Greetings All,

I need some ink. So what's my problem then? Well I need it to really perform a few miracles along the way. Here's my list...It needs to be waterproof. I daub watercolours and until now, I've been signing my work in pencil, since I'm told by my art teacher that pencil is the only thing guaranteed to still be legible in a hundred years time. But I've got this fab new FP and I reckon it's perfect for the job of signing my little daubs. So, it needs to be waterproof, and sunlight proof. It also needs to be...er... pretty and unobtrusive. Okay, so I want it to stay put and not fade but I don't want vibrant pink that's going to scream out at anyone off the paper. A sort of muted lilac would probably be okay, or a grey but black isn't going to work.

Any ideasfor makes and colours? Should I just stick with the pencil?

Noodler's Ink has "bulletproof" black and blue inks.
I hope this helps you.

http://www.luxurybrandsusa.com/noodlers/

Ooooh fanks The blue might work...

For some other permanent inks by Noodlers, you could check out www.swisherpens.com and www.pendemonium.com. No affiliation with either, just a happy repeat customer to both. You can also check out the Ink Reviews forum to get a good look at some of them.

Thanks Southpaw...will go take a look...

Good grief Roy, you're obsessed! I'll go take a look anyway...

I do some watercolor also Pechez. I'll chime in with the consensus and recommend Noodler's. I think all of the Noodler's inks are UV resistant, and I've done my own fade tests to make sure.

I want my Inks to be as lightfast as my paints. /:)

Well I know this topic is a bit old now but my Eternal Blue turned up today. Oooooh the excitment! (I know, I should get out more...)

So the object of the exercise was to have a good waterproof ink to use to sign my watercolours. I've done it. Here it is, in all its glory. Is the signature too intrusive?

Guess it would have been okay if I hadn't snnezed just as I took the photo

Blue signature stands out but not to the point of being obtrusive, perhaps because it works well with other cool colors. Were your watercolor to be dominated by ligher colors, it may not work as well. You, being an artist, could make that decision far better than someone looking at a computer screen.

Clarity of the fountain pen signature adds rather than retracts from the image, in my opinion -- for whatever that may be worth.

David

Okay, let's try this again...

Thanks David. I suppose I'll have to get a wider selection of ink colours, depending on what I'm painting.

Good grief, wot, no red??? Well this particular daub is being listed on ebay in about 5 minutes. Lets see what the punters think of it...

Wonderful painting Peachez! /:) The Eternal Blue makes a nice soft signature that won't fade away.
I'll have to try that blue next. I've been using the Swishmix/Noodler's Tahitian Pearl for similar reasons and I'm real pleased with it.

Love the painting, Miss P - watercolor is such a tricky medium to boot - great background shading - what's your seller name, if you don't mind me asking? You can PM that if you'd prefer.

Some have already recommended trusty Noodlers and I must add my praise, too. You could try their Legal Lapis (Pendemonium) or Swisher/Noodler Tahitian Pearl (really like a permanent midnight blue, just lovely). Perhaps Verdun (also sold by Swisher) might be nice, too, if you do primarily bucolic/floral scenes. I'm not affiliated with either place just a very happy repeat customer - top notch service from both on-line stores. Just my 2 cents.

Krz - thanks for the compliment. I looked at at Tahitan Pearl but I don't think it's permanent so it put me off. How about this for a wild idea...I'll say it quietly... how about using watercolour to sign my little daubs? I mean, I could use some of the paint already used on the painting so that it tones in? Is that going to wreck the pen I wonder? Logic tells me that it's just pigment, mixed with water - right? Heck, it can't be that simple.

Thanks Kelly. Yup, watercolour is tricky. I only started this daubing lark to keep my son company. He was having a really rubbish time with his art studies, lacked confidence so I decided to take up painting as I thought I'd be terrible and my boy could feel really superior. I asked him what was the most difficult medium to paint in and he said watercolour, so fine - I'll do that then! That was about 18 months ago. I am still learning but I've picked up a few tricks along the way. I hate waiting for paint to dry so I just shove the painting in the oven on a low heat for 5 minutes. It works for me My ebay id is Peachez111

Thanks for the colour suggestions. It's a real pain not to have more of a choice when buying Noodler's in the UK. I've only found one stockest and they don't carry the full range.

Okay Roy - break out the Cayenne and write out one hundred times 'I must not sweet talk Peachez into using red ink...' You can do that during morning recess and report to my office at the end of school so that I can grade your work...

Hi Peachez,

That sounds like a great idea IF you use a dip pen.

I would not put watercolour in a fountain pen, unless you want to spend a long time stripping it down and cleaning it out after.

I know out local Art Shop sells some watercolour based inks for drawing and suitable dip pens, that could be an idea.

I need to find out about this as my better half is a watercolour artist too.

