There’s a wild succah exhibit near the TLV mall in Tel Aviv, and it’s a lot of fun to walk around it and try and guess what everything was originally. This succah is made out of discarded bits of “junk”, you see, and the point is to make a point about recycling and sustainability. In any case it was challenging for a very quick little sketch (I’m working very fast and loose with these), and as I mentioned before, the Platinum Plaisir fountain pen I used here isn’t the most fun pen to use. The Midori MD Cotton paper deserves better.
I run practically the same route every day, and yet it never gets boring, especially since the sea, the river and the park are constantly changing. Today it was dragon boats that were out in force on the river. I’ll probably do a watercolour sketch of the scene later on. In any case, this page will be sketched with a Platinum Plaisir filled with the cartridge it came with. It was supposed to highlight the fact that you can sketch with even the cheapest of fountain pens, but I have to say that I don’t recommend the Plaisir. The nib doesn’t flip well, the ink cartridge it comes with is proprietary and the ink inside is in a depressingly dull blue, and there are better pens to be had for a little more or a lot less.
It’s time for a wash, and this time it’s just water over Colorverse Golden Record ink. The sketch was done with a Diplomat Aero fine nibbed pen, which you can see at the bottom of this post, and on A4 Midori MD Cotton paper, which is not built for washes. It buckles almost immediately.
One of my favourite places in Tel Aviv, Independence Garden (Gan HaAztmaut).
Here’s the complete page:
I like the comics like effect of it.
And here’s the pen that I used to sketch it all, the wonderful and highly recommended Diplomat Aero (in this case in orange, but it comes in a myriad of colours). The Colorverse Golden Record ink was part of a set, and I don’t recommend it.
I’m going for a page of sketches with this pen and ink combo, so here’s another small one, of two kayakers braving the stormy sea. Diplomat Aero fine nibbed fountain pen with Colorverse Golden Record on an A5 Midori MD Cotton notebook.
I had a busy day, so it was a very quick sketch this time, of a brown toy poodle sitting on her owner’s lap on the bus. She was quite the attraction, and reminded me of my old dog in the pure joy she took from everything around her.
Drawn on an A5 Midori MD Cotton notebook with a Diplomat Aero fine nibbed pen filled with Colorverse Golden Record. This ink has a tendency to dry out in pens, and it becomes darker in the pen after a day or two.
Today’s sketch was also done with a fine nibbed Karas Kustoms Velys Ignem Vertex and Kyo No Oto Sakuranezumi ink on a Midori MD Cotton A4 notebook. It’s a very quick sketch, done in less than 10 minutes, and I later on made the mistake of applying a wash on the sand, and pretty much ruined that part of the sketch.
View of the sea from next to the Tel Aviv Marina
Here are the two sketches together on a complete page (before I destroyed the bottom one).
It’s Inktober again, and after a few days of hemming and hawing I decided to join it this year. Once again I’m not following the very Halloween themed prompts, but instead just sketching with fountain pens (for the most part) and ink. I’m sketching directly on paper (no pencil underdrawing), and I’m using an A4 Midori Cotton notebook for these sketches.
Yarkon Park, view of Reading power station.
This is a 10 minute sketch, done with a Karas Kustoms Vertex Velys Ignem fountain pen with a fine nib, filled with Kyo No Oto Sakuranezumi ink.
Vertex Velys Ignem.
This is my first Karas Kustoms fountain pen, and I really enjoy using it (I’ll be posting a full review once I’ve had more time with it). I used the nib on both sides (flipping it over for extra fine dots and lines), and it is smooth and well performing.
Kyo No Oto Sakuranezumi box.
For some reason I got the ink brand name mixed up in my head and I’ve been calling it kyo no iro. Embarrassing. In any case, I bought this ink on an ink shopping spree in Choosing Keeping in London during my latest trip there. It’s a dusky purple/mauve colour that reminded me of Diamine Harmony (and costs significantly more).
Ink sample on Col-o-ring tab.
Sakuranezumi is a purple with yellowish undertones that is darker than Diamine Harmony or Diamine Seize the Night, and shades significantly less than the other two. In a fine pen it is dark enough to be acceptable in office use, and I enjoy its dusky mystique. If you do wet the ink, the yellow undertones really become prominent, so take that into account if you plan to use it for ink washes, etc.
If you are looking for a mauve ink and you want something subdued and dark, Sakuranezumi would work for you. I personally find Diamine’s offerings to be more interesting, plus they are easier to obtain and significantly cheaper. Harmony shades more, and if you are looking for yellow undertones, then Seize the Night has the sheen for you.
Writing at Large 