Description
FEATHERED INK
The black river flows from deep within,
It conjures up vivid memories from the past;
It stains the pure white paper,
It squiggles; it makes a mark.
The liquid-coloured-pigment rushes to a special corner,
It highlights the bright sun.
It touches the black ink and it feathers;
There is a hint of sadness.
Then, as I step back, I see the full picture;
It is beautiful!
The memory on the paper flows and flows;
As it dries, my heart is etched in full colour.
By William Van Zyl
That is precisely what I have experienced after finding the fountain pen and watercolours sketch work of Liz Steel. When I made my first sketches, I experienced something special. Liz Steel, an architect from Australia, has completed hundreds of sketchbooks over the years. She combines different elevations, components, architectural details, writing annotations and notes; she comments and includes verses from the Holy Writ on some of the pages. She also sketches everyday-things like her coffee cups, food, restaurants, and people, to name a few. She explores life around her, and she sketches the scenes she encounters on the go. In a bag, she carries her sketching tools – the bare minimum – which allows her to draw at the drop of a brush.
About two weeks ago, I explored sketching with watercolours and used my fountain pens – which I had for a couple of years. I own a couple of Lamy pens (German quality) and one Montblanc Meisterstuck pen. The nibs vary from Medium, Fine and Extra Fine. I received the Montblanc pen as a gift for my graduation from an exclusive family member some years ago. It glides over the paper like a Rolls Royce. I have used Lamy black and green ink for about 3 years now, but recently – after learning from Liz Steel – I have explored waterproof ink. It works best when combined with watercolours; I have changed the ink in my sketching pens to Platinum ink (Japanese waterproof ink). I love writing with fountain pens. It all started a couple of years ago when I ordered my first fountain pen from a pen company in New Zealand where I live.
The Platinum #3776 fountain pen – with Platinum document ink (water-based from Japan) was my first ink-writing tool. Immediately, I fell in love with the simplicity of writing with a fountain pen; filling the converter with ink from a glass bottle is so fulfilling. Wiping the tip with a paper towel and making strokes on beautiful white paper produces an experience of minimalism, simplicity and pure joy. For me, the difference — compared to using an inexpensive ballpoint pen — is the experience of quality: quality strokes, extravagant letters and numbers on the page. I have always loved calligraphy. I did own a couple of dip pens with some calligraphy ink, but when I discovered the extravagant world of fountain pens and ink, I have indeed come home. I identify with fountain pens. I carry my fountain pens in my shirt pocket, or in my jacket pocket, every day to work — and believe it or not — even over weekends. It is an extension of me. My identity.
Read this article online at https://williamvanzyl.atavist.com/fountain-pen-and-watercolours-can-change-your-life
