All 60 Diamine Fountain Pen Inks Swabbed for your Inky Pleasure

Top to Bottom -

Column 1: Ruby, Passion Red, Poppy Red, Vermilion, Pumpkin, Monaco Red
Column 2: Maroon, Amaranth, Claret, Deep Magenta, Crimson
Column 3: Scarlet, Cerise, Brilliant Red, Flamingo Pink, Pink
Column 4: Coral, Orange, Blaze Orange, Sunshine Yellow, Amber, Yellow



Top to Bottom -

Column 1: Jade Green, Light Green, Kelly Green, Ultra Green, Woodland Green
Column 2: Emerald, Umber, Teal, Dark Green, Steel Blue
Column 3: Turquoise, Aqua Blue, Mediterranean Blue, Florida Blue
Column 4: Washable Blue, China Blue, Presidential Blue, Royal Blue, Sapphire Blue
Column 5: Indigo, Prussian Blue, Blue-Black, Majestic Blue, Imperial Blue



Top to Bottom -

Column 1: Violet, Imperial Purple, Damson, Grey
Column 2: Jet Black, Quartz Black, Onyx Black
Column 3: Chocolate Brown, Saddle Brown, Raw Sienna, Sepia
Column 4: Dark Brown, Burnt Sienna, Golden Brown

Notes: Dotted colors are the ones I'm most interested in trying.

All inks were swabbed with a Q-Tip- one coat, on white Fontaine cold-press watercolor paper.

I was surprised at how saturated many of these inks appear to be - I'm wondering if they will stay that saturated when I ink up a few pens.

Imperial Purple has a second swab below it from my personal bottle that I bought about a year ago. Slight difference in shade.

I did my best to shake each bottle before swabbing, but you can see that I initially forgot with the Sepia. That's a grand example of why you need to shake the bottle...

The Majestic Blue is like no other color I've ever seen. There is actually a top coating of reddish over the blue that you can't see in this image. Tilt the page and you see two colors. I'll attempt to capture that when I review it.

I've previously tested 3 of these colors, Poppy Red, Pumpkin, and Maroon. I have 8 new colors inked up right now. Emerald, Jet Black, Claret, Ruby, Amaranth, Majestic Blue, Cerise and Damson.

I'm curious how many of these I'll keep for regular use. Of the 60, some are similar to each other, and some are similar to some of the Herbin colors I'm already using.

We'll See.

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

Review: Stabilo 68 Fibre Tip Pens

I bought this set of Stabilo 68's a while back because I liked the set of Stabilo Mini 88 markers that I found at Blick.



While I like the colors in this set, I don't like the inconsistency in the nib thickness.



Each pen is soft and smooth on any paper that I've tested, but some of the nibs are smooshier than others- something I find frustrating when trying to create a particular design or drawing. As a result, I don't use them very often. In the above image, the pen on the left doesn't have the same firm tip as the other two. There are several in the set like this, and they came out of the box like that -- it's not due to overuse.



I don't care for the cap design, as they do not stay securely posted on the back of the pen and seem as though as they could get easily lost.



If buying these for children, they seem a little pricey. A set of 20 runs about $22.

From the Stabilo website:

"STABILO Pen 68 QUALITY STROKE FOR STROKE.

The target group:

• From artists to anyone who draws a lot, and discriminating color fans.
• School children and students.
  

The pen:

• High-quality, color-intensive fibre pen for strong lines and large areas.
• Selected pigments for high brilliance and luminosity.
• Stable, push-resistant M-tip (line-width approx. 1 mm) for even ink application.
• Odourless, aquarellable water-based ink.
• Ventilated cap.
• Cap-off time of up to 24 hours.
• Available in 40 colors, 6 fluorescent colors and various ranges.

The advantages:

• The preferred choice for drawing, underlining and coloring in.
• Classic STABILO white edged design immediately indicates high quality.
• The benchmark product in the fibre pen market."
  

Review: Clairefontaine Ingres/Pastel White Laid Paper

This is a review of the White Laid Paper, shown in the background of the image above. I've previously reviewed the Ingres/Pastel in the assorted colors, here and I find these two products to be very, very different.

