Hide & Seek – hand-painted fountain pen

Su Wolf (@sutroywolf) has the most amazing ability to visualise things in the negative, almost like old film once it has been processed and the whites become blacks and the blacks whites. She is then able to paint in reverse! Let me try to explain:

She is a prolific artist and while she is painting she keeps a spare pen blank by her side, blobbing the left-over paint on to it as she goes so as not to waste the excess paint. Once the blank is completely covered she then paints a single colour around the outside of shapes – in this case Prussian blue painted around shapes that become foliage and flowers and three discreet little birds. (Finding the birds is the reason for this pen being called Hide & Seek.) I asked Su if she then touches up the multi-coloured parts to make the birds and the plants more distinct but the answer is No. Mind-bending! It takes such precision while at the same time Su has to suspend her perfectionist side and allow her playful side to take over and have fun. The result is delightful.

Some more background on the process: We create the pen blank which Su then paints. Once Su is happy with her artwork, we coat it in a layer of clear resin so as to allow the owner to carry and use this art on a daily basis without it getting scratched or damaged. We also add a grip section in a complementary colour, then do a final shaping, polishing and buffing. Finally we tune the nib. The end product is a portable, functional, one-of-a kind work of art.

This particular pen also has a sterling silver cap band and section ring, and a medallion embedded in the cap finial which has our logo in bronze.

Nib:

Available in Jowo #6 in polished steel. Please select Fine, Medium or Broad at the check-out.