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Kum Memory Point Brushes

KUM’s Memory Point brushes solve, or at least help with, three of the biggest problems artists face with existing brushes. If you use paint brushes, and have any of these problems, you’ll want to try them:

Most brushes lose their shape easily, and don’t spring back to shape while you work. Start painting fine detail with the tip of the brush, add pressure to spread the brush, and it doesn’t spring back to a fine point. Memory Point brushes do.
They’re hard to clean, and are never as good after a few uses. The bristles get out of shape after a few paintings and cleanings, and you’re left either using a brush that isn’t as good as it was, or replacing a brush that hasn’t seen as much use as you’d like. KUM’s brushes are easier to clean, and they return to their original shape so they last much longer than other brushes.
You usually find brushes work well with one media, but not as well with others. A brush that’s great with acrylic doesn’t always work well with watercolour. Memory Point brushes work well with every type of media - if you work with more than one type of paint, this could save you space and money!

Because we aren’t artists ourselves, we have limited knowledge of brushes, so before we decided to stock these we found a couple of local artists to test them for us. Jen Dixon had this to say:

The KUM Memory brushes are the perfect brush range for my mixed media approach to art and illustration on paper. The bristles hold watercolour, gouache, inks, acrylics - anything I throw at them - and perform with a beautiful, expressive bounce, but retain their shape. The KUM Memory brushes are smooth and responsive as they glide across the surface, and it would be very easy to mistake these brushes for a far more expensive series. The finish to the handles is a glossy, faintly metallic white which wipes clean easily and feels great in the hand. The weight is good, the ferrule rock solid and seamless, and even after using inks the bristles show minimal staining.

— Jen Dixon, Artist

Jen works mostly in mixed media abstract and figurative painting. She is also an illustrator, writer, and teaches life-drawing. Originally from Indiana, she now lives and works in Cornwall, not too far from Cult Pens.

Jen Dixon
Cult Pens blog post: Artist of the Month, December 2013

The Artist of the Month for this month's Penorama newsletter, Will McCarthy, also tried the brushes out for us, and was also impressed. He painted these portraits to test them:

KUM Memory Point brushes

Posted on August 12, 2015

What's the Appeal of Colouring for Adults?

Sounds a bit silly, really, doesn't it? Adult colouring? Hmmm. Perhaps a pastime for people with not an awful lot to do? But then again, perhaps not. Perhaps it's the perfect antidote to the stress we adults insist on subjecting ourselves to every day. After all, compared to other methods of relaxation it's cheaper than a Swedish massage and less fattening than a cream cake.

Why Colouring In?

So why colouring in, as opposed to, say, a good book? Well, pleasurable though it is, reading doesn't free your mind the way that colouring in does. Like it or not, it requires a certain amount of concentration; if your mind wanders (and it really shouldn't, otherwise you should probably try a different book), you lose track of what's going on. Indulging in a spot of inking, however, doesn't require much thought beyond choosing which picture to colour in, and which colours to use. And it's exactly this type of repetitive, methodical occupation that allows the human brain to relax and loosen up and wander away with the fairies a bit, inducing in its owner a feeling of peace and contentment. It's then, when the brain is immersed in a metaphorical bubble-bath with a glass of wine to hand and Ella Fitzgerald on the stereo (if that's your thing - other music is available), that solutions to problems become apparent, or previously insurmountable-seeming situations appear a little less daunting. Colouring in seems to have the same meditative effect as repetitive sports such as running or swimming. There is a lower capacity for calorie-burning, of course, but at least there's less risk of spraining an ankle or drowning.

It's also, in a way, a retreat to childhood. After all, colouring in is what kids do. But how does regression to being a child again help with stress-busting? Well, there are lots of advantages in being under sixteen: children don't have the millstone of a mortgage around their necks; they don't have to deal with insurance companies; they happily eat slabs of white bread spread thickly with butter without fear of an instant heart attack. So, in a small way, undertaking a typical childhood occupation is a way to shake off the shackles of adulthood and enjoy a period of peaceful creativity. It's undemanding, there are no qualifications required or deadlines looming, and you can't do it wrong; nobody is standing over you waiting impatiently for a result of some sort.

French Cooking to French Colouring?

So why has this particular form of relaxation gripped us with enough enthusiasm to spawn practically a whole industry devoted to the provision of paraphernalia for adult colouring (or 'art therapy' as some would have it). Many blame the French. They have turned from cooking to colouring, if you look at recent book sales in France, and the benefits of using colours to calm down, instead of food, have succeeded in making their way across the Channel. We like their food and their wine and their fashion designers, so why not their methods of chilling out and winding down?

