Review: Diamine Kelly Green Fountain Pen Ink

Kelly Green Mandala in a Fabriano Classic Artist's Journal.



Kelly Green is a "New Century" Fountain Pen Ink "Launched in January 2006, New Century Fountain Pen Ink is available in 30 vibrant shades also suitable for any fountain pen brand"

Tested in a Paperblanks lined journal with off white pages in a medium nibbed Sailor Sapporo fountain pen.

The color? I'm thinking pea puree, or maybe one of Iron Chef Bobby Flay's signature herb sauces. This ink is saturated with great shading. I'm actually surprised at how saturated it is. It's the color of wheat grass juice from Jamba Juice. Good flow - but note that I'm testing it in one of my widest nibbed pens.

I'm not usually a big fan of green inks but this one? Three words. I'm keeping it. It's vibrant and fun and any ink that makes me want to draw is usually one worth holding on to.

Buy Diamine Inks in the UK at The Writing Desk or directly from Diamine and in the US from The Pear Tree Pen Company Ink is sold in 80ml glass bottles, 30 ml plastic bottles, and selected colors are available in cartridge form.

Review: Diamine Sunshine Yellow Fountain Pen Ink

Sunshine mandala drawn with Diamine Sunshine Yellow ink on Clairefontaine Ingres/Pastel White Laid paper.



Sunshine Yellow is a "New Century" Fountain Pen Ink "Launched in January 2006, New Century Fountain Pen Ink is available in 30 vibrant shades also suitable for any fountain pen brand"

Diamine Sunshine Yellow tested in a lined Paperblanks journal with off-white paper.

This is my favorite shade of yellow, and in watercolors, it would be New Gamboge. A bright yellow that leans more towards orange than lemon. The ink is saturated enough that you can see (for the most part) what you are writing. There is shading but you really have to look for it.

I put this ink into one of my smoothest writing pens - one with outstanding flow and this ink was really very dry. I had to work to push the nib across the paper and that's a total bummer because I love the color so much. Perhaps the flow might be better in a wide-nibbed pen.

I'm struggling to decide whether or not to keep it but if I do, I'd only be using it to paint with as I don't want to struggle to write no matter how awesome the color.

Buy Diamine Inks in the UK at The Writing Desk or directly from Diamine and in the US from The Pear Tree Pen Company Ink is sold in 80ml glass bottles, 30 ml plastic bottles, and selected colors are available in cartridge form.

Review: Jim Donovan's new CD entitled, "Let Go"

A while back I introduced you to my friend Jim Donovan, then I later wrote about how he graciously granted me permission to use a piece of his music from his CD "Pulse" for my mandala video and now I'd like to share his new CD with you, entitled "Let Go."

What kind of music is it? It's "a deliciously hypnotic compilation of down tempo ambient chill music with a groove designed to sooth your soul" and to me, it's absolutely glorious. One day while I was writing, I allowed the CD to repeat 4 or 5 times and the words just kept pouring and pouring out of me... they were filled with so much emotion. It's truly a magical thing when you find a particular piece of music that just lets you tap into that kind of energy. Ambient/chill music always seems to do that for me. It pulls me out of my head and allows me to drop into the moment. "Let Go" - this is the good stuff...

Reading through the liner notes, I was fascinated with the process that brought this project to light:

"Over the years, I have created music that reflected my current inspirations. The styles of music have been varied- from electronic to percussive to ambient, and each piece was charged with a specific intent. In listening to over a decade’s worth of these recordings, I found that there was a common thread that ran through all of it, and that thread was openness. Being open to what life has to offer and in turn, letting go of patterns and habits that no longer served me.

In this compilation, I selected music from three very distinct periods of my life. I have chosen not only to re-master and present each piece in an updated format, but to re-frame them into a new body of work with the intent that the listener can connect to that openness." - Jim Donovan

I just love that because it really speaks to me as an artist. You create something in a particular moment with a specific intent, and you become intimately connected to it. As time passes and the emotional charge that inspired the initial creation has decreased or disappeared, you can start to look at your body of work in a whole new light. You may have once never thought that your varied creations could ever be connected to one another, but with the passage of time, you can't see it as being any other way.

Listen to samples of "Let Go" and then buy it from CD Baby.

For other CDs, DVDs, workshop and tour dates, visit Jim on the Web:

Blog: http://thejimdonovanblog.blogspot.com/
Web: http://www.JimDonovanDrums.com
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/jimdonovan
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/people/Jim-Donovan/61602049
Twitter: http://twitter.com/JimDonovanDrums