Wednesday, April 1, 2009

happiness is a good pen

Woman selling flowers on the Kadıköy wharf.

I am running out of my stash of beloved Sakura Micron Pigma pens— so far I have found a teeny supply of them at Güven Arts & Crafts in Kadıköy. Since they don't seem to be too readily available, I thought I'd try something new. I was intrigued by the claim of waterproof India ink in the Faber-Castell PITT Art pens, so I picked up a few different nib sizes and gave it a shot. Wow. This is some pen— a super-rich black ink that doesn't bleed, smell, smear or wash away. It's fabulous. The intensity of the black is really beautiful, and hasn't faded under washes of paint. The ink seems to just flow out of the tip, unlike the Microns, which can get scratchy. The pens come in a simple variety of nibs: Superfine, Fine, Medium, and Brush.

Now if only I could get a decent scanner. The first drawing has a lot of subtle blues and greys in the sky and sea, but they are completely lost. I'll keep fiddling with it. Oh how I miss my SF scanner!

I drew this last one on the bus home today, drawing as fast as I could. It's a mix of buildings and signs along the way that I tried to compose in such a way that would best resemble the scene outside.

Please click on the images to see the drawings in better detail.

4 comments:

redrock said...

Thanks for the beta on the pens! I love the atmospheric perspective in the flower woman sketch...with or without the right scanner. I am in awe of how you grab from thin air the turrets and powerlines in the bus ride sketch...signage and strowling birds...satalite dishes amongst the hillside homes! I am a fan and a student of your work. I really enjoy your compositions, thanks again!

Chris Menice said...

I use the Pitt pens too, but they don't seem to work well for me on the Moleskine sketchbook paper. They seem washed out. But they are great on other papers...and cheaper too(I think).

Shamila said...

Samantha, I am so glad I found your blog. It has been like a lovely, magical, visual tincture for me to soothe the PIBs or Post Istanbul Blues. I am in constant awe of your ability to sketch what you see in the manner with which you do it. I am a fan. Truly.

szaza said...

Thanks Charlie, Chris and Shamila!

@ Chris: I used them on my Istanbul City Moleskine paper with great success, but I have yet to try it on a sketchbook Moly.

@ Shamila: I'm so happy you are enjoying the blog— my PIBs lasted for 12 years and the only cure was to come back :)