In my Art ’travels’ I came across Dip Pens which hark back to olden days of a pen without ink, that one had to ‘dip’ to obtain the fluid to write with.
A few months ago, I purchased a set of Manuscript Nibs that came with two holders (pictured below and a bottle of Art Spectrum Pigment Ink). Since then I’ve added a ‘Postal’ Nib and had been seeking an appropriate reservoir to hold the ink (the Art Spectrum bottle comes with an eye-dropper so as a reservoir the bottle is impractical for that purpose).
After trying an inadequate plastic option I found a small screw-type glass bottle in a discount store for the princely sum of $2.50 and have been using that with some success.
Last weekend whilst on our Berrima NSW trip I found a Parker, ‘Quink’ ink bottle in the Sticky Beaks Antique store for $25.00 with its original box. Once I clean the dried ink out of it I will use it as the main reservoir.
I actually went into the store looking to see if they had an old-fashioned ink well. The had one made of Bakelite for $220.00, however, the ink reservoirs were so small that I couldn’t see the value.
For now, I am happy to use the two bottles as reservoirs and shall continue my search for an ink well that is of reasonable price and condition.
As far as sketching/drawing with the Dip Pens, I must say that I am enjoying the experience but still have much to learn.
Bye for now.
David Johnson
27 November 2020
Communicating Creatively 