The assorted paper has more texture than the white, and in fact, the white is actually quite smooth on the front side, and laid on the reverse. While I understand that this is a product meant to be used with pastels, I've found that I love it so much with pen/ink and marker, that I haven't even gotten around to trying it with anything else. The color just POPS on this paper.

It's off white, (which I love) and reminds me a great deal of the paper found in the Exacompta Sketch Journal.

I like that it's in a pad form, and that the cover folds back. When I work on my mandalas, I especially like a paper product that's flat - one that I can easily spin around to work the concentric designs.



Black Faber Castell Pitt Artist Pen and Pitt Brush Pens.



For this one, I used an Herbin Glass Dip Pen and Diamine Maroon Fountain Pen ink.



Black Faber Castell Pitt Artist Pen and Pitt Brush Pens.



Black Faber Castell Pitt Artist Pen and Pitt Brush Pens.

The paper is designed to be used with pastel, charcoal & pencil

* 130 g laid paper (60lb)
* High sensitivity to delicate shades of color
* 25 sheet pad glued on top

White – slight ivory tinge – light-reflecting properties
Pad 9 ½ x 12” Ref C96482
Pad 12 x 15 ½” Ref C96483

Buy this paper at Pen City.

* Update 10/26/09 The Exaclair catalog says that this is a 25 sheet pad and is glued on top. That is true for the 9x12 but not the 12x15. The 12x15 pad is glued on all four sides like a watercolor block. And like a watercolor block, there is an unglued space about an inch and a half wide on the top of the block. The way you typically remove paper from a block such as this is to insert a razor blade or knife between the top sheet and the next piece on the block and run the blade around to cut it from the block. I sometimes have trouble doing this with thick watercolor paper in which I scrape the page below or tear the piece I am trying to remove. With the Ingres paper being substantially thinner than typical watercolor paper, I have having one HECK of a time removing one sheet from the next. It could be due to lack of patience, but I've scraped several pages and the last time I removed a piece, it was impossible for me to get the knife between the top sheet and the block and I removed two pieces instead. They will now be difficult to separate and there are only 25 pieces in a pad..... I have voiced this concern to Exaclair and will also try to be more patient when removing a sheet from a block. I used to use a thin knife but will dig out an Exacto blade and see if that produces better results.

Review: Diamine Maroon Fountain Pen Ink

From the Diamine Website:

30ml Diamine Fountain Ink:

"Brand New Design PVC Bottle, Light weight and with an affordable price makes the full range of 60 colors very collectable, ideal for students or beginners still searching for their personal color of choice."

Maroon is one of Diamine's Old English Fountain Pen Inks "Suitable for all brand of Fountain Pen, 30 Colors available"



Mandala drawn with a J. Herbin Glass Dip Pen and Diamine Maroon ink on Clairefontaine Ingres/Pastel White Laid paper.



So I recently had the opportunity to test the above three Diamine inks. Poppy Red, Pumpkin, and Maroon. The Poppy Red and Pumpkin are New Century inks and are very saturated. The Maroon is from the Old English line and moderately saturated. Using an EF nibbed pen, the flow was good on the 90g Clairefontaine, and better on the Canteo - which is a more absorbent paper than the Clairefontaine.



It's a nice color that reminds me of Herbin's Rouge Bourgogne. A medium red with some shading, it's a nice color, but I'd like it more if it was darker. Perhaps I will try it in a pen with a wider nib to see if that will affect my decision to use it in a regular basis. It did write nice and dark with the Dip Pen, but that's to be expected.

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.

New You Tube Video of The Bean's Original Mandala Art

Note: After you hit play, click the "HQ" button to see the video in High Quality.

This is a project that I had been wanting to do for a while- but it wasn't an easy process to select which pieces I wanted to appear in the video. Of over 400 mandalas that I have created in the last 2 and a half years, approximately 140 are shown here.

