A memory

I have recently developed a habit of randomly photographing my outgoing mail art. Some cards start to grow on you and suddenly it gets difficult to part with them, so before I let them go I often throw them on my windowsill and snap a couple of mundane little pictures. I will need to remember how they felt, what kind of creatures they were and how I experienced them. Somehow scanned images can't quite contain and translate all this information. I like the way the things I draw gradually change their shape, tone and texture: I'm interested in the blackness of the Indian ink compared to the black of the fineliner pen - things like the reflections or the grain of the paper. I feel the need to capture some of this organic essence. Also, pictures of past pieces are always nice to browse. I find it interesting to document the process of sending or receiving something but I'm way too absent-minded to do that regurlarly.

Ink and other

When it comes to the process of drawing itself, I have never been very picky. For some reason I have come to think that one should be able to do good work regardless of the tools and media used; My collection of drawing and painting equipment probably reflects this stubborn world view. I only want the tools to be pleasant and practical, which means that I like to use all sorts of rubbish like children's felt-tip pens. My excuse is that they are cheap and blend beautifully with water! Because I draw mostly just to amuse myself and place more value on the process, I don't care about whether my drawings exist nice and bright after I'm long gone. Then again, this doesn't mean I'm completely ignorant of what I draw with:


The picture above shows the few tools I use the most, excluding a bigger round brush which is my universal acrylic and ink brush. I use lots of Indian ink which I keep in the glass inkwell pictured. I found the well from a swap meet: First bought the empty well and then found the funny metal-topped cork from a table nearby. I love finds like this. My inkwell is full of old metal nibs which have detached themselves from various ink pens. Naturally, it would be way too cumbersome to empty the bottle once in a while and save the nibs.. wouldn't it?

My favourite pen is a dip pen: I like dip pens because they're nice to use and also much more versatile than ballpoint pens or standard fineliners. In a way they're everlasting, too.. I only use wooden handles because many years ago I accidentally bought a set of them from a fleamarket, immediately falling in love. Before finding these old handles I had used the popular calligraphy handles that come with a metal gripper (the rose shaped opening in which you are supposed to attach the nib). The metal gripper is downright annoying and nothing else: I still have a couple of those handles which I from time to time try to use and always end up dropping or losing the nib somewhere. The vintage wooden handles are extraordinary, even though the thinnest ones sometimes split a bit and need some repair with a masking tape. Gentle loving!