Daily Impressions

Perhaps it was after my father’s death this May that I came to cherish each moment I have with my family. I have become a bit sensitive to my own memories such that when I was having a quiet dinner with my son -‘Just hanging around and having a pizza dinner’, that I found myself having a nostalgic moment. A young couple...

I am still trying to teach my son part of the list. I realized that parenthood, which is the same as student-hood and saint-hood is a lifelong process. Personality goes a long way. Walk on the outside (closer to the street) of your female companion. Cooking, cleaning, laundry and taking care of kids are things men...

My friend was able to unhook me from the internet for a few hours. We walked to the nearest Starbucks and I ordered my regular double-shot, iced-shaken raspberry coffee to get my brain working. As I settled down on one of the couches and stared at the people chatting animatedly, I couldn’t help but notice that the...

My cat has the habit of sitting next to me as I work. It is very distracting. I wouldn’t budge. She would squirm and squeeze herself into place until she falls asleep. When I’d get up to take a break, she’d follow me out of the room and into the kitchen. Once she’s distracted, I’d go back to my room and work in peace. But...

  Still a draft sketch. Still thinking – should I color it or not. No time to finish it though. Just leaving it for the mean time so that I can come back to it later. Like..much much much later. Some people think caricatures are easy. Nope. They’re not. Just because you know how to draw doesn’t mean you can exaggerate...

Even if it is a sketch, a doodle or a simple line drawing – my heart stops and sings. It is a melody filled with lines, curves and color. I love it. I really do. I have always loved sketching, cartooning… mainly doodling. Time stops for me each time I do it. I just never believed myself good enough to make anything out...

I tried using the wire coil reservoir on the Hunt 101 nib. I was as frustrated as anything because I couldn’t get the coil to stay put. The Hunt nib flexes so much that the nib would always get displaced. Then a thought struct me – why not put it under the nib and let it simulate what feeds do for fountain pens. And...

When I get stressed with work, one of the things I do is watch TV shows as a way of winding down before sleeping. I shouldn’t have done that – not with Game of Thrones. Not only did I have Jeoffrey’s purple face in my head, I had this image of Tyrion holding the cup and being blamed for the King’s death. I love...

Here’s another way of putting it on top of a nib. Same instructions as posted, only positioned differently because the nib’s too thin and small. I also found out that dip pens are PERFECT with tracing paper.

This one is a different nib. It is smaller and more flexible. The wire reservoir must be partially touching the slit.       How much ink can this nib hold without a reservoir? Another single dip illustration.

I’m doing this instructional piece to document my experiments on creating the ‘best’ DIY dip pen reservoir. The best meaning – it can hold a lot of ink and at the same time, easier to create and maintain. I only had pictures as reference from the different fountain pen forums when I looked up “wire reservoirs for...

I still can’t believe it. It works! I was skeptical because I kept wondering how something like that could affect ink flow and just how much ink can it really hold. I guess it is just a big hassle because you have to do this every time you use a dip pen.

I never thought that doodling had its advantages until now. My friend Mars introduced me to the world of zentangles a few weeks back. Watching her draw was hypnotic. It wasn’t until I did my first serious doodle that I actually caught the bug. It was a wonderful way to take a break and collect one’s thoughts. One...

I am impatient. It shows in everything I do. Which is why it takes a lot for me to be patient when doing something – anything. From cooking to coding. I have to find something to distract me while I wait. That’s when I browse, do something else or in this case, practise getting used to my pens. I used the 6mm pen for...