I’ve been reading a lot about sketchers using fountain pens and I decided to see what all the fuss is about. I went to a local shop and purchased a Lamy Vista, medium nib and a bottle of Pelikan 4001 brown ink to start.
The pen is a joy to write with, but sketching with it is another story. I have the habit of rotating the pencil from when I started architecture school and drafted by hand. This is terrible for a fountain pen, it simply stops writing. This had never been a problem, as I always sketched with pencils or felt-tip pens.
Probably it just takes time to get used to, but anyway I simply don’t enjoy sketching with fine lines. I prefer the looser strokes with broader nibs like those of markers or pen brush.
Yesterday at lunch I tried to sketch with the pen and the drawing was feeling so tight I stopped, got out some Pitt art brush pens and tried to salvage it. I’ll give the pen a few more days, just because it looks so much nicer than a Sharpie, but if I can’t loosen up with it I’ll leave it at my desk. Here is the 15-minute sketch, done at Centro de Bellas Artes.