As mentioned in the previous post, Krishna inks are known for their monster sheens of which I have six more to show here.
These Krishna fountain pen ink samples were very kindly sent to me by Anja at Papier & Stift, so a big thank you to her BUT, if you want to see the other Krishna Ink swatch test that I did a while back, click here. And if you want to check out the previous Krishna Monster Sheen tests click here.
Vaikhari – A dark deep brown that bleeds out rusts and sands when added to a wetted paper surface. See below for the gorgeous subtle chromo effects. A pronounced green metallic sheen with a limited reaction to bleach, although when watered down and allowed to dry, the bleach works wonders.
Poyka – A very very dark green blue that bleeds out greens and cyan when added to a wetted paper surface. A pronounced red metallic sheen with a limited reaction to bleach, although when watered down and allowed to dry, the bleach works wonders.
Sea at Night – A very very dark blue with a hint of green that bleeds out greeny blues and cyan when added to a wetted paper surface. A pronounced red metallic sheen with a limited reaction to bleach, although when watered down and allowed to dry, the bleach works wonders.
Pakeezah, Moonview and Moonview 2 – These deep blues seem to behave the same way, bleeding out neon cyan when added to a wetted paper surface, except that the concentration of ink seems to increase with each development and you can see this with the diminishing effects of the bleach from left to right. All have a pronounced red metallic sheen. When watered down and allowed to dry, the bleach works wonders.
Vaikhari when seriously watered down is just gorgeous. Look at those subtle colours in the breakdown – pink, rust, sand and olive with a hint of metallic green sheen too. All six appear below with a light spattering of bleach to show that it works. Yes! You do need a lot of water for this but ‘less is more’ and the results look fabulous. Great tonal range too!
The papers used are Bockingford Rough and Bockingford Hot Press with a Zebra G nib in holder and a Noodler’s Creaper pen. Water applied with a synthetic hair watercolour brush. Ink and bleach applied with a synthetic hair rigger brush. The shiny metallic sheen image was using Tomoe River paper.
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 