Jim

Tahitian Pearl is labeled "Eternal" so it has virtually the same waterproofness [sic] and sunproofness [sic again] as Noodler's Black and Luxury Blue. The only difference is that it is not as resistant to the highly concentrated bleach solutions that fraud artists might use to lift writing from a document or check.

Great color!

Wow, just looked at your eBay listings... fantastic... I absolutely love the poppies....
Hey Roy... they are RED poppies...

Peachez, I used to keep a set of Inoxcrom fountain pens filled with my favourite watercolors. These were $1 Flea Mkt. pens and used cartridges I filled with an ink syringe. They worked surprisingly well!

I don't think I would use a splendid pen for watercolor though. It worked best with artist quality watercolor paints. I use mostly Maimeriblu that has a quality Gum Arabic for the binder.

It was also hard the keep the strength of the mix consistant. I stopped that practice when I discovered Winsor & Newton Calligraphy inks for fountain pens. They are pigmented, vivid and don't fade easily. They work best in pens that are real wet, I use Rotring Cores which are real gushers.

That said, after learning about Noodler's from the FPN Inkmeisters I am gradually switching to Noodler's inks which are dye based but have great UV protection and I can use it in any pen. I will still use the Winsor & Newton inks for a few colors.

Best of luck,

Wow Peachez! I can't believe you just started with watercolor. Just beautiful! Have you done other kinds of art in the past?

Wow, Miss P! just checked the Ebay stuff and cannot believe you've only been at this 18 months...great work, keep going!!

Very glad to read that you ship to the US as I'll bidding on one soon

Edit: shipping comment

Also Peachez; when I'm not drawing my little ACEO art cards I'm painting Watercolors, although I tend to work small.

I belong to a little group on eBay called "Watercolors Wet and Wild". If you are so inclined you're welcome to check us out.

The group is dedicated to painting watercolors and selling them on eBay. Plenty of hints and tips. We have beginers and very accomplished artists in the group, and they are a friendly bunch.

Just tell them KUDZUKRZ sent you. That's my eBay user name but they know me as krz.

All the best,

Oh Roy, this is tooooo bad. Look, the trouble is, keeping the redhead in! Letting it out? Heck, the world aint ready for it. You are not helping me in my quest to be a sensible middle aged woman....oh who cares...bring it on

Thanks Jim, you just saved me hours of time with the business end of a scrubbing brush, cleaning out my nice new Waterman. I guess a dip pen is the way to go, if I'm being sensible about it. It's just that now I've been seduced by my fab new pen, I don't want to use anything else for scribbling my name. The answer I think is TO BUY LOTS OF FAB NEW FP's!!! And then I can go wild and buy shedloads of Noodler's so that I have a pen inked and ready for every occasion!

Well that sounds just fine to me. So, Tahitian Pearl it is. I wonder if I can get sponsership from Noodler's. <Note to self, find out MDs name - e-mail him mercilessly...>

You see Griz, this is my point PERZACTLY! I love red; paint a lot in red, wear a lot of red but that Roy fella thinks I'm just a drab blue kinda gal. Don't tell him different please and thank you for your kind words on my little daubs

Krz,

Well I'm a big fan of W&N watercolours - don't use anything else. I really do like what I see (and feel) of Noodler's tho' and as you say, you can use them in any FP. The answer then is, more pens!

Hi Elaine....er no, aint never done anything remotely arty. Like I say, picked up a brush 18 months ago and have probably wiped out a whole forest of paper along the way. I still bin more than I keep and to this day, there isn't one painting of my own hung in my home.

I'm blushing Kelly. I have to tell you that this stuff I daub really isn't that great. There are really good watercolourists out there who have forgotten more than I'll ever know. Somehow though I've started to make a living at it. Nobody has yet returned anything because it was too horrid and some folks actually ask me to paint stuff for them. I always ask them when they last had an eye test. The fun for me is in painting them.

If you are remotely serious about bidding on anything you *must* let me know. I always do 'mates rates' on postage. I guess I'm just slightly embarrassed that anyone likes them.

Oooooh, I like the sound of the 'Wet and Wild' bunch. Maybe if I get brave enough, I'll stick my head in and have a look... Meantime I have some indigo moonlight drying in the oven...

Precisely!

Oh, she's baking yummy pictures , how does edible watercolour taste?

I had the same reaction!

Roy/Elaine,

I AM Nanny Ogg! I've got saggy knees and I wear sensible shoes and my hair is scattered with free genetic highlights and I can't see too well and I think everyone should wear a vest, winter and summer and policeman look very young and I own a handbag the size of a small continent...and...oh heck, you get the idea

I burnt it. No seriously, I did. I forgot I left it drying in the oven and this evening, switched the thing on to the 'nuclear' setting so I could cook a lasagna and ten minutes later...flames, nasty smell and no more indigo moonlight

Where did you see a pic of her? I didn't see anything in the profile about adding a pic?