Snarkparty: Nowhere You'd Rather Be

This is what I bought today.

Reed pens have been used since antiquity for writing and drawing, and a few oddballs still use them today, particularly for sketching, since their somewhat awkward and scratchy line is very expressive. I saw one at my very favorite local art supply store, Walser’s , and couldn’t resist buying it, just to try out. I picked up a bottle of sepia drawing ink, as well; sepia has a certain charm for me lately. It’s mellower and less in-your-face than my black Higgins waterproof; it should give an interesting effect when combined with pastel. I’ll try it out tomorrow. I think the reason the pen appealed to me is that I remembered that Van Gogh enjoyed the rustic nostalgia of a reed pen; he talks about the particularly springy and good ones available in Arles in his letters to Gauguin and to his brother Theo. I wonder if he chose these pens of his own volition, or if it was primarily a lack of cash that encouraged him to experiment with a writing instrument that was nearly as old-fashioned to his era as they are to mine. Reed pens were easy and cheap to make, even in the leanest of times. This drawing was done with reed pen and quill in Arles in 1888.