L’Artisan Pastellier Callifolio – Oconto

October 1, 2017

L’Artisan Pastellier Callifolio – Oconto

I’ve recently rebottled my Callifolio inks, which made me realize that I haven’t used this ink in quite a while (because my old bottles inconveniently had necks too narrow for a pen section to fit). EDIT: to be clear, the inconvenient bottles I was using were my own bottles, not the manufacturer's. I bought the inks in pouch form, because it was cheaper than buying bottled, and put them in my own spare containers. It turns out I like it a lot more now than when I last used it, probably close to a year ago. Like most other Callifolio inks, it is a somewhat gentle color, with modest lubrication and wetness, and good behavior in all other regards. I believe this ink was named after the Oconto River in Wisconsin (I couldn’t discover what is so significant about the Oconto River, but I also couldn’t find anything else called “Oconto.” Following the advice of Sherlock Holmes, I’m forced to conclude that this river is indeed the namesake of the ink).

The ink is a somber blue with a noticeable amount of grey, green, and purple, making it a more complex color than I initially thought. Seeing the ink in larger quantities (like the smear) and mixed with water made its undertones easier to observe. In writing, I’d call the color a muted blue-grey, in which you can’t really see the other components apart from a touch of green. It’s got a tiny bit of red sheen when heavily pooled, but there is essentially none in writing. It shades decently in drier nibs, but in wetter ones (like the one I used in this review) the ink flows too freely to make much of a contrast, but a good amount is still visible on the non-TR paper. I surprisingly couldn’t find a blue quite like it in my collection. There are so many blues out there that I can usually find something close enough to draw comparisons, but Oconto seems to be relatively unique among my inks. In writing, it’s somewhere between Aonibi and Tsuki-Yo, but in the smears they’re clearly all different in hue. At the end of the day, I think this is a curious blue, but it doesn’t quite show off all of its charms in ordinary writing, where it is attractive yet unassuming.

Lubrication: Medium-Low (I don’t find it dry, but it has a watery consistency)

Shading: Medium, depending on nib

Sheen: Barely. Basically none.

Water Resistance: Moderate High (Blue and green comes off, leaving an easily readable purple)

Other notes: I found the wash really interesting on this one! The purple tends to stay in place, while the green tends to migrate to the wet edges, and the blue sort of diffuses throughout, leaving a natural gradient. Makes it look like I did something fancy when in reality I just threw around at random!

The following sample was done with a Franklin-Christoph 65 (Broad Stub) on Tomoe River (52gsm, white, loose-leaf). Doodle was done with a size 0 liner and size 3/0 mop, no pen. Flex writing was done with a Leonardt Principal dip nib.

Bad Scanner Disclaimer: The photo turned out pretty accurately. The doodle has a touch too little green, but the smear and comparisons are all quite decent. The scan took a lot more tinkering, but it ended up pretty close to life, with a bit too much red and too little green. Between the two, I’d say the photo is better except for the doodle, where the reddish purple really is supposed to be as strong as it is in the scan (hard to believe based on the writing color, I know...)

Scan:

Photo:

Comparison inks from left to right (big smear is the featured ink):

Kyo no Oto Aonibi, Pilot Iroshizuku Tsuki-Yo, L’Artisan Pastellier Callifolio Omi Osun, Sailor Nano Sei-Boku, Diamine Majestic Blue

Writing Samples (scans; I didn’t alter the color balance, but I did reduce saturation, because the scan came out extremely bright) from Charles Yu’s “Standard Loneliness Package”

Maruman Mnemosyne:

Tsubame Fool’s University:

Kokuya Campus:

Edited October 1, 2017 by crahptacular

October 1, 2017

Excellent review. I would say it improved - Oconto went through two or three color changes and I quite like what you present. I don't know why but I really enjoy these inks.

October 1, 2017

This is not an ink I would choose, but the painting is beautiful as usual.

It seems odd that a manufacturer would package fountain-pen ink in bottles with necks too narrow to accommodate a pen.

October 1, 2017

This is not an ink I would choose, but the painting is beautiful as usual.

It seems odd that a manufacturer would package fountain-pen ink in bottles with necks too narrow to accommodate a pen.

Oh, I will edit my review to clarify this. I bought these inks in pouches from Vanness (they're much cheaper that way than bottled) and put them in my own spare bottles I had laying around. I don't have any of the actual Callifolio bottles.

October 1, 2017

Super review - keep on the good work. We never tire of your beautiful drawings. I like this ink a lot, like you say: a rather unique blue. Like all Callifolio inks a bit subdued, but that’s the way I prefer my inks.