A couple of years ago I went on a hunt for a perfect red.
Being a primary color, a “perfect red” needs to be neither leaning yellow-orange,
nor to purple-blue… it needs to be that lovely middle color!
My favorite color…
Okay, one of them!
This is one of those perfect reds, and they are a rarity,
because while a light spectrum can make that wonderful color,
inks (like watercolors and other forms of mark-making products) are made of dyes (usually but sometimes pigments) suspended in a carrier or vehicle.
In fountain pens, that carrier is water, though other solvents may be added
to slow drying, change the PH, or to retard bacterial growth.
A good chemist can produce a perfect red, but it must be difficult,
because most “reds” are red-orange, or very pink, leaning blue!
The amazing Robert Oster has done exactly that!
Remember that others review these inks just for writing;
I am also interested in how they are used for ink-painting!
I am making up my own definitions, and I have been referring to pure colors
like Fire Engine Red as simple colors, versus the complex colors
we’ve seen where the ink separates into many different hues when wet.
Fire Engine Red dilutes into lighter versions of the same beautiful red.
I see no real sheen, just a dense version of the dye…
Looking at watercolor comparisons for Fire Engine Red, in my palette the colors range from Quinacridone Red (Sennelier), Perylene Red or Scarlet (Daniel Smith). In watercolors that puts the pigments in the following Munsell ranges:
PR209 / PR178 / PR149.
To understand more about the Munsell system and others,
go to these two wonderful references pages; knowing the pigments can help you not to duplicate watercolors made of the same pigment:
https://www.handprint.com/HP/WCL/vismixmap.html
https://www.handprint.com/HP/WCL/color7.html#munsell
Fire Engine Red ink is
well-behaved. It is neither
wet nor dry, and does not
feather on any of the papers I
normally use, even Post-its.
It evaporates quickly
with a wet nib; I’ve not
had smears even with
the wettest sketch, below.
When hit with water it
moves easily with no
resistance or ghosting,
so is not water resistant.
It has a permanent home in
my lovely Diplomat Aero
with a Medium nib, right.
RO is experimenting and testing light-fast 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.
Fire Engine Red is a lovely ink with which to paint. My chili peppers
were drawn with a Diplomat Aero with a Medium nib on cold press watercolor paper.
In this case I dipped my Pentel Aquash waterbrush into a test vial with the
undiluted Fire Engine Red, and where I wanted a bit lighter red for highlights
I squeezed a little water into the mix. If you want to try ink painting,
do lots of tests with the inks you want to use to see how they perform.
Inks dry quickly compared to watercolors, so once you start you have to move fast,
or you get blooms each time you go back into the image with ink! I also have to
think a bit more about how I want to paint an image, in what order… again, they dry fast. Sometimes it helps to get the paper wet before you start inking,
but know that the ink make creep outside the lines you’ve drawn
(I did not do that in the images above or below).
The lines drawn with Fire Engine Red did not stay visible;
they quickly lose themselves in wet color.
The lines were added back in after the water moved the ink and dried!
On smooth Hahnemühle Nostalgie
sketchbook paper I sketched
this bright red flower, above, then
touched the waterbrush to the lines,
sometimes dipping back into
the ink in the fountain pen tip…
such a well-behaved ink
even on smooth paper.
On the very poor quality (but fun)
Bright Ideas multi-color journal pages,
the red ink performed well.
NO feathering even when laying it on thick.
Our Valentines breakfast doodle,
above, drawn on the smooth Hahnemühle Nostalgie Sketchbook Many hearts drawn on watercolor paper in the Hahnemühle ZigZag Journal for Inktober, right!
Below, Notre Dame was a demo scribble sketch in the Nostalgie, and just touching lines moved the ink beautifully. A thicker line will lay down more color when wet.
His inks are non-toxic.
I have more Robert Oster inks than
any other maker of ink. Why? Because no other brand has the spectacular pigmentation within a color, which gives even his simplest inks such beauty that it is a shame to waste them only writing!
BTW, never ever use any ink that is not meant for fountain pens in your pen.
Dip pens can use just about anything, so make absolutely sure
the bottle says that it is for fountain pens!
Do not listen to the big box sales person, read the bottle or if in doubt, don’t do it!
I bought Robert Oster Fire Engine Red at Vanness;
Jetpens also carries it.
Other Robert Oster Inks reviewed in this manner:
Robert Oster Jade
Robert Oster Thunderstorm
To hear about classes, follow me on Facebook
or check out my new, improved dkatiepowellart.com
“Memory is more indelible than ink.”
Anita Loos, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes.
“I think not….”
Me… why I journal!
©D. Katie Powell.
My images/blog posts may be reposted; please link back to dkatiepowellart.
☾
As my Patreon supporter, you will have
access to some content not on this website,
sneak previews, goodies, discounts on classes.
I teach architectural sketching,
art journaling (art+writing), creativity, watercolors.
That annoying loud-mouth editor/critic in your head? GONE! How great would that be?
I'd love it if you shared this; please mention my blog name!
D.Katie Powell Art 
Shift In Goals: A Post from My Patreon Page
Goals are shifting for me, and instead of rewriting what I posted succinctly to my Patreons, I am sharing it with you, my blog followers. I am a Patreon to several artists, and have my own Patreons, a modern way of supporting artist.
“An Overdue Update…
For two years things have been quiet on [my Patreon] page. Family issues, namely my baby brother and then my mother dying and all that comes with that, got in the way of so much. I am okay with that; family comes first. I let go of a lot to juggle my daily work, but did keep sketching/painting. I apologize for the absence.
During sleepless nights, I had time to think. I shifted my focus a bit. Originally I wanted to teach online — I miss teaching tremendously. When I was a kid I wanted to be a school teacher and my Aunt Elsa, who was a woman who taught high school, became principle, and ended up traveling to study educational systems worldwide before settling down at USC to start their Gerontology department, gave me great advice. She said, “Go to college for what you love and then teach THAT!” I taught architecture and design in Los Angeles at UCLA and in the California State college system, and taught writing and creativity in Oregon and California.
I am still open to teaching again, crave it, really, but I am going to let it unfold, to not push the river to do online courses. I don’t know that online teaching will be as rewarding for me as doing classes in person. I will wait to see what happens as I continue following my passion.
So where am I heading now? What has changed?” Continue reading here.
or check out my new, improved dkatiepowellart.com
“Memory is more indelible than ink.”
Anita Loos, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes.
“I think not….”
Me… why I journal!
©D. Katie Powell.
My images/blog posts may be reposted; please link back to dkatiepowellart.
☾
access to some content not on this website,
sneak previews, goodies, discounts on classes.
I teach architectural sketching,
art journaling (art+writing), creativity, watercolors.
That annoying loud-mouth editor/critic in your head? GONE! How great would that be?
I'd love it if you shared this; please mention my blog name!