November 2021 Blick Haul
I started messing with brush pens again and was running low on paper. So it was finally time to head out to Blick and stock up on art goodies. Luckily, Blick isn’t near my house or on the way from anything. Otherwise my bank account would be EMPTY. Self control on certain things is not present in my life. As I am sure many of us struggle with the same thing for other hobbies and interests.
Onto the couple of things I picked up! Small haul this trip, but it was all I needed after going crazy my last few trips.
Pentel Pigment Brush Pen Fine
Pentel Pocket Brush Pen
Canson XL 9x12 Smooth Bristol Pad
Blick 14x17 Smooth Bristol Pad
I have been playing around with Medium point Pentel Pigment Brush Pen and have been having fun with it. If you know anything about my drawings, I work very small. So I was getting frustrated with the Medium brush. I got the Fine size and it has been working much better. I enjoy the mechanical aspects of this brush pen. You don’t need to dip it in ink while you’re working, but do have to squeeze the ink tube to get ink down into the brush well. It is smooth, has slightly rough edges if you want it (I don’t have nice smooth fast confident swipes of the pen yet) and a large variety of widths you can accomplish.
I can’t decide if I am enjoying the Pocket Brush Pen more than the Pigment Brush pen at this point, but I think I like the compact size of this pen more. I compared all of my hardcore brush pens below. The barrel of the Pocket Brush pen has more weight to it which is something I prefer. If you are looking for a featherweight barrel, consult with the Pigment Brush Pen. I am enjoying all of them because it is adding another layer of depth to my work.
Onto an underrated subject in the art world…PAPER. There are so many different kinds of paper you can use. Since I work with ink and markers, I like Bristol. I despise vellum and stick with smooth. Vellum is a thin flimsy paper and the bright colors of my markers are washed out on this nonsense. I hate it. Smooth is very similar to a cardstock. Heavyweight but not obnoxious and very smooth. I normally go with Canson but they were out of a lot of different sizes. I have been working with a 9x12 pad, but wanted to start working on bigger pieces of paper so I had my eye on the 11x17 and the 11x14. This would waste the least amount of paper (we know I hate waste!!) for the sizes I cut my paper down to. BUT, classic 2021 the paper selection was….drab and sad. I decided to try out the Blick Bristol and see how it goes. It somehow feels smoother than the Canson paper, but we’ll see how it reacts with my markers and ink. I wouldn’t be made if I like it more, it is almost half the price per piece of paper ¯\_(ツ)_/¯