I have been wanting to investigate this range of fountain inks for a long while. So many thanks to Jon Rabbet, who runs Pen Sharing, for organising a group buy of these interesting rustic French colours.
GROUP FAN with the greys – the blues feature in the following post
The above crops were photographed in strong sunlight at an angle
The Callifolio range currently consists of 36 rustic fountain pen ink colours and this post takes a look at the first nine colours which are the greys and blue greys. Of interest is how these colours behave in light. I have photographed all the swatches in two ways. Firstly, head on in the studio and secondly at a slight angle in bright sunshine. The studio shots are true to the actual swatch cards when viewed inside. The more vivid and dramatic crops are the latter, and reveal very subtle and beautiful sheen accents where the ink Is more concentrated.
BOTANY BAY, BOSPHORE, GRIS PAYNE
NOIR, BYZANCE, OLIFANTS
BONNE ESPERANCE, OCONTO, EQUINOXE 5
The above crops were photographed in strong sunlight at an angle. For the ink names The sequence is as per the swatch cards from left to right – top to bottom.
As handwriting inks, these are faultless. I used a Serendipity dip pen with a Noodlers flex nib – the flow was easy and the colours dried quick and even. What is noticeable with all of these these inks during the swatching process, is the very subtle chromatography. It’s there, for sure, but very low key. These aren’t vivid Diamine, Robert Oster or Sailor Ink Studio. In fact all of the inks appear somewhat dusty – they remind me of watercolour paints. Maybe I should have a go at painting with these and do a comparison?
There are three more posts to follow and in the meantime a little more experimentation to do me thinks. For the next post click here.
Tests conducted on Bockingford 140lb rough using a Noodler’s Creeper fountain pen and a Serendipity dip pen with a Noodler’s flex nib.
Many thanks to Jon Rabbet for Sourcing these. If you are interested in fountain pens and like the idea of trying a pen before you buy, check out Jon’s very successful pen rental website PenSharing.com.
AND HEY! If you’re interested to know more about how to use fountain pen inks in more creative ways – whether it’s simply to observe their chromatic behaviours, or, to recreate one of my swatch cards, or, to learn how to use them in watercolour painting, illustration and calligraphy, why not check out my online course ?
FOUNTAIN PEN INK ART 