SusieG Studio

I can’t remember the last time I had this many pens filled with ink. In the past, I have had a dozen pens filled with ink before going on a trip or prepping to teach a workshop. A few pens would end up not being used as I did not think ahead of what colors I would need for my artwork.

Here is my currently inked family of pens:

Now, this is the most pens I have inked at one time and have been using on a daily basis. It’s a joy to have so many colors available to sketch with and also have on hand to write with.

For my pen & ink wash drawings, I use all of my currently inked fountain pens. It doesn’t matter what nib size or if it’s a fancy looking pen. I’ve learned to use them as my drawing tools. This also includes my special Conklin 1898 in PM 4.5 and Zodiac Cancer in PM 5 with medium nibs. I also use these two beautiful pens for writing in my journals. They are comfortable to hold in my hand and absolutely gorgeous to look at.

You might have read in a past blog post, that I have the tendency to not write with my TWSBI Go with stub 1.1 nib. I have found over the years, my Go pens are too broad for my handwriting style when I write in my journals. I still use them for creating my artwork and I tend to fill them with my favorite shimmering inks. When I fill them correctly, they do hold a lot of ink.

You will see from the above picture that I have acquired additional Pilot Kakunos, especially in the clear transparent model. They are a welcomed addition to my family of art pens. I have also mentioned before that I use them for writing in my journals. Their medium nibs are wonderful to write with. I like the hexagon-shaped pen as it doesn’t roll around my desk. They have snap caps which allow me to switch pens quickly when I’m drawing. Another plus for the Kakunos is the caps can be posted onto the body of the pens. I can’t do that with my TWSBI Go.

The Kakunos are not as chunky as my Go, which means I can fill up my pen case (e.g. Rickshaw) with a lot of Kakunos.

Speaking of pen cases, I might as well show how I store my pens. I currently carry my 16 fountain pens in two Rickshaw pen cases plus a 2-pen Coozy. The filled cases sit on my studio desk. They are ready to go.

I keep my special fancy pens in my 2-pen Coozy.

My Sakura Teal pen case holds my Pilot pens plus my Pentel mechanical pencil. That’s a lot of Kakunos in one case!

My black pen case holds the rest of my fountain pens plus my two water brushes and two Copic pens.

As I finish using up the inks in my current pens, I will start to think about the inky colors I want to use for my Fall-themed drawings. I have set aside a few bottles from Colorverse and Van Diemen’s inks that I’m looking forward to trying out. For now, I still have a few more weeks to enjoy my 16 currently inked pens.

Pens: Conklin 1898 in Primary Manipulation 4.5 with Medium nib. Zodiac Pen Company Cancer model in Primary Manipulation 5 with Medium nib. Pilot Kakuno in Clear, Pink, & Blue with Medium nibs with refilled ink cartridges. Pilot Prera Green with CM nib. Dave Dollar Freedom model in Painted Desert with Sailor Fude nib. TWSBI Go with Stub 1.1 nibs.

Inks: Robert Oster Silver Dawn, Hollywood’s Mullet, Bronze, Frankly X, Bless Your Heart, Glistening Orange Rumble, Thunderstorm, Water, Midnight Sapphire, Candied Mint, Blood Rose, Eucalyptus Leaf, and Heart of Gold. Colorverse Brane. Van Diemen’s Morning Frost. deAtramentis Document Urban Grey.

Cases: Rickshaw Sinclair Model R in New Sakura in Teal with Teal plush Lining and Black with Blue plush lining. Rickshaw 2-pen Coozy in Inktopus with Orange plush lining.