|
|
|
|
Note: The author comments on Jackie Damrau's rhapsody on purple pens, which appeared in the December issue. —Editor
The purple pen is my friend too. I would also like to make friends with yellow, orange and brown, however they are hard to find. I am an artist and I use ballpoint pens as an art medium. Purple is one of my favorites.
It's very confusing to me that Jackie Damrau is quoting Pilot regarding colored pens. I contacted Pilot by email to put in a plug for my friends and was recently told that they have discontinued their Better Ball Point Pen in green and purple. It was suggested that I stock up while supplies last.
I don't use gel pens for drawing. They may come in handy for a highlight or accent but the body of my ballpoint work is done in traditional oil-based ink. One reason is that gel pens are water-based and could smudge as I work. Gel inks do not blend into each other as well as oil-based inks. I also worry that they are not as long lasting as oil-based ink.
I began using ballpoint pens as a medium in school. I was something of a daydreamer but found that doodling and scribbling helped me pay attention more than dreaming out the window. I could even remember things said in class by looking at the drawings scattered in the notes.
I went to art school where I learned to use just about every art medium. But at home especially after my son was born I could no longer take out paints and large canvases. Ballpoint pens offered a clean, portable, reliable and, most of all, expressive medium.
I have in my own mind called them ballpoint paintings. The nib being a very tiny brush stroke of color. In Impressionism and Pointillism small units of color are used to create the whole image. The same is true for ballpoint pen artwork. I use strokes of parallel lines, covered by crosshatched lines. I work with many layers of ink to create images with beautiful color, texture, lines, shading and details.
I hope the pen companies will change their minds and continue to produce a wide variety of ballpoint pens in oil-based inks. I will be lost without my friends.
Renee Lichtman, www.galleryrenee.com