Brush Pens at Life Drawing

1/7/16 Zebra brush pen, Canson all-media sketchbook
(2 min. poses)

The last time I went to life drawing was in October, so as usual, I felt creaky today. Whenever I let more than a few weeks go by between sessions, I feel like I forget everything I practiced the previous time.

One thing I did remember, though, was how much I enjoyed using brush pens last time – both a “hairy” Sailor Fude Nagomi and a “non-hairy” Zebra double-sided brush pen. For the really short one- and two-minute poses, I preferred the Zebra’s greater control. For the five-minute and longer poses, I switched to the actual brush hairs of the Sailor, which requires moving a bit more slowly to have the same degree of control. In both cases, I like the look of the raw, organic lines, and their water-soluble inks are ideal for quick shading.

For the last 10-minute pose (bottom of page), I switched to a fountain pen. The model’s foreshortened, bent knee sure was tricky!

1/7/16 Sailor Nagomi brush pen (5 and 10 min. poses)

1/7/16 Sailor Nagomi brush pen
(5 min. pose)

1/7/16 ink, Sailor fude fountain pen (10 min. pose)

Product Review: (Non-Hairy) Brush Pen Comparison

All of these brush pens have tips made of compressed material that doesn't separate into individual hairs -- thus, I call them non-hairy brush pens.

Back in July I wrote a product review comparing seven brush pens, all with brush tips made of actual hairs (animal or synthetic) – I’ll call them “hairy” brush pens for expediency. In that comparison, I also talked about why I generally prefer hairy brush pens to the ones with tips made of compressed fiber, nylon or other materials that do not separate into individual hairs. (For lack of a better term, I’ll refer to the latter group as “non-hairy” brush pens.) I find hairy brush pens to be more responsive and able to make a wider range of marks than non-hairy ones, and I especially enjoy using them when I want a very organic, wild (as in uncontrollable!) line similar to what I can get with a twig or a sumi brush.

Since that time, I’ve been experimenting more with non-hairy brush pens. My exploration began somewhat unintentionally when I discovered a forgotten Zebra double-sided brush pen (No. 5) in my life-drawing supply bag and gave it a shot. On a whim, I brought it to Japan, where I further explored its range of uses. While not offering the full range of marks that a hairy brush can, the Zebra’s spongy, bouncy compressed fiber tip was easier to control and just as responsive in terms of speed and change in direction. The Zebra re-opened my mind to the non-hairy brushes in my (embarrassingly vast) collection. As long as I was in Japan (the brush pen capital of the world) with this open mind, I found myself adding several more brush pens to my collection (surprise!).

In the photo above are seven non-hairy brush pens I’ve tried, all Japan-made except No. 1, the Faber-Castell Pitt Artist Pen (originally German and now U.S.-made). Now that I’ve had time to experiment with them, I can’t say I have a hands-down favorite that I can recommend unconditionally, especially since so many of them are very similar. The tip sizes vary widely, so the size I choose might depend on the size of my sketchbook page, subject matter and other factors. I tend to prefer the larger tips (Nos. 2, 3, 5 and 6), since they encourage a looser, less-detailed line, which is usually the effect I’m after when I reach for a brush pen. In addition, the compressed fiber tips vary in how they feel – some squish down more, some make a strange squeaky sound against the paper, some are firmer. U.S. prices vary widely among even very similar-appearing pens, but since it’s impossible to know how much ink they contain, I hesitate to say which would be a better value.

My biggest beef with all of them is that they are not refillable – none of them. One factor I like most about their hairy counterparts is that several are available in a fountain-pen-like form factor, so they can be used with converters or cartridges containing the waterproof or water-soluble ink of your choice. Ideally one of these pen manufacturers will eventually offer a refillable version with a similar spongy tip like that found on these disposable pens.

Below I’ve listed the key characteristics I’ve found in each, although a few are almost identical. Although I purchased most of them in Japan, the links go to JetPens.com and one Japanese but U.S.-shopper-friendly website where I’ve shopped successfully several times. Most of the Japanese pens have no English text (some have numbers), so that makes them difficult to reference or identify. Although I often sketch the product in my product reviews, in this case, I thought a photo would be more helpful in visually identifying specific pens in stores or online. (The numbering refers to the photo above and the brush stroke samples below.)

The labels for Nos. 2 and 6 say "kabura" (which means turnip)
because that's what it says on the pens. (I was more than
pleased with myself that I could decipher the characters!)

1. Faber-Castell Pitt Artist Pen with brush nib: Like all Pitt Artist Pens, the brush nib pen contains waterproof ink – one of only two in this group containing waterproof ink. I’m not sure if it’s apparent in my scan, but the ink color is not so much black as dark gray, which I don’t care for. The tip size is relatively small, yet I have difficulty getting a really fine line when I use the very tip.

2. Kuretake double-sided brush pen 55: Containing water-soluble ink, this brush pen is virtually indistinguishable from the double-sided Zebra (No. 5). It’s one of my favorites for its relatively large tip width and the spongy (though squeaky) pressure factor. Though I tend to use the larger side more, it’s nice having the fine tip on the opposite end as an option.

