Sailor 1911 "Hanshin Tigers" LE

Here is a 1911 you won't see too often...

More details have been posted on FPN. :)

Sailor "Hougado" Edition Pens

Two very beautiful Sailor Professional Gear Slim pens joined my collection this week: a Hougado Brown and a Hougado Green.
Inked with Sailor-Hougado Deep Rust Black and Deep Moss Black respectively.

A Pilot Gift

Last week I received a very generous gift - a 1979 Pilot Red Stripe (model name unknown, so that's what I'm calling it).

I received this lovely gift because I mentioned in passing that the pen and I shared the same date code - "1179" (November 1979).

The prized Red Stripe:
Thank you. :)

Third Nakaya

I am about to sign-off on the design for my third Nakaya Piccolo!

I'm very excited about this special order... but I won't be revealing any details - all I will say is that it will feature the Chinkin / Chinkoku technique.

Happy, happy, happy!

Pens Incoming...

The following pens will hopefully join my collection soon...

• Danitrio Takumi "Mt Fuji"
• Nakaya Piccolo Special Order
• Sailor Pro Gear LE, "KAN"
• Sailor Pro Gear Slim LE, "Hougado Brown"
• Sailor Pro Gear Slim LE, "Hougado Green"
• Sailor 1911 LE, "Hanshin Tigers"

Yay!!!

Sailor "Dandelion" LE

Today my tenth Sailor Professional Gear arrived! This is a full-size LE called the Sailor-Mitsukoshi "Dandelion" - only fifty pens were produced.


This LE was accompanied by a bottle of Sailor yellow-green ink, specifically blended to match the colour of the pen.

The whole combination is rather sexy, IMO! :)

Paint Boxes

I love paint boxes... ever since I was old enough to have my first Crayola paint set (and then a Crayola "Caddy" once a year for several years, thereafter), I have never ceased to take delight in opening a paint box and seeing those little jewels of colour laid out within.

Earlier this year, when I took up watercolour painting again, I dug out my various paint boxes and set about preparing a field / sketch / plein air kit. Most of the artist's quality paint manufacturers make a vast array of travel and field paint boxes or paint sets, suitable for every occasion. I own several, of which Winsor & Netwon are likely the best-known brand.

I like metal paint boxes, and so I have recently been looking at buying an empty box with the idea of filling it with full or half-pans myself, but nothing had caught my eye - until I found some wonderful metal paint boxes on the Natural Pigments website!

Natural Pigments formulate artist's watercolour and oil paint using rare, traditional pigments, which make for a more subdued, classical palette (you won't find Quinacridone Magenta here). The Natural Pigments paint brand is Rublev, and I was excited to see Rublev Watercolors pre-packaged in heavy duty enamel paint boxes - here was a perfect opportunity to get the metal paint boxes I wanted, and also experiment with a different type of watercolour paint in a classical palette.

I went a little overboard and ordered three paint boxes, two are shown below:

• J.R. Cozens Travel Palette
  A muted and warm palette comprised of 8 half-pans (box can accommodate 12 half-pans), in a black enamel Bijou-style paint box with an built-in water bottle (35ml), integrated water dish and two mixing wells inside the lid. (I was ecstatic to find this paint box, as I have admired the W&N version for some time.)
  
• 18th Century Palette
  A beautiful and natural palette comprised of 12 full-pans, this large paint box has a flip-out mixing area as well as four mixing wells in the lid.
  
• Introductory Palette
  An expanded natural palette comprised of 16-half pans, this paint box also has a flip-out mixing area, and three mixing wells in the lid. (Not pictured.)

All of the Rublev boxes have a thumb-loop and v-clips to secure the pans - they are very well-made and sturdy.

As I already have my W&N Bijou Box for an 8 half-pan palette, I decided to modify the Cozens palette slightly:

I replaced an earth red, plus the blue ochre and black for paints with broader mixing capabilities, as well as adding a couple of essentials.

(PS: That travel paint box really *is* as adorable as it looks!)

Sailor KAN LE

Soon I'll add the beautiful Sailor "KAN" LE to my collection - I have lusted after this full-size Pro Gear for awhile, and when a friend in Japan offered to help ship one over to me, I just couldn't refuse.

The KAN: