Pen And Ink

Pen and ink is a method of drawing and writing at the same time, the pen is used instead of a brush and the ink can have various colors, even though the most popular one is black. The image might look like made up of several others, something like overlapping sketches. Pen and ink also stand for elegant writing and the art of calligraphy.

Calligraphy is known to be the art of beautiful writing, a modern definition would describe it as the artistic way of giving form and meaning to signs in a skillful manner. Various types of pens create different kinds of lines, some produce more delicate signs other have a broader nib to create a thicker mark.

Most artists consider the ballpoint pen and the fountain pen as being inadequate when used as artistic tools, since they are accused of lacking in sensitivity. The majority of pen and ink practitioners suggest the technique of quill pens for best possible results. Despite most appreciations there are many who use a simple ballpoint pen for a quick but rather modest sketch since it is not always possible to carry a pot of ink with you.

On the other hand, many technical pen and ink artists use the Rotring Rapidograph to draw lines of regular width and consistency and they use special ink created for the purpose. In the beginning, the pen was used more as a tool for illustrating a building, a natural corner or a person. Beginning with Robert Crumb in 1970, rapidographs have been the pens considered standard tools in the pen and ink drawings.

Between 1644 and 1912, the pen and ink art was one of the most appreciated, particularly in imperial China and Korea. The Arabic culture is in its turn profoundly based on pen and ink creations as with the rise of the Islam, representations of living beings was forbidden.

Some Arabic writers draw the letters in a way that would relate them to the live image but without representing them directly. The Hebrew and Aramaic calligraphy was also unique in its time and was considered a symbol until the 10th century when it reached its highest peak of development.

In the Western world, the first pen and ink artwork was the one from the Winchester and Canterbury manuscripts dated back to the 9th century; expressive figures and animals were represented in a beautiful way that amazes us even today. In the Georgian and Victorian times pen and ink was used primary for fast sketches during short spontaneous artistic moments.

George Romney was recognized as the first person who represented a person using an incredible small number of lines. In the 19th century, this European artist transformed the new pen and ink technique into a complete form of art.