L'Artisan Pastellier Callifolio Bonne Esperance

[Matthew TWP]

 

This is an ink that I bought a couple of years ago but just ran across it this week and something about the color inspired me to attempt a little ink-painting, since it reminds me so much of the pale blue-grey of the clouds and rain around here in the Seattle winter. An interesting thing about this ink, though, is that when it's wet it's clearly a blue grey, but as it dries, it turns into a decidedly more green one.

 

Both of these swatches are the same ink on the same paper (Tomoe River 68gsm), but of course, one is wet and one is dry.

 

 

Anyway, this ink is sold in the pie-wedge shaped bottle that is familiar to those of us who buy Diamine's 150yr Anniversary inks, but it is also sold in larger pouches. I bought mine from Cult Pens at a very reasonable price (£7.49) I thought, and I got a few more at the same time. I wonder if these are manufactured by Diamine for Callifolio?

 

 

 

Although the color changes when it dries, I don't see a whole lot of difference between different papers. In the photo below, it's swatched on a Col-o-ring, Tomoe River 68gsm, Cosmo Air Light, and Rhodia dot.

 

 

 

 

The color is similar to a few other inks that I own, but not an exact match. Most are greener or bluer or more saturated. It's always nice when I find that I don't have several inks that are exactly the same color.

 

 

This is a well behaved ink, with no bleeding problems or feathering, although I haven't really tested it on any really cheap papers yet. Flow is quite good, but not sloppy, and it feels very smooth with all of the nibs that I used to test it, which is a nice change. It has a decent amount of shading, and looks great on warm or cool toned papers, imho. Dry time also seems pretty average, but I didn't do any formal tests.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And that's that, for now. My little painting below.

 

 

 

[namrehsnoom]

Beautiful review, and I love the drawing you did. So nice to see fountain pen inks used in a more artistic way. I also feel inks have the potential to be more than just writing fluids.

I found the ink to be a bit on the dry side in my usual pens, and requiring wetter pens for a pleasurable writing experience. The colour has grown a bit on me over the years… I like it more today than I used to a couple of years back. But I still like Olifants more 😉

[LizEF]

Thank you!  I love this color.  Dry-schmy!  Add some White Lightning or glycerine!  This and Bleu Equinoxe (5) are both lovely and worth the extra effort.  I want to try Oliphants and another, Bosphore?  something like that.  Anywho, your painting is lovely and your photographs excellent as always.  Thanks for another bit of eye candy.

[mizgeorge]

Lovely! I particularly like the picture - instantly recognisable.

 

19 minutes ago, Matthew TWP said:

I wonder if these are manufactured by Diamine for Callifolio

I'm pretty sure L'Artisan Pastellier makes their own inks - they have a huge number of ranges, including fountain pen, calligraphy and artists' inks, as well as pastels and more. I tend to buy direct from them - the pouches in particular are very good value, even taking into account the shipping, if you buy a few. 

 

I believe they also make (or made) ink for Papier Plume. 

[amberleadavis]

Wonderful review, thank you.

 

And yes, I believe @mizgeorge is correct, these inks are made by L'AP.

[Matthew TWP]

40 minutes ago, namrehsnoom said:

Beautiful review, and I love the drawing you did. So nice to see fountain pen inks used in a more artistic way. I also feel inks have the potential to be more than just writing fluids.

I found the ink to be a bit on the dry side in my usual pens, and requiring wetter pens for a pleasurable writing experience. The colour has grown a bit on me over the years… I like it more today than I used to a couple of years back. But I still like Olifants more 😉

 

32 minutes ago, LizEF said:

Thank you!  I love this color.  Dry-schmy!  Add some White Lightning or glycerine!  This and Bleu Equinoxe (5) are both lovely and worth the extra effort.  I want to try Oliphants and another, Bosphore?  something like that.  Anywho, your painting is lovely and your photographs excellent as always.  Thanks for another bit of eye candy.