The music in the video (used with permission) is from one of my all-time favorite CD's- "Pulse" by Jim Donovan. Soothing and ethereal, I felt that it was a perfect match to my expressions created through the mandala process.

Enjoy.

Index of J. Herbin Ink Reviews

• All 30 (er... 29) Herbin inks swabbed for your convenience
  
• Notes on 24 tested Herbin Inks
• Three New Primary J. Herbin Inks
• J. Herbin 10 Inks: Swab Test
• J. Herbin 1670 Rouge Hematite Anniversary Ink
  
• J. Herbin Ambre de Birmanie Ink
• J. Herbin Bleu Azur Ink
• J. Herbin Bleu Myosotis Ink
  
• J. Herbin Bleu Nuit Ink
• J. Herbin Bleu Pervenche Ink
• J. Herbin Bouquet D'Antan Ink
• J. Herbin Bouton D'Or Ink
• J. Herbin Cacao du Bresil Ink
• J. Herbin Cafe des Isles Ink
  
• J. Herbin Comparison : 10 More Inks
• J. Herbin Diabolo Menthe Ink
• J. Herbin Eclat de Saphir Ink
• J. Herbin Encre Bleu Lavender Scented Ink
• J. Herbin Gris Nuage Ink
  
• J. Herbin Larmes de Cassis Ink
• J. Herbin Lie De The Ink
• J. Herbin Lierre Sauvage Ink
• J. Herbin Orange Indien Ink
• J. Herbin Perle Noire Ink
• J. Herbin Pigmented Inks
• J. Herbin Poussiere de Lune Ink
• J. Herbin Rose Cyclamen Ink
• J. Herbin Rose Tendresse Ink
  
• J. Herbin Rouge Bourgogne Ink
• J. Herbin Rouge Caroubier Ink
• J. Herbin Rouge Opera Ink
• J. Herbin Rouille D'Ancre Ink
• J. Herbin Terre de Feu Ink
• J. Herbin Vert Empire Ink
• J. Herbin Vert Olive Ink
• J. Herbin Vert Pre Ink
• J. Herbin Vert Reseda Ink
• J. Herbin Violette Pensee Ink

All J. Herbin inks provided by Exaclair for the purpose of review.

 

A Blooming Mandala for my Blooming Allergies

I seriously feel as though I have lost a week of my life.

I can't tell you how long it's been since I've had such problems with allergies. This time, I managed to launch myself into a nice full blown sinus infection with throat glands the size of baseballs. And I'm sad to say that even though my throat felt like the 7th layer of hell, I was still smoking... What is wrong with me? I'm really going to need to stop that sometime soon.

I usually manage to avoid these problems at this type of year by using a product called "Sinus Support Compound" by a company called Herbal & Alchemist, and by taking the occasional shot of apple cider vinegar in a glass of water with a few shakes of cayenne pepper thrown in for good measure. Maybe I wasn't as diligent as I should have been because WOW did I ever suffer. I'm still not at 100%, but Tylenol, Sudafed, and a few gargles of warm salt/cayenne water have helped a lot.

I'm finally feeling a bit more like myself - I had been walking around in this fog and it was driving me crazy!

Check out these Links!

So sorry for my lapse in bloggage these days, but I've been under the weather with a nasty sinus infection. Please enjoy the following links in the interim:

Review: Apica Rain Guard Waterproof Notebook:
The Pen Addict

Some of Seth's Red Pens:
Good Pens

One of the Most Amazing Ink Reviews I've ever seen:
Drawing with a Squirrel

Beautiful Original Mandala ATC Art:
Water Blossoms

My friend regularly cooks for her family of nine.
Check out Cooking With Anne

One of the funniest bloggers.....ever.
Go see JD at: I do things so you don't have to.

Oh, and I recently remembered that I really liked Billy Joel when I was a youngster. I guess I forgot about him around the time I bought Metallica's Ride the Lightning...

Review: J. Herbin Bleu Nuit Fountain Pen Ink

From the J Herbin website:

"J. Herbin is the oldest name in pen inks in the world. M. Herbin created “The Jewel of Inks” in his shop on the Rue des Fosses Saint-Germain in Paris in 1700."

