This and That

Happy February dear friends. I hope you are all getting through the winter season and setting your sights toward spring. Here in Ontario, I can see my lawn and there are actually chipmunks outside getting some exercise. Surely usual  for February  but I am not complaining.
The opening photo of this blog post is a demo piece that I created for one of my private students. My online private tutorials are where I have been spending lots of time these days. I am working with a few students in a longer term mentoring program and I will talk a bit more about that in the future.

Today I wanted to share a few things on my desk that are making me really happy. Cornellissen's Walnut ink is my current favourite practice ink. It is not listed on their website yet as it is a fairly new product for them but this is beyond doubt the finest walnut ink for pointed pen work I have ever found. The hairlines and shades are pristine and it makes practicing much less harsh on our precious vintage nibs. Give it a try! You can send them an email and they will provide details.

The other two recommendations I want to share are the Faber Castell Dust Free eraser and the Taper Point Colour Shaper. The eraser is definitely not dust free. But as a white vinyl eraser, it does a better job than any others in my tool box. Even problematic papers for erasing are no problem at all with this eraser. I highly recommend trying it. The colour shaper is my new favourite tool for applying gilding size. Because there are no brush bristles to worry about, the gilding size is applied perfectly every time, I bought the smallest size I could find and can even apply small dots with the tip of the point. Another wonderful tool to add to your toolbox.

Have a wonderful month! Play with the pen, flourish a bit or a lot and enjoy the journey!