I love Robert Oster inks, and his newest exclusives to North America’s Pen Chalet
are gorgeous!  This trio of inks celebrates the American Southwestern desert.
Pen Chalet has their brick and mortar store in Mesa Arizona.
*ps if they sell out they will restock but don’t wait too long; you can preorder!*

There was one more that I
will include in this group,
though it was released
before Christmas 2020
because it too is an exclusive,
and fits the theme.
I assume Antelope Canyon
is named after the famous
natural wonder of the
same name near Page AZ.
The ink matches the amazing
rock formation colors of the
often photographed canton.

My sketches below were drawn with a dip pen on cold press watercolor paper,
then the lines were touched with water using a Pentel Aquash waterbrush.
The lines do not stay visible but quickly lose themselves in wet color;
These inks are highly soluble, which is good for me and inkpainting!

Remember that others review these inks just for writing;
I am also interested in how they are used for ink-painting!

Monsoon Sky is a beautiful smokey teal blue that runs a deep turquoise
when mixed with water.  Most people think of India or China when they think of Monsoon season, but monsoons are a seasonal occurrence in the
Southwestern United States into Mexico in late summer and early fall.

Saguaro Green is a highly changeable warm green that has yellows and rusts lurking
in its pigmentation.  Named after the Saguaro (cactus) which is native to the
Sonoran Desert.  The warm green ink nods to the rich the colors of the area where
they grow.  Different lighting makes the green change color!

If you’ve never seen the red in the hills of Sedona in Sedona Red Rock Park it is
hard to believe, but this is very much the color you will see.  As a California Girl,
I also grew up seeing iron rich soils near my grandparent’s ranch.
This ink is a charcoal infused beauty that moves into a warm pink color with water

Antelope Canyon is named after the slot canyon near Page AZ, to canyon areas
known as the Slot and the Corscrew.  “The Navajo name for Upper Antelope Canyon is Tsé bighánílíní, which means ‘the place where water runs through rocks’. Lower Antelope Canyon is Hazdistazí (called “Hasdestwazi” by the Navajo Parks and Recreation Department), or ‘spiral rock arches’. Both are in the LeChee Chapter
of the Navajo Nation. They are accessible by guided tour only.” Wikipedia
This amazing ink rounds out the colors of the desert with its beautiful rich rusts.

Properties of Robert Oster’s Pen Chalet inks:

This ink is well-behaved, and does not feather on any of the papers I normally use, even Post-its.  I consider it a medium ink, neither wet nor dry, and it evaporates quickly with a wet nib.  It has never smeared on me during a sketch.  When hit with water it
moves easily with no resistance or ghosting, so is not water resistant.

The paper towel test shows the chromatography
of the various inks when hit with water!

Robert Oster is experimenting and testing lightfast properties…
MOST water soluble ink companies do not pay attention to these things
because most artists who use ink are making prints of their work.

Other Robert Oster Inks reviewed in this manner to
date can be  found on this page: Robert Oster Inks.

The non-toxic inks come in
50ml plastic bottles that
are environmentally friendly, using recycled plastic.
They can be tippy, so I usually put them in a more solid container to decant.
All my pens fit easily into the bottle opening to fill.

I bought Robert Oster
at the Pen Chalet.

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