Sketching with Fountain Pens

As today is International Fountain Pen Day I though it would be a good opportunity to talk about using fountain pens in regards to sketching.

When I first started doing ink and watercolour sketches I used a variety of waterproof markers, each with different sized tips. Which was great but I wanted to work with a single pen that would make a variety of widths. It suited the way I worked. I discovered that many Urban Sketchers were using various types of fountain pens. Liking the results I was seeing, I started researching what might work for me.

The Fude Nib?
After trying a variety of pens and straight nibs, I came across styles that were fitted with what was called a Fude or calligraphy nib. "Fude" is Japanese for "writing brush" but bent metal nibs seem to fall into the same category. These nibs have a curved tip which enables you to create a variety of thin to thick lines depending on how you position the pen. The higher or more vertically you hold the pen the thinner the line while lowering it creates wider lines. They are very spontaneous in terms of line making and do away with the need for a variety of nib sizes.

Watercolour and Ink
If you will be adding watercolours to your ink drawing it is important to be aware that most fountain pen inks are NOT waterproof. If they get wetted the ink will bleed all over the paper. Additionally, regular inks, like India Ink, will destroy most fountain pens. You need to find an ink that is waterproof but specifically made for fountain pens. The brand I currently use is: "Art Alternatives India Black Fountain Pen Ink". There are other brands available. Not every one adds watercolours to their ink drawings so waterproof ink would not be a concern.

Wanting To Try One Out
Pens come with two types of nibs straight or fude (sometimes called calligraphy tip) nibs. Straight nibs are sized in small, medium or large while the Fude is one size. Also check accompanying images to confirm nib type. In terms of purchase there are many venues, including art stores and pen shops. However some of these pens can only be found on eBay. It pays to shop around, especially on eBay as you can find a large price range for the same item.

Here is a list of pens I use and recommend as a starting point.
- Hero 9018 Fude Tip          - Baoer 388 Fude Tip
- Duke 209 Fude Tip           - Jinhao 159 Calligraphy pen
- Sailor Fountain pen Fude De Mannen special nib calligraphy Green shaft

Fountain pens are a great way to work quickly when sketching. They are convenient to carry and can give added line variety in your work.

Restoring Brush Tips

A quick and simple way to restore the shape of a damaged brush is with a cup of boiling water. I have had a lot of success using this method. The first time was with a flat brush whose bristles, were bent out of shape due to poor packaging. Using the steps outlined below, it restored it to its original factory shape. 

Some Typical Examples 
These two brushes were part of a bag of thirty, bought at a thrift store for $3.00. Most of them were good-quality brushes, but many were bent and splayed as seen in the "before" pictures below. You can see the dramatic restoration that took place using this method. 

Important Before Beginning

Many brushes look out of shape when they are dry. It is important to first test your brushes by dipping them in cool water. Give the paintbrush a flick to remove any excess water from the bristles. This will show you the brush's true shape. At that point, you can decide whether it needs to be repaired or not.

How It Works

Boil a cup of water in a microwave. Dip the brush tip, about halfway down the length of its bristles, into the boiling water.* Swish and rub the submerged half of the bristles against the side of the cup for 3-5 seconds. Remove the brush and flick it over a sink. Check the shape and tip. If there is still some damage, repeat the previous steps as required. Once the brush is ready, let it air dry with the bristols pointing down. *Caution: NEVER dip the bristols of a brush into the hot water down past the ferrule (the metal or plastic piece), or you can affect the glue holding the bristols in place.

An Alternative for Slight Damage

If you have a brush that is only slightly out of shape this method may not be necessary. Clean out any dried paint in the bristles of the brush using a brush cleaner. Once clean, shape the tip with your fingers, then let the brush dry, bristles down, with the soap left in it. Rinse out the soap before painting.