"Each bottle of 30 ml has an integrated pen rest. They are known as “D bottle pen inks. The “D” refers to the old French unit of measure “la Demi Courtine”.

* 30 beautiful colors!
* Non toxic and pH neutral
* Lightfast
* Water based
* Flows smoothly and is fast drying
* All natural dyes



J. Herbin Bleu Nuit is a dark washed denim color - almost a blue-black. Even in a fine nibbed Lamy Safari, it shows a fair amount of shading on Clairefontaine paper. It has that sweet Herbin scent that I really like - the one that I associate with my first ever bottle of Herbin ink- Eclat de Saphir. While it smells the same as the Eclat de Saphir, it doesn't look the same as the Saphir is a little thinner, and more purplish in hue. The Bleu Nuit is fairly saturated - and I'm noticing that it's quite similar to Sailor Blue.



The ink shows even darker and more saturated on the Canteo paper, which is more absorbent than the Clairefontaine.

I always notice that if I start doodling right away with a particular ink, it usually ends up to be a keeper. I'm liking it so much, that it's in two of my pens right now. The Safari mentioned above, and my Sailor Sapporo with a medium nib. It might even end up squeezing the Eclat de Saphir out of my collection.

Review: J. Herbin Rouge Opera Fountain Pen Ink

From the J Herbin website:

"J. Herbin is the oldest name in pen inks in the world. M. Herbin created “The Jewel of Inks” in his shop on the Rue des Fosses Saint-Germain in Paris in 1700."

"Each bottle of 30 ml has an integrated pen rest. They are known as “D bottle pen inks. The “D” refers to the old French unit of measure “la Demi Courtine”.

* 30 beautiful colors!
* Non toxic and pH neutral
* Lightfast
* Water based
* Flows smoothly and is fast drying
* All natural dyes



Rouge Opera is a free flowing ink with some shading. It's a slightly pinker version of Larmes de Cassis. To me, it's pretty similar. Shading is more evident on the Canteo paper, which is more absorbant than the Clairefontaine.



It's a dusty rose color- pretty, but not saturated enough for my taste.



For the first time ever, I decided to fill one of my Niji waterbrushes with fountain pen ink. Note to self: It's not necessary to fill the WHOLE brush with ink. I did about 15 pieces and the brush is still half full. It is fun to paint with the ink.

Above on Fontaine Cold Press Watercolor Paper. This paper is white, but I'm not sure why it looks off white in this image.



On Clairefontaine Pastel White Laid Paper. This paper is actually a bit off-white.

Herbin inks run $7.20 per 30ml bottle at The Ink Flow

It's not every day that something like THIS unexpectedly shows up in your mailbox

Earlier this year, I was helping my friend Jim Donovan with a project to scan in various pieces of memorabilia from early in his 15 year career as drummer for the band Rusted Root. He says to me, "I'll send you a bunch of stuff" and a few days later, I receive a Priority box in the mail.

I open the box, pull out a file folder, and start flipping through various photos of the band when I happen upon,

This.
This piece of paper.
This piece of paper with words on it.
This piece of paper with words on it and some blue scribbles...

I look at it in my hand for about 5 minutes. I'm pretty sure I know what it is, but it's not registering. Those song titles... they look so familiar... Ok, I get it. They are the names of some pretty famous Led Zeppelin songs. And there are what look like signatures on the page as well...

Could that be? Nah.... (Boy, was I ever in denial!) But then I jump right on Google to verify that the signatures belong to who I think they belong to.


Yup. It's them alright. Jimmy Page and Robert Plant. They signed that paper. The one I was holding in my hand. Two members of the undisputed greatest rock and roll band in the history of the WORLD. They signed that paper and I was holding it in my hand and I had just pulled it out of a file folder that came to my house in a Priority Mail box.

What the heck??? It was almost like finding a Picasso at a yard sale. Ok...maybe not like that, but you get the idea.

I quickly find an archival plastic sleeve and slip it in as though I was handling the last known copy of the Declaration of Independence. Then I run upstairs and barge in on my husband who was in the middle of taking a bath.

