Peacock pens

• Throwback last month
• Embracing the longer days and brighter skies of March with open arms
• Smooth is good
• A good quote

Every year February flies by quickly, luckily this year is a leap year so we have an extra day to pursue our goals. Also in February I tried to knit a sequel to my good start in January. I am very motivated to blog new posts about my experiences with fountain pens and (watercolor) sketches. All the signals are going in the right direction, I get a lot of comments and likes and some new followers are added. It’s always nice to have an audience that catches your blog and responds positively to it. Although blogging requires a lot of time and energy, it gives me a certain satisfaction. I also like to be interactive with other bloggers, so I’m actually looking forward to March to get back into it.

Throwback last month

• Drawing challenge 1000 portraits/faces
  In my previous post, I gave you an update how I’m holding on to my goal. My experience so far is that I do indeed notice that my results are better. As a novice sketcher, one tends to draw what one thinks one sees instead of drawing what is really there. This different way of thinking sometimes feels unnatural, but it makes a world of difference. I’ve also switched back to drawing a basic sketch in pencil first, and then finishing it with a fountain pen. I also had a bit of a hard time finding the right inspiration, but in the meantime various sources have become good friends of mine such as Google, Pinterest, Insta …In the meantime, the counter stands at 171/1000, so there is still a long way to go.
• Watercolour sketching
  Lack of time is the reason why I haven’t been able to go for it yet. Setting the right priorities will probably have to be adjusted. I always try to get ideas and look for inspiration, mainly by watching videos. Unfortunately, I have not been able to put my money where my mouth is. My abstract sketch, about which I made a post, has been well liked by many, so I’m actually quite satisfied.
• Pen swapping
  Reviews of fountain pens will always be an important part of my blog site. The fountain pen as part of a creative artistic spirit is central to this. The idea of sharing my pen swaps with you is starting to take shape. Some recognize the fountain pens, or have the fountain pens in their possession, and the reactions are nice. With a pen swap I take the opportunity to do a small review of the pen that is taken out of rotation, temporarily or otherwise. I try to do a swap every week, so a maximum of 4 per month. I’m quite happy with posting 3 swaps for February. The swaps concern the following fountain pens: Parker 51, Sheaffer Prélude and TWSBI Eco-T Royal Jade.

• Expanding the fountain pen collection
  I remember that at the beginning of this year I did not really have a specific wish list. Partly thanks to some fellow bloggers I was influenced and the wishlist suddenly became a shopping list. So the purchase of a few fountain pens, six to be precise, is a fact. I’ll introduce them to you here:
  • Majohn Q1, steel fude nib, eyedropper
  • Duke 551, steel fude nib, cartridge/converter
  • Lamy Safari Petrol, steel nib, cartridge/converter
  • Parker 51 vintage, 14k gold nib, vacumatic
  • Parker Duofold, 18k gold nib, cartridge/converter
  • Majohn 3, waverly steel nib, cartridge/converter
• Backorder
  Actually, I had already ordered a fountain pen in January that had been on an old wishlist for a while. I would have liked to introduce it to you in February as a kind of surprise, but unfortunately the fountain pen is temporarily out of stock. While writing this post I heard that it was sent in the meantime, so get ready in March 🙂
• Notion as a supporting tool
  The post where I introduced you to Notion as my database for keeping track of data was well received. Not everyone knew this. Of course, everyone uses their own system to keep track of data. For some, this is a system of notebooks, for others, for example, Excel. But it has given me a certain insight. But I will definitely come back to this later.

• Time blocking planning
  Starting a new concept unprepared is guaranteed to fail. I experienced this when trying to do my planning according to the time management technique Time Blocking. I am postponing this for the time being.

Embracing the longer days and brighter skies of March with open arms

What we are indeed all looking forward to are the first pleasant rays of sunshine, it’s about time for sure! I can’t predict the weather now, but this is definitely on the program for March💌:

• I’m continuing with my drawing challenge for which I plan to post an update every now and then.🎡
• Finally announcing my surprise pen.💥
• I foresee some nice pen swaps with some special fountain pens 🙂
• I’m definitely rolling up my sleeves when it comes to watercolor sketches.🎨
• I’ll answer some questions related to collecting fountain pens, this is going to be a fun surprising post.🖋

Smooth is good

This is a new section that I would like to add to my monthly overview. As a fountain pen enthusiast, I love fountain pens that write buttery soft, where the fountain pen glides over the paper, as it were. The intention is that I have a kind of competition between the inked fountain pens where the best will be in the lead. The assessment will be purely instinctive, in which all factors play a role (writing performance, look, quality, price/quality, …) . Since I do a maximum of 4 pen swaps per month and because I always have 8 inked fountain pens, this means that each pen ends up at least twice in a ‘Smooth is good’ competition.

To start with, here is my first ranking of my inked fountain pens for the period February 2023:

1. Montblanc Meisterstück 149 🥇
2. Kaweco Special brass 🥈
3. Pelikan 400, vintage 🥉
4. TWSBI Eco-T Royal Jade
5. Lamy Vista
6. Opus 88 Jazz
7. Sailor Profit Jr.
8. Parker Urban

A good quote to start March