Two Sunsets on a Clear Day in May

I decided to spice things up for handwriting practice today and inked up my calligraphy pens with sunset-themed fountain pen inks.  Caran d'Ache Sunset recently became a surprise favorite of mine over the winter, and since I was so enchanted with it, I decided to try Iroshizuku Yu-Yake (which means "sunset" in Japanese).  They are both quite different, but a pleasure to use.  Caran d'Ache is a deep red-ish, pink whereas Iroshi is a yellow-orange, with deep orange shading.  Where the Caran d'Ache is slightly on the dry side, the Iroshi is neither too dry, nor too wet.  

In terms of personal preference, I enjoy the Caran d'Ache more because perhaps I am simply more inclined towards reds and pinks, as opposed to orange shades of ink.  However, the shading with Iroshi Yu-Yake is really gorgeous, and really "one-ups" the Caran d'Ache in that respect.  There is just this beautiful interplay of yellow and orange within the same letter that it makes the entire word appear to be on fire.  

One of the qualities I enjoy most about the Caran d'Ache is that evokes memories of one of the most beautiful sunrises I have ever seen.  Last fall, I was traveling regularly and had to wake up very early in the morning (3:00 am) to catch an early flight to Atlanta which connected in Philadelphia.  When I arrived in Philly, it was still dark.  It happened to be a Monday morning, and there were hundreds of people at the gate waiting for this flight; it was wall to wall people.  Standing room only.  Business people, college students, vacationers.  I was lucky to get a seat and even better, it was facing the tarmac, but I happened to be engaged in conversation with the person next to me.  She stopped talking mid-sentence and pointed to the glass windows and said, "Look at that sunrise!"  I turned and the sky was flooded with deep pink and dark grey.  Sitting in front of those large airport windows, it was as if we had a front row seat in front of this large expanse of sky.  It was amazingly beautiful, and we just sat there looking at it for quite some time.  I don't think I have ever seen a sunrise that breathtaking before or since.  What I remember most distinctly aside from the beauty of that morning, was that there were so many people at that gate who were entirely disinterested, or playing with their iPad, or iPhone apps, or talking business on the cell phone, or talking business with the person at their side.  It was as if this young woman and I were the only people in the world who saw it, and it was both strange and wonderful at the same time.  I felt transported from the chaos for just a few moments, and yet I was still sitting right there.  The shade of Caran d'Ache Sunset is amazingly similar to that pink sunrise that I saw that morning, and, as a result, I do have a fond affection for it.

Caran d'Ache Sunset on Clairefontaine Graf-it.

Iroshizuku Yu-Yake on Clairefontaine Graf-it.

I had fun with handwriting practice today, but my handwriting really needs some work.  Today's exercise was "horizontals and v-shapes".  I really need to get into the discipline of playing with my calligraphy pens once a day.  I always enjoy handwriting practice, because it's very relaxing but I have long struggled with perfecting "s", "t", "q" and "x".  I really need to exercise a bit more effort in this regard. 

Iroshizuku Yu-Yake / Lamy Joy 1.5/ HP#24

Caran d'Ache Sunset / Sheaffer Calligraphy pen Broad 1.8mm/ HP#24

On Rhodia.

On Rhodia.

05/20/12: edited to add samples on Rhodia.

Handwriting Practice

One of my first handwriting exercises from January of this year:

Kaweco Sport Classic M/ J. Herbin Perle Noir

Today's practice:

LAMY Safari M/ Caran d'Ache Sunset

LAMY Safari M/ Caran d'Ache Sunset

LAMY Safari M/ J. Herbin Rouge Opera

TWSBI 540 B/ Iroshizuku Tsuki-yo

A few months ago, I decided to improve my handwriting because it had seriously de-volved after years of computer use and very little pen to paper. I purchased Fred Eager's The Italic Way to Beautiful Handwriting for the task. The book contains a series of exercises that entail the user's tracing the letters and words followed by writing it themselves in order to develop proper technique in letter and word formation. The author recommends daily practice, which I was very diligent about for the first few weeks and then I tapered off due to work and other stuff.

