Drawing With Aurora 88

[fpupulin]

The pen belonged to my mother, when she was a student at the Bocconi University in Milan in the Fifties of the last century. I just found it in a drawer in my parents' house, flushed it, and inked it with Pelikan Blue-Black. It is an Aurora 88 Nikargenta and it has a fantastic, flexible nib, a real joy to write and to draw with.

 

(The summer thunderstorm is coming) ... and the smear on the bottom right of the drawing was completely unintentional...

 

 

[hari317]

[karmakoda]

Exquisite drawing, as Hari said, .

 

Good to see the pen out of retirement, the 88 is a wonderful instrument in your hands.

May I ask what the paper is?

Many of my notebooks are unable to handle ink drawing without the ink seeping through to stain the page back and other pages. A sketchbook by Fabriano is currently my best.

Thank you for this and your other remarkable illustrations and handwriting samples.

Best Regards

Greg

[fpupulin]

Hari and Karmakoda: thank you for your kind comments.

 

The notebook is self-made, using Fabriano Fabria 90 gr paper, cream colour. I buy it in large leaf of 100 x 70 cm, and cut it at the size of my Midori / Pelle notebook covers. I like very much Moleskine notebooks, but most of their paper are not suitable for ink drawing. Also the stronger paper of the Mole sketchbook sometimes simply does not work: it is someway oily and slippery.

[RMN]

Those are two serious works of art sir.

 

Congrats.

 

 

D.ick

[markiv]

Superb pen and even better art. Do you post your pieces some place? Would love to see them.

[fpupulin]

Thank you D.ick and markiv: you are very kind.

 

The only place where I post some of my drawings if Fountain Pen Network (mostly in the Montblanc forum, of which I am a fan). You may see some of the recent ones here:

 

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php?/topic/236926-which-ink-in-your-hemingway/

 

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php?/topic/236339-after-christmas-fun/

 

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php?/topic/212329-changed-the-ink-in-my-inkwell/

[Dillo]

Hi,

 

That is very nice! Enjoy! My Aurora is the 88p, so I don't have the flexible nib (the flexible nib uses a different feed as well) in many of these older 88 pens.

 

Dillon

[ele]

Great art, and a great story to go with one of my favorite pens!

[markiv]

Thank you D.ick and markiv: you are very kind.

 

The only place where I post some of my drawings if Fountain Pen Network (mostly in the Montblanc forum, of which I am a fan). You may see some of the recent ones here:

 

http://www.fountainp...your-hemingway/

 

http://www.fountainp...-christmas-fun/

 

http://www.fountainp...-in-my-inkwell/

 

Thank you. Your posts are quite inspiring.

[pelman]

Beautiful drawings - always a treat for the eyes. I have enjoyed yours and your daughter's drawings immensely in the last few months. Thank you. Look forward to more. Happy New Year.

[RMN]

Thank you D.ick and markiv: you are very kind.

 

The only place where I post some of my drawings if Fountain Pen Network (mostly in the Montblanc forum, of which I am a fan). You may see some of the recent ones here:

 

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php?/topic/236926-which-ink-in-your-hemingway/

 

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php?/topic/236339-after-christmas-fun/

 

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php?/topic/212329-changed-the-ink-in-my-inkwell/

Thank you, I quite enjoyed that.

 

 

D.ick

[nicholasyeo]

Nice drawing, the paper is also great! How I wish...

[i.like.whiskey]

You have real talent. Wow.

 

Do you mind if I ask what notebook that is? That much ink on a page and only slight echo makes it the kind of notebook I've been looking for! Not to mention the aesthetics of the exterior...

[karmakoda]

Hari and Karmakoda: thank you for your kind comments.

 

The notebook is self-made, using Fabriano Fabria 90 gr paper, cream colour. I buy it in large leaf of 100 x 70 cm, and cut it at the size of my Midori / Pelle notebook covers. I like very much Moleskine notebooks, but most of their paper are not suitable for ink drawing. Also the stronger paper of the Mole sketchbook sometimes simply does not work: it is someway oily and slippery.