Some Important Provisions

I am always cautious about presenting a method like this because there are always unknown variables. Things like brush quality, age, etc. all play a factor. This method is for severely damaged brushes. Try this with caution and at your own risk. Practice first on a brush that you don't mind losing to get comfortable with the process. To date I have only done this with synthetic tips, I am not sure how natural bristles would respond. As with many things, dealing with the damage before it gets too severe is always recommended. 

This method won't restore every brush. Sometimes it is simply that a brush is too old. Paintbrushes do wear out but don't throw these ones away. They are great for other types of mark-making when painting.

Sketchbook Borders: Clean and Simple

Many sketchers desire to have clean, even borders in their sketchbooks. However, most artist's tapes are too wide for this purpose, making them cumbersome to work with. Wide tapes need to be trimmed down in some way. Alternatively, borders on sketchbook pages can be measured and taped off, with the excess tape folded over to the back of the leaf. Still a lot of work. A few years ago, I came across a product that enables you to make thin, even borders without any fuss.

This narrow roll of painter's tape, 6mm (.23") wide, produced by Painter's Mate is a great solution. It is easy to use and is available at most hardware and paint supply stores. 

Its slim profile doesn't take up much space when added to your sketch kit for working on location. More importantly, you don't have to mess with measuring, folding over wide pieces of tape, or having to cut them down into thinner strips. 

To create an even border edge, simply line up the edge of the tape to the outside edge of your sketchbook page or paper. If you don't get it square the first time, no problem as it is easy to remove and reposition. Pages can swiftly be subdivided for smaller sketches, as seen below.  

Always Check First
It is always a good idea to test the surface of the paper you are using with tape of any type. Painter's tape removes easily, but that is dependant on how long the tape has been on the paper. Always remove the tape by carefully pulling the strips downwards and to the side. NEVER pull upwards (the same goes when tearing paper). If you find that it does remove or mark the paper's surface in any way, then take the strips of tape and adhere them to your pant leg or shirt sleeve first before applying them to the paper.   

When working on location or in the studio, materials that help expedite the working process, making it seamless and more enjoyable, are priceless!   

Art Materials on a Budget

Every artist knows that supplies and materials can be expensive. However, there are alternatives for helping to keep some of those costs down. One is keeping an eye out for sales. Another great resource to consider is thrift stores. While they will never replace your local art store in terms of selection and availability, they can help fill in some holes or downright surprise you with a big-ticket item for next to nothing. This ongoing series will highlight some of the treasures to be on the lookout for when visiting your local thrift store.

Art Storage and Presentation
Portfolios are a great way to manage your drawings and paintings. There are basically two types. Both vary in price, depending on size and style, from $20.00 to $200.00 or even more when store bought. The first is essentially a large zippered "file folder" with handles that you place your work into for storage or protected transport. The second type has a set of binder rings added so that it can hold insert pages into which your artwork can be placed and viewed as a book. These are called presentation portfolios.  

Two portfolios I recently acquired are of the presentation type. One is an 8.5" X 11" size book, that came without the insert pages, costing a mere .50¢. The second, 11" X 17" in size, came with ten unused insert pages for only $1.50. To all appearances, they looked new. The 11" X 17" still had some original tags attached. Both were found in the stationary section, alongside piles of three-ring school binders, even though this thrift store has an area dedicated to art materials and supplies. Over the years I have picked up six or seven portfolios of varying sizes and types all for under $20.00! 

Be on the look out next time you are in a local thrift store. Remember, on top of getting a good deal you are usually helping a great cause.

The lesson here is to look for items in unexpected places. Get familiar with where a particular store places those items, then keep a lookout when you visit.

Repairing Damaged Paintbrush Handles

Over time the lacquer on some paintbrush handles cracks, with entire pieces breaking off, exposing the wood beneath. This condition worsens over time as water, turps, or oils work their way into the unprotected wood of the handle.  

