No More Denial

10/8/12 Lamy fountain pen, Platinum Carbon ink, watercolor, Stillman & Birn

There’s no more denying it: Fall is here. I’ve been dreading the end of summer since mid-September, but the truth is, we’ve had one of the most unbelievably spectacular late-summer-through-early-autumns in years – temperatures in the 70s, sunshine and clear blue skies daily, and a nearly-record-breaking run of rainless days. Who could complain (although we soon will)?

 

On the last beautiful day before the clouds-threatening-rain came in, I stopped by at Green Lake late in the afternoon to sketch this stand of maples wearing every variation of green, yellow, orange, red and mauve, trying to catch the sun slanting low on the very tops of the tallest trees.

Product Review: Kuretake Zig Clean Color Real Brush Markers



10/8/12 Zig brush marker, Stillman & Birn sketchbook

Back in April, I reviewed the Pentel Color Brush Pen and the Kuretake Brush Writer in one blog post and Tombow, Akashiya Sai and Akashiya Thin Line brush pens in a second post. If I were (slightly) more A.R. than I am, I would rewrite and reorganize the reviews this way:

• Pentel Color Brush Pen and Kuretake Brush Writer together (both reservoir-type brush pens with actual brush tips).

• Akashiya Sai and Akashiya Thin Line brush pens along with the Kuretake Zig Clean Color Real Brush marker (all non-reservoir brush pens with actual brush tips).

•  Tombow dual-brush pen by itself (this is the only brush pen I’ve reviewed that has a compressed fiber tip, not an actual brush tip, so it’s a different animal that shouldn’t be compared with the rest).

But in the interest of time and laziness, I’ll leave my existing product reviews as they are and review the Kuretake Zig Clean Color Real Brush marker here now by itself.

Apparently popular with scrapbookers and manga cartoonists, these water-soluble markers come in a shorter length (slightly longer than a standard writing pen) than the other brush pens I’ve reviewed, which makes them more portable in some super-space-efficient circumstances. They are available in 60 colors – an impressive range compared to the Kuretake Brush Writer’s 24 colors, the Akashiya Sai’s 20, the Pentel’s 18 and the Akashiya Thin Line’s five (though they can’t hold a candle to Tombow’s 96 colors).

After paying more than $8 each for Kuretake Brush Writers, I figured that the Zig Clean Color marker at less than $3 each would have an inferior brush tip or some other flaw. I am pleasantly surprised to find the Zig’s tip to be just as sensitive and, in some cases, better able to render a very fine line than its Brush Writer brethren. In fact, because the Kuretake Brush Writer’s ink is dispensed from a reservoir that isn’t always easy to control, the flow can be unpredictable. While less juicy, the Zig’s consistent flow results in an easy-to-control, fast-drying line.





10/8/12 Zig marker, Stillman & Birn

Because I wasn’t expecting to fall in love with Zigs, I bought only a small range of gray shades and a green (a first for me! I usually snap up all the purples, reds and lime greens first in any color medium I’m trying), thinking they would be good for quick gestural sketches and times when I need to distill an overwhelming scene. They proved to be exactly that when I took them out to the zoo for a couple of quick sketches of a giraffe and a speckled mouse bird (top of page). Note the fine Mohawk-like feathers I was able to capture with the Zig’s brush point.





10/8/12 Zig marker

Similar to the other Japanese brush pens I reviewed, the Zig contains water-soluble ink that washes well for shading (see hand at right).

After using all of these Japanese brush markers for several months, I’ve come to appreciate the types with actual bristle brushes rather than compressed fiber tips. More flexible and sensitive, real brush tips are simply better able to deliver a wider range of line widths, so they can paint as well as draw.

However, if you’re practicing modified blind contours as I am, you might want to stick with harder, inflexible media. The soft, flexible tip on the Japanese brush markers that I value in other types of drawing is practically “invisible” to my hand when I’m not looking at the page, so my blind contour line is even more unpredictable than ever.

10/8/12 Zig brush marker

One underrated advantage of the Zig (as well as of the two Akashiya markers, which are also non-reservoir) that I didn’t know about until last week is that it is not sensitive to high-altitude changes in air pressure. Open a Kuretake Brush Writer cap at 10,000 feet, and you will understand why this is an advantage.