 

28 minutes ago, mizgeorge said:

Lovely! I particularly like the picture - instantly recognisable.

 

I'm pretty sure L'Artisan Pastellier makes their own inks - they have a huge number of ranges, including fountain pen, calligraphy and artists' inks, as well as pastels and more. I tend to buy direct from them - the pouches in particular are very good value, even taking into account the shipping, if you buy a few. 

 

I believe they also make (or made) ink for Papier Plume. 

 

Thanks! 

 

When I bought this, I also got Olifants and and Equinoxe (5), and I like all of them, but haven't really used any of them much over the past year until this week. Not sure if it's variation in the ink or if I'm just not a great judge, but my Bonne Esperance doesn't seem dry at all... not in fountain pens or in glass pens (which is usually what I use to judge flow). 

 

I haven't purchased any of the pouches yet, but they seem like a great idea for refills. 

[Matthew TWP]

1 minute ago, amberleadavis said:

Wonderful review, thank you.

 

And yes, I believe @mizgeorge is correct, these inks are made by L'AP.

 

Ahh, just chose the same bottles, then. There are quite a few inks made at a factory in Austria and sold by different brands, I understand, so I thought that perhaps Diamine was doing the same thing.

[PithyProlix]

All in all, L'AP are my favorite inks. No doubt they make the ink themselves, as well as calligraphy inks, pastels, watercolors, and fabric dye. I have found it most cost effective to order them direct in quantity to offset shipping, which is actually not terribly high - he has used La Poste to Thailand and it has been as quick as could be expected.

 

I have had a bit of bleeding - not a lot and just small 'points' of ink - with Bonne Esperance on the paper I usually use for normal writing - Muji 'planted tree' paper - which seems to be pretty anomalous for both their inks and that paper - but I still like BE a lot. 

 

I am a former Seattle area resident of about 15 years. I loved the winter colors there - there is something really great and 'right' about the green flora against the grey skies, with the cooler parts of the spectrum dominating all around. (Do I see Gas Works park in your art?) 

 

Thanks for the great review and wonderful photos! Also for the peek at PenBBS 519, which has been on my want list. 

 

[yazeh]

Thank you for such a beautiful review. I especially loved the artwork. 🙏

The inks are made by AP if you check their website:

https://artisanpastellier.com/presentation/histoire-de-lartisan-pastellier/

I'm too lazy to translate but I'm sure Google or Safari will do an adequate job. 

But the insist on not using solvents and using "natural" ingredients and old times recipes. Though I guess, that has to do with their art supplies...

[Matthew TWP]

17 hours ago, PithyProlix said:

I loved the winter colors there - there is something really great and 'right' about the green flora against the grey skies, with the cooler parts of the spectrum dominating all around. (Do I see Gas Works park in your art?) 

 

I moved here as a child in 1988 from Montana, where winters were very harsh, and for a couple of years I absolutely loved Seattle winters. I loved how the rhododendrons and sword ferns stayed green all year, and on the odd occasion that it snowed, we'd get a day or two off of school. But once the novelty wore off, the endless months of grey skies started to take their toll. These days, I really need to escape and get a few days of sunshine every now and then to be able to appreciate the winter weather here... though I do still appreciate it most of the time. Especially if I can walk down to the waterfront and get a good bowl of clam chowder or crab chowder and a hot cup of tea.

 

6 hours ago, yazeh said:

The inks are made by AP if you check their website

 

Thanks for the link! My French is terrible, and I haven't been to France since the turn of the century, but my French pronunciation has caused peels of laughter in Morocco much more recently, so I'm not missing out entirely. But the next time that I'm in the Toulouse area, it looks like I'll have to check out their storefront AND their manufacturing facility. I bet I'd be able to find someone who would be interested in a mini-documentary.

