I was recently sent a bottle of Lennon Tool Bar Oyster black fountain pen ink to have a fiddle with by Stationery Studio who is based in Hong Kong.
Lennon Tool Bar Oyster fountain pen ink is a subtle grey/black ink with feint hints of blue grey. The chromatic qualities are subtle and there is an ideal ‘eraser like’ reaction to bleach which suggests its an ideal ink for both writing and art journaling with a good tonal range for illustration.
A Kestrel for a Knave (KES) by Barry Hines was one of those books that had a profound effect on me as a youngster. For all of you having to deal with uncertainty, protect your freedoms at all costs and never lose sight of your dreams! Ever!
The ink is named in honour of the ‘Oyster’ that has played a significant economic and spiritual role in Taiwanese history and culture over the last 300 years and comes as a limited edition set. The bottle comes packaged in an elegantly oyster shell patterned box that contains a 35ml bottle of the fountain pen ink along with two info booklets and three postcards featuring illustrations (presumably created with the Oyster ink?) and images themed around oyster farming.
Of interest, Lennon Tool Bar was founded in 2014 at Tamsui, Taiwan. Initially they produced and promoted the art and craft of Indigo Dyeing, a business that flourished a century ago when Taiwan exported a considerable amount of ‘doroai’ – the raw material of colorants used in Indigo Dyeing – to Japan.
In recent years, Lennon Tool Bar have apparently launched a series of fountain pen inks that showcase colours used in the indigo dyeing process and highlight the enduring respect for traditional crafts and skills.
Ink images created on Bockingford 200lb rough and 140HP watercolour papers using a Noodler’s Creaper pen. Further info from @stationery_studio.sheen_shan
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 