I haven’t yet put the Zigs to their paces in terms of color blending, which looks interesting in their marketing information. But I will – as soon as I buy more of those 60 colors! (BWAA-HA-HAA!)

Edited 4/26/14: Read the results of a longevity test on Zig Clean Color Read Brush markers and some philosophical comments about lightfastness and sketching.

Bryce Canyon



10/4/12 F-C Pitt Artist Pen, watercolor, Hand Book sketchbook

Of the three U.S. national parks I’ve hiked (I have many more to go on my growing bucket list), Bryce Canyon is by far my favorite. Its mysterious hoodoos, amphitheater shape and bright red limestone are practically intimate compared to Grand Canyon and even Zion.

The first day, we explored the rim, and I found myself too overwhelmed by the beauty and strangeness of the vistas to manage more than a few rough sketches (below). The second day we decided to hike down into the canyon by way of the popular Queen’s Garden Trail, where the hoodoos were close enough to touch, and every turn on the trail brought another new and amazing view of this extraordinary geology. By the time we finished the hike, I was disappointed to learn that it descended only 320 feet, because it sure felt like more. But I felt a strong sense of satisfaction sketching the Queen herself (above) looking down from her throne at her sweating subjects.

10/3/12 Copic Multiliner SP pen, Zig marker

Zion National Park

10/2/12 Copic Multiliner SP pen, Kuretake Brush Marker

Fully recovered from altitude sickness, we hit the hiking trails of Zion National Park. Smaller than Grand Canyon yet no less majestic, Zion is more accessible and less intimidating to hike. We chose the Emerald Pools trail, which was rated as “easy to moderate” in the guidebook. By the end of the day, my quadriceps were saying that the hike was definitely on the moderate side of easy, and taking a sketch break at the Emerald Pools was well-deserved. (A second note to self: Leave reservoir-type brush markers at home when hiking in high altitudes.)

Brian Head, Utah

9/30/12 watercolor

At 10,000 feet, Brian Head, Utah, is mostly a ski resort town, but on the last day of September, the slopes were covered with gold and orange aspens instead of snow. Feeling better after recovering from a short but nasty bout with altitude sickness, I took a late-afternoon walk to sketch the property around the condo where we were staying. The sketch above was done with watercolors, but my first try (below) was done in Kuretake Brush Writers. One thing I learned on this trip to Utah canyons is that my body is not the only thing affected by high altitudes: The Rorschach-like blob you see at the center of the sketch is where I had an incident with a brush marker releasing pressure when I removed the cap.

9/30/12 Kuretake Brush Writers, Hand Book sketchbook

Pool, Top and Side

 


9/29/12 Copic Multiliner SP pen, watercolor



Tina sketching the pool (photo by Greg Mullin)

From our room on the 23^rd floor of the South Point Hotel and Casino, I had an unusual view of the hotel’s pool. The palm trees growing poolside cast long-reaching shadows in the late afternoon sun.

 

9/29/12 fountain pen, Platinum Carbon ink, watecolor, Hand Book sketchbook 

That evening, more interested in sketching than in pumping a paycheck or two into a slot machine, I stayed poolside to sketch the lifeguard, a few swimmers and more palm trees.



9/29/12 Kuretake Brush Writers





Perspective Studies Are a Gamble

9/30/12 fountain pen (#1)

We spent a night in Vegas on our way to canyons in Utah. I’m not much of a gambler, but I found myself hypnotically dazzled by all the lights, sounds and perspective studies in the casinos. Relatively quiet at 7:45 a.m., a Seattle’s Best Coffee gave me my morning caffeine as well as an ideal view of a row of slot machines.

 

Initially interested in sketching the man lethargically punching a machine (#1), I soon realized that I had gotten the perspective all wrong. He gave up quickly, but I didn’t – I tried again with a brush marker (#2). The chairs were starting to look right, but then the tops of the machines were wrong. With only a few minutes to go before I was to meet the rest of my party, I think I finally got it right, this time in pencil (#3).

9/30/12 Kuretake Brush Writer (#2)

9/30/12 pencil (#3)