[PithyProlix]

7 hours ago, Matthew TWP said:

I moved here as a child in 1988 from Montana, where winters were very harsh, and for a couple of years I absolutely loved Seattle winters. I loved how the rhododendrons and sword ferns stayed green all year, and on the odd occasion that it snowed, we'd get a day or two off of school. But once the novelty wore off, the endless months of grey skies started to take their toll. These days, I really need to escape and get a few days of sunshine every now and then to be able to appreciate the winter weather here... though I do still appreciate it most of the time. Especially if I can walk down to the waterfront and get a good bowl of clam chowder or crab chowder and a hot cup of tea.

 

I just liked the winter colors, not the weather - I particularly dreaded the lack of sunlight. I got there in November 2005 at the very start of a near-record for number of consecutive days without sun - something around 60, if I remember correctly - and I was wondering if moving there had been a terrible decision. I eventually figured out that if I kept active outside, no matter if it was dark and wet, it was much more tolerable. 

 

And now I am thinking about trying to find a green ink that matches the feel of the Fir, Cedar, Hemlock, and such against those grey winter skies. Might have to be a mix ... (also craving a coffee ...) 

 

Thanks again for another great review. Your photos do a really incredible job of capturing the colors of the inks you are showing. 

[PithyProlix]

On 2/6/2022 at 6:52 AM, LizEF said:

I want to try Oliphants and another, Bosphore?  something like that. 

 

For the blue-greys I find that Byzance and Gris de Payne show more blue than Bosphore or Baikal in Japanese fines, though all four are beautiful, if subtle, colors. Haven't tried Botany Bay yet. I recall both you and I were a bit bewildered by the violet people were finding in Diamine Earl Grey, so I thought to mention it.

[LizEF]

1 hour ago, PithyProlix said:

 

For the blue-greys I find that Byzance and Gris de Payne show more blue than Bosphore or Baikal in Japanese fines, though all four are beautiful, if subtle, colors. Haven't tried Botany Bay yet. I recall both you and I were a bit bewildered by the violet people were finding in Diamine Earl Grey, so I thought to mention it.

  Thanks!  So many inks, so little time....

[yazeh]

16 hours ago, Matthew TWP said:

 

Thanks for the link! My French is terrible, and I haven't been to France since the turn of the century, but my French pronunciation has caused peels of laughter in Morocco much more recently, so I'm not missing out entirely. But the next time that I'm in the Toulouse area, it looks like I'll have to check out their storefront AND their manufacturing facility. I bet I'd be able to find someone who would be interested in a mini-documentary.

Why not communicate with them before going?

As for French accent, you could blend well easily in Montreal....

 

[Matthew TWP]

10 hours ago, yazeh said:

Why not communicate with them before going?

 

I most certainly will, although I don't actually have any plans on visiting France in the near future. Hopefully that will change in the next year or so.

 

In Monteal, the laughter at my attempted French pronunciation would just bit a little more polite. 😉

[yazeh]

18 minutes ago, Matthew TWP said:

 

 

In Monteal, the laughter at my attempted French pronunciation would just bit a little more polite. 😉

 

[inkstainedruth]

I tried a sample of this ink several years ago.  I dug out my test of it, and was a bit surprised at how much darker and less teal looking it is (compared to the posted images here) -- and that's with being on crummy absorbent paper.  But also thought it was sort of generic and similar to blue-blacks I already had.  

Love the painting, Matthew TWP!

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[Matthew TWP]

3 hours ago, inkstainedruth said:

I tried a sample of this ink several years ago.  I dug out my test of it, and was a bit surprised at how much darker and less teal looking it is (compared to the posted images here) -- and that's with being on crummy absorbent paper.  But also thought it was sort of generic and similar to blue-blacks I already had.  

Love the painting, Matthew TWP!

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

 

Thanks! Glad you like the painting 🙂 I wonder whether the difference is due to variation from batch to batch, or if it's just a matter of presentation... either my photos or a difference because of the paper? But mine definitely is not just a blue black... though it looks like one until it dries. I've really been enjoying using this ink for the past few days, though... I suspect that it will find its way into my pens more often in the future.

 

- Matthew