The joys of working with a fountain pen and water soluble ink…

When you are traveling light, perhaps carrying all your stuff in a bike pannier, it’s great to work with a fountain pen with watersoluble ink.

My favourite ink is by a French company founded by Joseph Herbin in 1670. For a delightful shopping trip and time travel excursion, visit www.jherbin.com.

The ink is available in cartridges or bottles and have evocative names like “Diablo Menthe” , Poussiere de Lune”, Lierre Sauvages”, “Eclat de Saphir” and my personal favourite, “Lie de The”, a sort of tea leaf warm brown.

If you stop for a coffee in a beautiful place, you can just whip out your pen and your brush and capture the moment in monochrome. 

Le Chateau de Montbazzilac, a castle with a winery, and a stop for coffee on our motorcycle tour in the south of France.

Another coffee in beautiful Lucca, where the menu had this lovely illustration of the two famous city towers

And a few random selections from a sketchbook, some from the motorcycle trip in the south of France, and other side from Italy. All  done from cafes and restaurants.

Eating, drinking and drawing in the sunshine. Pure bliss!

We went to one of the nightly Puccini concerts in Lucca, and the handsome composer was on the programme. Lovely to draw and listen to the sublime music in the place of his birth.

The Walled Garden in Preston Park, Brighton… and I drew with what I thought was permanent ink. When I added the watercolour, the drawing exploded….