Pen and Ink Doesn't Want To Fade Away...

I have had a love affair with pen and ink since I was a small lad. I think mostly due to the fact I grew up on the black and white comics of my youth such as Creepy and Eerie. They were published by Warren Comics and also included titles like Famous Monsters and Vampirella.  A note here, Vampirella was created by Frank Frazetta and became a guilty pleasure for many a hormone afflicted teen aged boy.

Uncle Creepy by Bernie Wrightson

On the right is Uncle Creepy drawn by Bernie Wrightson, whose work in those publications really inspired me. I believe the first story I read that Wrightson did the artwork was based on Edgar Allen Poe's The Black Cat. Other artists such as Reed Crandall really educated me on how to use line work. I have to confess much of my art instruction came from those magazines by trying to emulate their work.

Though back in those days drawing materials were not in ready supply and I practiced on typing paper with felt tips. I knew back then that the only thing I wanted to be in this world was a comic book artist.

Although it never happened, I don't regret a single minute I spent by myself drawing odd creatures and super heroes like the Shadow and the Batman until my eyes grew tired.

Cousin Eerie by Bernie Wrightson

As I grew older I watched as the artists that inspired me in my youth grew artistically. Wrightson's Frankenstein opened a new world for me in what pen and ink could do. In the introduction he mentioned Franklin Booth and that sent me on an odyssey to find out all I could about how to render in pen and ink.

Now I have always been a book shop hound and always had a small library of art books. Though I took art in High School, my instructors didn't know what to do with me so they usually sent me off into a corner and told me to do what I wanted. So most of my instruction came from those books. For me, the book Rendering In Pen and Ink became my bible. 

Rendering In Pen and Ink

The volume was filled with examples by early 20th Century illustrators including Booth. For me, pen and ink was sort of an alchemy, a mysterious use of line, shadow and form. I was awe of the mastery of many of the artists and set out on a quest to learn as much as I could. I moved from felt tips to crow quill and later to technical pens. I also played with ballpoints and loved them but was dismayed to find out that they are not light fast and will fade in direct sunlight whereas India ink will not.

Below is an example of my ballpoint work.

Memento Mori Ballpoint

Anymore I stick with Unipens and Microns, they are the best disposable replacement for technical pens and not nearly as expensive. They are also light fast and do not come with the hassle of cleaning that technical pens come with. They also come in very fine sizes, which I love because I am obsessed with detail.

Below is a piece done with Micron pen inspired by Franklin Booth.

Charon done in Micron Pen

I get the inspiration that Wrightson obtained from Booth, his work inspired me as well. The way he depicts forms with lines seem almost effortless, graceful. Below is a video of a compilation of his work. 

Pen and Ink is far from being a dead medium, though there are many that will tell you different. Facebook is riddled with them and I will highlight some of them here and there in this blog.

Pen and Ink will not fade away either in the sun or with time...it endures.