 

Thank you for the information about the paper. It would be interesting to see how you attach the paper in your notebook.

I found my Fabriano sketchbook in a bookstore on a small Island off the coast of British Columbia, Canada, and will be contacting them for more.

 

May I ask what the inspiration was for the drawing? It made me think of beautiful illustrations I have seen in older novels. Something like Graham Greene's "The Third Man".

I hope you won't mind, I have used a number of your illustrations and photos for my computer desktop. (eg-Hemingway pen on "Farewell to Arms" 1st Ed.)

Recently my Aurora fountain pen has been seeing more use too!

Many Thanks

Greg

[i.like.whiskey]

Totally missed that. Thanks, Greg.

[nickapos]

You have got the pen AND the talent

[ethernautrix]

I love your drawings!

 

Always happy to see that you've shared more. Thank you!

[fpupulin]

Dillo: the flex nib of my mother's Aurora 88 is fantastic to use. It is very responsive. I never thought that such a short nib could be so dramatically plastic.

 

ele, markiv, RMN and nicholasyeo: thank you once more for your kind appreciation.

 

penman: i transmitted your kind words to my daughter, inviting her to post something more. Have a nice year too.

 

I.like.whiskey (a good name, I also appreciate whiskey…), I have to tell you, as a necessary premise, that I don't like too smooth paper, but I prefer papers with some tooth and quite dry. The best I know, which IMO is a fantastic, f a n t a s t i c paper for fountain pens, is the Fabriano Ingres 90 gr: in white and cream, both stunning "vergata" papers (see, hereafter, image 1).

Here in Costa Rica, where I live and where I spent most of the year, I basically use the few type of papers that I can find in local stores.

Among them, for writing, I prefer the Kimberley Tradition 90 gr, also in cream or white: it is a vergata paper, not as fine as the Fabriano, but approaching it (see image 2). The vergata, however, is a bit hard for drawing, so in this case I prefer the Fabriano Fabria 90 gr, which has tooth but is smooth enough for drawing (image 3).

Apart from these, I rarely use false pergamine, mostly for calligraphy (image 4). I do some calligraphy and drawing also on Moleskine sketch book : very inconsistent in quailty, but the paper has a fantastic colour and, in general, Moleskine notebooks (from the A5 to the giant A3 size) are simply superb objects (images 5 and 6).

When I find it, I also buy old, white, faded, vergata paper, often with small imperfections: it looks great for me (image 7).

As you can see, however, I use almost any kind of papers I have at hand... (image 8).

As for the exterior, I mostly use Midori and Pelle notebook covers. I like the fact that I can insert the refills made with the paper I want. Midori and pellet are both magnificent, dark brow, leather covers: they are subtly different in almost any aspect, but both pleasant to the touch and to the eye.

I cut the paper at the exact size of the original refills, fold them and sew them with a strong thread or grip them with two staples. I also made a "cover" for each refill with a 240 gr cardboard, in various colors.

 

karmakoda: the drawing was "copied" from a photograph of three men with hat, which was on the cover of an Agatha Christie novel (sorry, I can not find any credit for the photograph). I just transformed it in "blue and white" and added the thunderstorm clouds, as they seemed appropriate to both the hats and the strong vertical light… I am absolutely delighted that my drawings and photographs are used by other friends of the "community of the pen". Let me post here another shot of the Hemingway (I hope not violating any rules, as this is the Italian Pens forum…), perhaps my preferred (image 9).

 

nickapos: you are very kind.

 

ethernautrix: glad to meet you here and there across the forums! And thank you!

 

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[karmakoda]

Wow, Holy blank blank,.....an incredible delight, a treasure. Hari's comment was apropos :notworthy1:

Impressive quality in every way.

Thank you for the inspiration, and helpful insights and information. And for my new desktops. I'm using the last one right now.

 

Pretty impressive content on FPN, like "What's Up at Christof's, or enjoying Lisa's/Ethernautrix's "Joie de Vivre".

So glad you found the Aurora 88 and used it so beautifully. Superb.

 

Best Regards

Greg

Edited January 25, 2013 by karmakoda