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As a keen sailor, there's nothing quite like getting stuck into a marine painting. I knew when Randall Blue Black was created that it would be a very good writing ink, but what I didn't appreciate at that time, was how special it is for marine painting too. My scenes from the East Coast of England were chosen to demonstrate the very subtle chromatography, the inherent serendipity and the depth of tonal range that Randall can offer. I used Bockingford 200lb rough watercolour paper as the surface with 4 synthetic brushes of various sizes for all the wash work and my Kaweco Steel Sport with an extra fine gold nib for the very dark detailed line work. For some of the highlight areas I have used diluted bleach and am delighted that those areas bleached out really clean AND... I have been able to go back in again and work over the top! From a purist point of view, I'm particularly pleased, because for some years now, I have been trying to find a natural and seamless progression for fountain pen inks to not just be used for handwriting but also as a credible painting and illustration medium too. To be able to emulate those far eastern art traditions where writing and imagery become a single harmonious art form - bonded together by the single medium. In a way, I'm taking the traditional India ink line and wash genre, which has been used in journal keeping for centuries, but instead of keeping it monochrome or using watercolour paints to add colour, I'm attempting to revolutionise the genre through utilising the serendipity and chromatic behaviours of coloured fountain pen inks which also keeps the genre pure. There's still a way to go but I'm now confident that the goal is achievable.