3. Zebra brush pen (FD-302): The single-tipped version of No. 5 below, it’s half the price of the double-ended one (which I’ve used more, so I’ve written more about its features in No. 5). If you rarely use the smaller end, this one would be a better value.

4. Deleter Neopiko Line 3 (brush tip): JetPens recently brought in a new line of Deleter Neopiko pens, most of which have technical nibs that make a consistent line. This brush tip is the exception. From JetPens’ image, I had guessed that the brush tip would be a bit finer than what I favor, and I was right. What caught my attention, though, was the waterproof, water-based pigment ink it contains. Other than the Pitt pen (No. 1 above), it’s the only non-hairy brush pen I’ve found with a truly waterproof ink that dries instantly. Its range of marks is narrower than the others, and its softer tip is harder to control than the spongy ones I prefer. But it gets bonus points for having waterproof ink.

5. Zebra double-sided brush pen (FD-501): This is the pen that initially got me excited at life drawing and came with me to Japan. (Ironically, I could have bought it in Japan for less than half the price, and I did get a few more there.) I have no idea why it costs twice as much as the Kuretake doubled-sided pen (No. 2 above) at JetPens. Both have a fine point tip on the opposite end.

6. Kuretake brush pen 33: Although the spongy tip feels a bit softer, I’d say it’s still very close to Nos. 2, 3 and 5 in size and mark range.

7. Pentel double-sided brush pen: Purchased at the Iseten department store in Kyoto, this is the only pen I couldn’t find an online source for. When I first spotted it, I tried to decipher the packaging information (I can read Japanese at the first-grade level, so you can imagine how far that got me), and a term I thought I could read seemed to indicate that the ink was waterproof, which got me excited. I took it to the counter and asked (again in my first-grade level spoken Japanese) whether the ink was waterproof. The woman at the counter read the label carefully and confirmed that it was waterproof ink. Bingo! I bought several to give as gifts to sketcher friends back home, as well as a few extras for myself. All I can say is that something must have gotten lost in translation, because the ink takes a long, long time to become waterproof – way longer than I (or any sketcher I know) would have patience with if I wanted to paint over it with watercolors. As far as I’m concerned, it’s not waterproof. Oh, well. It’s still a good brush pen with a slightly firmer tip than the others.

1/2/16 Deleter Neopiko brush pen, other inks

In the sketch at right, I used the Deleter Neopiko (No. 4) to draw the tree, and a minute or two later, I sprayed the top half of the page with water and gave it a whoosh with an ink-filled waterbrush for the sky. There was no sign of smearing at all; the ink dries instantly and is completely waterproof, which is the only reason I would use this particular brush pen. I prefer the slightly firmer tips of water-soluble pens 2, 3 or 5. If I want waterproof ink, I think I’ll stick with my hairy Kuretake brush pen 13, which I can use with my favorite waterproof Platinum Carbon Black ink.

I do enjoy using the water-soluble inks in the other brush pens, like the Kuretake 33 (No. 6) I used on the self-portrait below. It was fun and fast giving the lines a quick swipe of water for shading.

See my follow-up review of waterproof and refillable non-hairy brush pens.

1/5/16 Kuretake brush pen 33

Becoming a USk Correspondent: Completing a Circle

I’m thrilled and honored to be selected as a correspondent for the international Urban Sketchers blog!

More than four years ago when I first became aware of Urban Sketchers and began viewing the work of sketchers around the globe, my eyes were indeed opened to a new world. I enjoyed seeing and was inspired by individual sketches appearing on Flickr and other social media, but reading the Urban Sketchers blog is what really made me see what urban sketching could be. The stories that people told about their sketches gave me a magical glimpse through a window with the sketcher by my side, showing me more than what the sketch alone could tell. They inspired me to overcome my fear of drawing and to begin sketching myself, which literally changed my life.

That experience was a large part of why I began this blog. As a writer as well as a sketcher, blogging became an ideal mechanism for sharing and documenting the pages of my sketchbook. I hoped to share my stories and sketches with others in addition to preserving the two together for myself. 

To now become a global Urban Sketchers correspondent is a completion of a circle. More than sharing my own sketches, I hope to inspire others to begin sketching and experience the joy and discovery that urban sketching gives to me.

Paper Shake-Up

12/30/15 brush pen, ink, colored pencils, 98 lb. Canson XL
mixed media paper

For more than two years now, I’ve been using Canson XL 140-pound watercolor paper consistently in my handbound sketchbooks. While it’s considered “student grade,” I find both the surface and weight to be perfectly adequate for my watercolor needs (and skill level), and it’s a terrific value. Using 30-sheet, 9-by-12-inch pads from DickBlick.com, I can make a 72-page sketchbook for less than $3.

There are other “costs” involved in using 140-pound paper, though. One is that I can’t stitch more than about three sheets per signature because of the paper’s thickness. (For a while, I tried stitching four sheets because I wanted more double-page spreads per signature, but the Coptic stitch I use to bind the signatures together seemed compromised from the heavy signatures, so I went back to three sheets.) The way I burn through them, I fill a sketchbook at a rate of about one per month, so that’s as often as I have to bind a book. As much as I enjoy bookbinding, I would like to be able to go longer between bookmaking sessions, and that means putting more pages in each book.

