In Lieu of Flowers


by Eruanne Calie

This piece is so me. I know many can relate. I ask my hubby to give me art supplies instead of flowers for Valentine’s Day. He does and usually with flowers.

Everything Calligraphy asked me to come up with a drawing featuring the most romantic inks I can think of and after deliberation, I opted for Noodler’s Black Swan Family Trio.

On 52gsm Tomoe River Paper, I rendered this ink bouquet initially in pencil then inked it with Staedtler Mars Matic 0.3.

Then came the fun part: colouring! For the bouquet wrap, Blue Nose Bear and for the ribbon and wrap trimmings, Black Swan in Australian Roses. For ink vials in lieu of roses, it had to be Black Swan in English Roses.

These inks are lovely to draw and write with. Blue Nose Bear has a turquoise halo—beware it tends to feather; I use it only with Pilot EFs—and is unmatched in uniqueness in the teal colour group. Black Swan in Australian Roses remains my favourite ink and becomes a lovely pink when washed. Its English counterpart may be flat with very little to no shading—under-appreciated, sob—but its ease of cleaning, non-feathering, and non-staining properties make it an ink with a cult following.

Is there a completist in you? If there is, gift yourself or ask your significant other to gift you with a complete set of Noodler’s Black Swan Family. I’m sure you’ll treasure the set as I do. These inks may not be for daily writing, but they surely will not be ignored when there is a need to be romantic.


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