One fix for this is to use an Acrylic Gel Medium. First, remove any loose pieces of lacquer from the brush handle. Smooth down the remaining lacquer edges on the handle using fine-grained sandpaper. Wipe off any remaining grit until the handle is smooth and clean. Then spread the gel medium over the exposed wood and cracked edges with a soft-haired brush. Continue brushing the gel around the full circumference of the damaged section of the handle. Doing this helps to create a stronger seal.

Below the gel medium has been freshly applied to the handle of the brush. 

Once the medium dries to a clear finish, the paintbrush is ready to use with the exposed wood sealed up to help extend the life of the brush and prevent further damage to the handle. 

This method also works for sealing the ends of brush handles that you want to shorten. Once the handle is cut down to the desired length, smooth the end with sandpaper to round off the edges. Cover the exposed tip with the gel medium, continue covering about one inch up the brush handle to create a strong seal.

The earlier you can repair this type of damage, the better your chances of extending the life of your brush.

On Location: Mini Sketch Gear

There are numerous ways to transport your sketching materials when working outside of the studio. People employ a large variety of options for storing their materials while sketching on location. Several factors, based on personal preference and materials used, go into the development of a succesful working solution.

My Kit
This is my smallest sketch kit. It is very light and can go anywhere. It easily fits in a jacket pocket, on my belt, or in a messenger bag. I like organization and things staying in place. My solution was to contain everything in a zippered pouch with various sized loops for pens and pencils plus several insert pockets. All of which could be held comfortably in my non-drawing hand. Contained in this kit are three water brushes, two mechanical pencils, an eraser, a fountain pen, a fine-line marker, and a mini watercolour palette. A 5.5" X 3.75" handmade sketchbook using 90 lb Fabriano Artistico watercolour paper finishes up the package. The pouch itself is a military-style one that I picked up at a thrift store. Different types of pouches were tried before finally settling on this one.

One Size Does Not Fit All
It is important to note at this point that this is not the only size I work with. I have larger kits that I also use. It depends on you, how you work, and your specific needs.

Putting Together Your Own Kit
First, sort out the sketching materials you usually work with. Pare them down to what you actually work with. This is probably the hardest part of the process, we all want to bring every color, every sized brush, every pencil and pen, plus the studio sink with us. 

From there, decide how you would like to store those materials taking into consideration how you will access them as you work on location. Some people prefer a simple zippered pouch, like a pencil case, in which everything is thrown into and accessed as needed. Others, who carry a purse, bag, or pack of some sort partition off a section of that. A few forgo a pouch or bag all together putting their sketchbook in one jacket pocket and their other tools in another. 

Once you settle on a direction, test it out at home first. Get familiar with where your materials are kept and how you will access them as you sketch. In this way, when you're on location, everything will be second nature leaving you to focus on the matter at hand. 

An important thing to make a decision about is whether you will be standing or sitting to sketch. Or both. When sitting, you usually have a place to put down your materials, bags, etc. Standing, however, usually requires you to have your materials on your person in some manner, so your hands are free to sketch.

Ready to Go
The best thing about putting a kit like this together is that it gives me no excuses, or regrets, about not being able to do a sketch, whether waiting for a bus, out for a walk, or coming across something unique that I "just have to sketch". 

The Scouts tell us to "Always Be Prepared!" The same can be said for sketching on location. The best way to be prepared is to have your gear always at hand.

Dry Brush with a Waterbrush?

Waterbrushes are wonderfully convenient tools for sketching with, especially on location. These brushes contain a reservoir of water in their handles which flows down into their nylon-bristled tips. This eliminates the need for an open container of water, which I always seem to knock over or never find a place to put it down. Their strength, however, constantly flowing water, can be a hindrance if you need to employ any dry brush techniques. The answer is simple. Unscrew the water-filled reservoir and paint with just the tip or attach an empty handle. When you are finished dry brushing, reattach the water-filled handle, squeeze the shaft to clean out the colour from the bristles, and continue sketching.