The second “cost” is in storage space; you heard me griping recently about how I’m running out of shelf space for all those sketchbooks.

To address both of those “costs,” I’m trying an experiment. Since last spring, I’ve been using 98-pound Canson XL Mix Media paper to make my pocket-size catch-all sketchbooklets. The paper isn’t as robust as the 140-pound version, of course, but I’ve found it to hold up very well under light ink washes and even watercolor. At my usual 9-by-12-inch size (folded to 6-by-9 inch), I can stitch five sheets together, and the signature is about the same thickness as three sheets of 140-pound paper. That means I can bind six signatures into a 120-page sketchbook, and it would take up the same amount of shelf space as a 72-page sketchbook (of my current design). It would take me nearly twice as long to fill, so I wouldn’t have to bind as often. A lot more bang for my hand bookbinding buck!

98 lb. Canson Mix Media paper

The main issue I face is whether the paper will hold up to watercolor as well as I hope it will. During the winter months when I sketch indoors, I tend to use less watercolor anyway and use more pen and ink with light washes. I’ve also been moving away from watercolor and toward colored pencils in general, so the lighter paper stock might even work out long-term. The sketch above of trees at Green Lake was done in my typical fashion: I sprayed the top half of the page lightly with water, applied ink with a waterbrush and sketched with various pens and colored pencils. That’s about as wet as I get, and the paper held up fine.

On a full-page spread, though, the paper buckled quite a bit, and it’s visible in the scan of the light rail construction crane I sketched the other day.

When I start sketching outdoors again (alas, many months away) and use watercolor more often, I can switch back to the heavier paper. That’s the beauty of bookbinding – I can change papers at any time, yet maintain chronology in the finished book.

A secondary issue is the possibility of ghosting when I scan pages. I’ve gotten spoiled by the 140-pound paper’s total opacity, but I have to say I’m not bothered by the little ghosting I see.

I have one more minor paper experiment coming up: A few weeks ago I alluded to finally getting my hands on some unbound sheets of Stillman & Birn paper. Way back (at least a couple of years ago?) when S&B first announced the release of the loose papers, I was very excited about the prospect of putting them into my handmade sketchbooks. After all, they were the same papers I knew and loved from my favorite purchased books before I started bookbinding – how delicious to be able to make my own books with them! But when I couldn’t find the papers anywhere locally, my enthusiasm fizzled, and I forgot about them.

Running into them recently at a local shop was a bit anticlimactic, and at $4.69 per full-size sheet of the heavyweight Beta and Zeta papers, the sticker shock was severe. I did the math, and the S&B paper would bring the cost of my handmade sketchbooks to $21 for a 72-page book (and that’s not even counting the paper waste to conform to my usual 9-by-12-inch format). At that price, I can’t justify using it regularly. But just to find “closure” on my long-standing search, I went ahead and bought two sheets, cut them up and stitched them into signatures. Despite the papers being too costly and too thick (contradicting the purpose of my previously described paper experiment), they will be fun and luxurious to try. I’m saving those signatures, though, for times when I know I’ll be using watercolor.

Short Days, Long Shadows

1/2/16 inks

In addition to sub-freezing temperatures, we’ve been treated to several amazing days of sunshine and pure blue skies the past week. We’re past the solstice, so technically the days are getting longer, but it’s going to be a long time before we notice it. What I am noticing on these clear, bright days is that even as early as 1 p.m., the shadows are long. That’s probably a common winter sight in some climates, but it’s rare for us in the Pacific Northwest. To me, this sketch looks like it could have been made at 6 p.m. on a hot July day.

Red Crane at Roosevelt Station (Sketch No. 9)

12/31/15 inks, colored pencils

In my quest for a new sketching coffee shop, I tried my luck a couple days ago at Wayward Coffeehouse, which claims to be “an independent coffee haven for geeks.” It doesn’t meet all my criteria for sketching – it’s large and has plenty of geeky posters, action figures and other interesting décor, but it’s also a bit dark, and apparently geeks sleep in, because by 9 a.m., I had no victims to sketch.

But the cup of coffee wasn’t a waste, because the Wayward’s front window has a great view of Roosevelt Way at Northeast 65^th Street. It had been nearly a year since I last sketched construction activity at the Roosevelt Light Rail Station. Since then, the bright yellow crane has been replaced by an even taller red one. 

7:25 a.m. in Maple Leaf

12/31/15 watercolor, ink

Happy New Year!

The weather forecast was calling for clear skies the next few days (as well as temps in the mid-20s). I thought I’d paint the sunrise and Mt. Rainier on Jan. 1 and make some comment about the dawning of the new year, etc. But although I’m generally an early bird, Jan. 1 is the one day in the year that I’m likely to sleep in, so I didn’t want to take a chance. I sketched this yesterday morning instead (from my warm and cozy bedroom).