Happy Monday, everyone! Sarah here, bringing you my matchup of Diamine Oxford Blue and a Monteverde Mountains of the World Denali. I was really intrigued by Oxford Blue because it has been all the rage around the office so I was curious to try it. The Denali seemed like the perfect pen to use with it because of its matching deep blue and pretty swirled pattern. I was also excited about using an italic nib because it seemed perfect to show off the ink.
My inspiration for this work came from the ink itself. Oxford Blue has various depths of sheen and shading and when a lot of ink is put down, you can get a really pretty red sheen. The little red shimmery highlights reminded me of a gemstone, so I went with that theme. Also, every week, I say I wish I had done a longer quote so I could have written with the pen more, so this week, I made sure to spend time finding a lengthy one that I liked.
I started out by sketching roughly where I wanted each gemstone to be. After that, I took a water brush pen, dipped it in the ink, and started free-handing it. It got much easier as I went on. You can definitely notice which ones were the jewels I started with and which ones I did towards the end. I learned quickly that the ink was very saturated so I had to change my approach a bit as I went on. I realized that it was better if, after dipping the pen in the ink, I brushed off some of the ink on a piece of scrap paper before I moved over to the drawing. This allowed me to get some color variation. I started at the edge of the gemstones to give them a darker shade, then worked my way in, filling in the middle ones as the brush ran out of ink so they would get lighter and more reflective looking. I outlined some facets with the Monteverde, but ultimately, I liked the look better without outlines.
I loved this pen and ink combination. The pen has a nice weight and feels balanced. I used it unposted but it didn't feel unwieldy when I tried it posted either. I found the italic nib to be smooth and the increased ink flow gave the words some beautiful sheen. Also, I now understand why this ink is so popular. I could see myself using it for work, school, letters, art, pretty much anything. I like that it's dark enough to be subtle, but once water is applied, it can spread into lighter hues for some sketching.
If I were to do this matchup again, I don't think I'd change a single thing about this pen and ink pairing. As for the art, I might try some practice gemstones before jumping right in so they look more uniform. But the good thing about them is they all can look different and unique and that made drawing this a fun and freeing process.
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You can find the Monteverde Mountains of the World Denali fountain pen at GouletPens.com for $68. Diamine Oxford Blue is available in an 80ml bottle for $14.95 or a 2ml sample for $1.25.
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How to enter Monday Matchup Giveaway:
- Match a pen and ink together. They don't have to match in color, any fountain pen and ink works.
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Write on,
Sarah