I decided to sit down in an attempt to get back into the swing of things today and worked on the "spacing" exercise. I have actually worked on this very exercise quite a bit. I still have difficulty with letter formation and spacing, in particular, and want to reach a certain comfort level with my competence before I move on. In the discussion just before the exercise, Eager says that "the eye determines the space" and that "the eye sees the patterns of white space made by the letters and is only satisfied by an even distribution of space or color throughout the writing". When I am practicing my handwriting, I want my eye to feel satisfied with what it sees. If it's not satisfied, or I can't seem to create the necessary spacing for that word, I try to repeat the word until I am satisfied with it.

I've included a few photos of today's practice, including one of my very first exercises for comparison purposes. Today's practice is not bad actually, considering that I have not sat down to practice for a few weeks. After just a few minutes, I remembered how much I enjoy handwriting practice because it tends to be a very soothing and relaxing exercise for me. I feel calm and centered, and typically walk away from the exercise with a sense of completion. For whatever reason, I had difficulty with the word "sessions" today, and as you can see I repeated it several times until I felt comfortable with it.

Also, the author recommends that the student compile writing samples every week or so by simply writing 2-3 pages of regular and continuous handwriting in order to evaluate progress. I felt like writing today, so I did a writing sample, too, which you can see in the very last photo. I think that on the whole, there is still a bit of sloppiness to my regular handwriting, but I am starting to see a little bit of personality come through as well, and I'm very happy to see that. That's what I am aiming for.

I think I may be ready to officially move on to the next exercise where Eager transitions the student to using an italic pen for the remainder of the book.

Deep Pink Happy Inks

Recently, I tried a 2 ml sample of Caran d'Ache Sunset because I wanted to experiment outside of my clearly defined blue-black / green-black comfort zone. I chose a color that I thought would be "fun" and something that I would not normally choose. Typically, I don't really reach for red tones (for anything: whether pens and inks or what-have-you). However, I was pleasantly surprised by Caran d'Ache Sunset. So much so, that I purchased the bottle.

Prior to that, I solicited some feedback from other pen&ink friends regarding whether there was a cheaper alternative on the market. The reason being is that although CdA Sunset is incredibly lovely, it comes at a premium: $18.00 / 30 ml. Ouch! My inkophile pals pointed me in the direction of J. Herbin Rouge Opera and J. Herbin Rouge Bourgogne. The J. Herbin inks come at a price of $9.00 / 30 ml. Big difference.

Ultimately, I purchased the bottle of Caran d'Ache, because I knew that I really liked it and that it would be a worthy purchase for me. Currently, it is the only Caran d'Ache ink that I own due to it's premium price. At the same time that I purchased this bottle, I purchased samples of J. Herbin Rouge Opera and J. Herbin Rouge Bourgogne to try and perform my own side-by-side comparison.

The results are the same as my friends had predicted: J. Herbin Rouge Opera and Caran d'Ache Sunset are almost the same ink with the exception that Sunset is slightly more saturated and Rouge Opera is a slight bit more diluted. But, as you can see from the comparison, after 2 passes of Rouge Opera it is almost identical to Caran d'Ache Sunset.

Rouge Bourgogne is not as dark as either J. Herbin Rouge Opera or Caran d'Ache Sunset. Where Rouge Opera and Sunset are dark pinks, leaning towards red, Rouge Bourgogne is a brighter pink that clearly falls in the "pink" category. There is no mistaking it for a pinkish-red.

All three are delightful colors and make a fine addition to anyone's ink collection. If you are searching for a "happy ink", perhaps take one of these little beauties for a whirl.

Overall, I enjoyed all three inks. I would likely purchase all of these again, despite the difference in price. I am guessing that the extra $9.00 that you pay for the Caran d'Ache actually goes towards the huge hunk of glass that is the bottle. As you can see, the bottle is very substantial indeed. The bottom of the bottle is so thick that it could be used as a desk paperweight. If cost is an issue for you, just go for the Rouge Opera. Personally, this was a birthday purchase and so I went the extra mile and bought the Caran d'Ache.

In the comparison, a Lamy Safari with Medium nib was used with both Caran d'Ache Sunset and J. Herbin Rouge Opera. A Pelikan Pelikano Jr. was used with J. Herbin Rouge Bourgogne. Paper is HP#24.