I had to revise my palette this month last minute because I got word from Birmingham Pen Company that they will not permit me to carry their inks as samples or to include them in my monthly palettes. This, of course, devastates me. I still plan to provide reviews and analysis of the Birmingham inks, but there is no way that I know of to get samples of the inks at this time.
I am pulling a few of the colors from my personal collection while I wait to hear back from the manufacturers. Before we get to the inks, though, here’s last month’s palette in action!
January 2023 Palette in Action
This painting from Beverly Hall uses the inks in the January 2023 creative palette. Isn’t it gorgeous? She used Black Swans in English Roses for the blacks.
I LOVE the ones that separate out when used like watercolor!
Beverly Hall
Check out Beverly’s work in her portfolio: https://picturedragon.weebly.com/ Or follow on Twitter: https://twitter.com/picturedragon
This Month’s Palette
Creative Palette
- Colorverse – Min Hwa – dan hwang
- J. Herbin – 1798 – Amethyste d l’Oural
- Pelikan – Star Ruby
- Noodler’s – Black Swans in Australian Roses
- Noodler’s – Gold & Limonite
Details
This month, I went with some warm, Valentines-inspired colors. We have an obligatory, reddish-pink, burgundy-pink, purple, a really interesting yellow, and a non-chocolate brown.
The pink: Pelikan Edelstein Star Ruby – this was Pelikan’s ink of the year in 2019. It’s a red-pink, nicely saturated, with a hint of sheen on heavy applications. (This is from my personal collection.)
The burgundy: Noodler’s Black Swans in Australian Roses – the more popular of the two Black Swans colors. It’s much lighter than the English Roses from last month.
The purple: J. Herbin’s Amethyste de L’Oural from the 1798 collection. This is a deep purple sheen & shimmer ink. Be sure to shake before use!
The yellow: dan hwang! This is so interesting to use, it dries to a very different color than it writes and it’s such a soft, interesting color. I wouldn’t suggest it for writing, though.
The brown: Gold & Limonite from Noodler’s. This is one of the most interesting browns I’ve used, as it tends toward the yellow side instead of the red. It shades nicely while writing but holds its color.
Business Palette
Details
This month we have a brown, a blue, and a black. (Only 3 colors because I have only small subscriptions.)
Gold & Limonite is an interesting brown that’s a bit outside what I would normally consider a business color, but it’s so interesting I just wanted to share it. I gave you some pretty serious colors last month, so I thought this might add a touch of interest that you might love or hate!
The blue this month is Iroshizuku ama-iro, which is a bright, sky blue. It’s one of my favorites to write with – it’s so smooth and cheerful. (This is from my personal collection.)
And the black this month is the ever-popular Eel Black from Noodler’s. Beware, this is a VERY DARK black, and it feels chalky when used at high concentration and sheds with friction. But if you’re looking for black-hole light-eating black, this is a good one to try. Also – it wants to stain, but I think that’s just the chalkiness lingering, not actually saturation into the plastics. You might need to clean a few times after using it.
Deluxe Bundle
Your deluxe bundle this month comes with a booklet of Clairefontaine paper, a refillable 3mm marker from Jacques Herbin, and a sample of Monteverde pen flush (from my personal collection).
To use the Monteverde ink flush:
- Clean pen with water until the water runs clear (as usual).
- Fill and empty the flush through your pen (drawing the ink through the nib via the attached converter or piston) with the ink flush (non-diluted) several times. This will remove extra ink stuck in the nib and feed.
- If you need to soak, remove the nib section and soak only it for no more than 5 minutes. This product contains diluted bleach, which will degrade plastic products.
- Fill and flush with clean water again to remove any remaining pen flush.