Holding it out for him to see (but not touch) I say to him, "DOYOUSEEWHATTHISIS?" (Since he too is a longtime Led Zep disciple.) After he "Wow's" it up for a few minutes, I go running back downstairs to call my friends.

"OHMYGODCANYOUGUESSWHATI'MHOLDINGRIGHTNOW?"

The backstory is that in 1995, Rusted Root was asked to tour with Page & Plant across the US and in the UK - and this was the first time they (Page & Plant) had shared the stage since the end of Led Zeppelin in 1980. As Jim was also a huge Zeppelin fan, one night he stole their set list and asked them to sign it.

See? Even rock stars can be fans of other rock stars.

Now I know that rock stars are people too. That they get headaches and diarrhea like the rest of us, and that a scribbled signature in the grand scheme of things, isn't that important. But to have something like this show up unexpectedly? It kind of threw me for a loop because I think there's just a little bit of "fan" in each and every one of us.

05/10/09 - Edited to add: Just wanted to clarify that this wasn't mine to keep and has since been returned to it's owner.

PS - if by the grace of God you aren't familiar with Led Zeppelin, I suggest you run, don't walk, to go and grab your credit card, then come back to your computer and order this:

Complete Studio Recordings

Go ahead, I'll wait. You'll be glad you did. :o)

Review: Diamine Pumpkin Fountain Pen Ink

From the Diamine Website:

30ml Diamine Fountain Ink:

"Brand New Design PVC Bottle, Light weight and with an affordable price makes the full range of 60 colors very collectable, ideal for students or beginners still searching for their personal color of choice.

Pumpkin is a "New Century" Fountain Pen Ink (Though the label above says "Old English") Launched in January 2006, New Century Fountain Pen Ink is available in 30 vibrant shades also suitable for any fountain pen brand"



Slightly difficult to photograph, Pumpkin is a super saturated mega orange. Ironically, I don't really associate the color with a real pumpkin, as this is a brighter, happier color.

It's got great flow and little shading.

It's only downfall is this:



This is a Lamy Safari showing a major amount of nib-creep and crystallization with the Pumpkin ink. This is an extreme example most likely caused by my priming the converter a little too far, and then letting the pen sit. If I wipe the nib, I can get most of it off, but a line down the top of the nib does re-appear when I write. Knowing how much I love this ink, I can deal with the nib creep and despite the crystallization, I'm not yet noticing any flow problems, so I'm going to keep using it.



Any time you see me pumping out a large amount of doodles with a new ink, it's typically a keeper.



Doodles created in a Clairefontaine hardback journal and in a Clairefontaine Watercolor book.



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 Poppy Red Fountain Pen Ink

From the Diamine Website:

30ml Diamine Fountain Ink:

"Brand New Design PVC Bottle, Light weight and with an affordable price makes the full range of 60 colours very collectable, ideal for students or beginners still searching for their personal color of choice.

Poppy Red is a "New Century" Fountain Pen Ink (Though the label above says "Old English") Launched in January 2006, New Century Fountain Pen Ink is available in 30 vibrant shades also suitable for any fountain pen brand"



I don't know what to say. I inked up a Lamy Safari (.5 Cursive Italic Nib) with Diamine's Poppy Red and it's almost as sweet as lying down in a field of poppies....



It is just THE MOST PERFECT red ink I have ever seen. To me, it's as red as red can be. Candy apple red.



Back to the ink. It's saturated. Little shading... Great flow. It's similar to, but darker than Herbin's Rouge Caroubier. (Sadly, now the RC is going to be moved to the giveaway box...)

Note: I've only had this ink in a wider nibbed pen... the results may vary if used in a thinner nibbed pen.

I had been having a hard time finding a red I liked because they were always too thin, too orange, or too pink.

This one is juuuuust right.

Multiple doodles with a new fountain pen ink usually means it's going to end up as a keeper.



Doodles in a hardback Clairefontaine journal.



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: Daniel Smith ExtraFine™ Watercolor Sticks

Being a huge fan of Daniel Smith watercolor tube paints, I was thoroughly intrigued by their new Extra Fine Watercolor Sticks.

With a desire to test and review this new product, I was thrilled that DS sent me 4 of the 6 colors to test. They arrived in the sizes you see below, and it made me happy to know that they have a use for their "imperfections."



Although these sticks can be used in a number of ways, (drawn onto paper wet or dry, rubbed with a wet brush, etc.) I discovered that I was most happy using them as you would with pan paint - simply by running a wet brush over them.

This is how the sticks would arrive as new - with wrappers, much like a crayon.

As my sample bits do not have a wrapper, it was a challenge to figure out how to use them without having one stick cause transfer to another. I was hoping that DS would have created some kind of special box to house them while in use, but nothing is available at this time. I ended up wedging my 4 sticks into a tiny Altoid gum tin, then squeezing in a tissue to use as a blotter.

In my mind, the concept of these sticks is pretty brilliant, except when it comes to putting them away. Imagine you are painting plein air. It starts to rain and you pack up your supplies. If these sticks are still even the least bit wet, they are going to transfer onto anything they touch. I'm trying to be as careful as possible, but even with a small brush, I'm still getting paint transfer.

The set of 6 runs $68 from the Daniel Smith site, and considering their expense, I wish there was a way to use them where I didn't have to worry about wasting paint through transfer and because of this, in my mind, I think I would prefer to use DS paints in pan form.

Fingers crossed, maybe someday.



These are swatches of the Quinacridone Coral, Sap Green, French Ultramarine, and Quinacridone Burnt Orange. Each of these colors are as vibrant as you would expect from DS. They work well straight, mixed in a palette, or mixed on the paper. The color combinations from just these 4 make me very happy.



In a Moleskine Watercolor Book, the above image was created by using the coral, orange and blue. I mixed up an orangey red with the orange and coral, and a maroon with the blue and coral. Paints were mixed in the lid of the Altoids tin.



In the above image, I attempted to mix as many colors and shades as possible by using all 4 sticks. Paints were mixed with water in a seperate palette. Clairefontaine WC paper.



My tiniest paint kit. small Moleskine WC book, Niji waterbrush and tin filled with 4 Daniel Smith Watercolor Sticks.

DANIEL SMITH ExtraFine™ Watercolor Stick 6-Color Set

From the Daniel Smith Website

"DANIEL SMITH Extra Fine™ Watercolor Sticks are like nothing else, combining the intensity of tube paints with the convenience and portability of half pans. Packed with pure pigment—with just enough gum Arabic to form a solid stick—they produce vibrant, strong color as you wet them. They’re highly reactive and release rich, creamy color. For outdoor sketching, developing color values and bold expression, Watercolor Sticks are a truly unique addition to your watercolor experience. Handmade and hand-shaped, the sticks are approximately 3"long and ½" diameter. Experiment with them—you’ll feel like a kid again! All Lightfast Rated I – Excellent.

Set Contents:

* Hansa Yellow Medium,
* Quinacridone Coral,
* Sap Green,
* French Ultramarine,
* Burnt Umber and
* Quinacridone Burnt Orange.

A few tips to get you started:

1. Create light washes by applying the stick color directly to your wet brush. This technique works well for establishing lights, as well as for darker passages using a more heavily loaded brush.

2. Mix colors directly on the paper within a painting. A Mix of French Ultramarine with Quinacridone Coral creates a rich purple, French Ultramarine with Hansa Yellow produces a clear green and Burnt Umber with French Ultramarine results in a complex gray.

3. Wet the paper, then draw directly into it. As the stick liquefies, it leaves a distinct but soft-edged mark. Sharpen the stick to create intricate line work.

4. Pre-wet the stick to apply saturated color and establish darks. If desired, you can then draw the color down with a wet brushstroke.

5. Liquefy the shavings to create rich color mixtures. Use a Lyra sharpener to make shavings of Quinacridone Coral and Hansa Yellow and mix them to create a highly saturated orange."