It's non-intrusive, for one thing. Colouring in doesn't disrupt your day; you don't have to religiously put aside, say, an hour, to do it, like you would if you'd booked an exercise class. That sort of organisation engenders its own form of stress, as you worry about fitting in all the other things you have to do around your 'hour of relaxation'.

It's creative (admittedly so is knitting, but there are only so many woolly jumpers a person can own or foist upon others), and because you're a grown-up, you don't have to stop at simply blocking in white space. You can try blending, or hatching; you can use ten different shades of green for a single leaf; you can be minimalist, and use a single colour to fill in only some bits of the picture. And you can then either keep your creations to yourself, or decorate your house with them.

It provides escapism. Adult colouring might not be as exotic as two weeks in Tahiti (it’s a magical place), but it IS a way of forgetting that you're the CEO of a multi-national: you can swap your pigskin briefcase and pin-stripes for lounge pants and a hoodie, and ditch the laptop in favour of a colouring book. If you really are a CEO you can probably afford Tahiti as well. And you can colour in on the plane!

You don't need any special equipment, like a Jacuzzi or a recording of whale song (nice though those are). There's no reliance on electricity (apart from a light, perhaps, on a winter's evening, though there are always candles…) and you don't need to GO anywhere, although you can if you want to: colouring in is very portable.

And it's cheap. Well, it won't break the bank. While an intricately-illustrated adult colouring book and a pack of good quality pens may work out a bit pricier than a few yoga classes in the village hall, at least it won't involve shoe-horning yourself into Lycra or trying to touch your forehead with your toes. Colouring in is definitely cheaper than a twenty year old bottle of malt. Or a bungee-jump, if that's your idea of chilling out. It's even free if you have a handy three-year-old that comes complete with crayons, and you don't mind colouring in the parish magazine.

Who's Doing It?

You'd be forgiven, due to the very nature of it, for thinking that the cult-following engendered by adult colouring would be spear-headed by young mums. Surrounded as they are by small people and the daily frustrations that go with trying to be The Perfect Mother, this is entirely understandable. But you'd be mistaken. While colouring in does seem to be more popular with the female of the species, they are by no means necessarily parents. Or young, for that matter. Facebook is alive with countless pages where persons as diverse as dog trainers, academics and hospital consultants swap tips and techniques for adult colouring. The problems life throws at them - be they caused by poodles, students or patients - may be very different, but the methods to deal with them are the same: get out the colouring pencils and have a moment - five minutes, half an hour, the time it takes for adverts to run on the telly - of mindful meditation.

Is This New?

Although the phenomenon of adult colouring has bounced into our consciousness relatively recently, in reality colouring in among adults has been around for a long time. Tales abound of aunts on babysitting duty offering to 'help' a small nephew fill in a racing car, and of grandparents cooped up in a caravan on a wet weekend in Wales passing the time with their grandchildren's crayons. And - while not strictly 'colouring in' - who hasn't doodled madly, or added a moustache to an unwitting celebrity's magazine photograph while on the phone or during a boring meeting. So all you closet colourers out there - come out, come out! It's now OK to be seen doing it. You don't have to make do with a small person's colouring book either, with its simple pictures and dodgy paper; you can have your own stuff - beautiful, intricate designs, far too complicated for the under 10s - and nice, slim pens and pencils in vast colour ranges, nothing chunky or waxy. Because we don't stock crayons; well, not many anyway.

So What Do We Sell?

But we DO stock lots and lots of excellent quality colouring pens and pencils. Staedtler's Triplus Fineliners have metal-clad tips with a line width of just 0.3mm - perfect for tiny little fiddly bits, or when you want to colour one space in with lots of different shades. And when you want to block in a nice big bit, try the less delicate Triplus Colours, with their meatier 1.0mm line width. The ink in both types of pen is water-based yet they can be left uncapped for a few days without fear of them drying out. And the range of colours is outstanding: everything from Bordeaux and Violet to Silver Grey and Warm Sepia.

If pencils are more your thing, Staedtler can cater to you as well, with their Ergosoft Colouring Pencils. Like the Triplus pens, the barrels are triangular and therefore comfortable to hold. But they also sport a very tactile soft coating, which makes you just want to pick them up and use them. Which is good if you're setting out on a colouring-in fest. This coating also serves to reinforce the lead core, which means less chance of breakage. They come presented in a sturdy plastic case, which stands up for ease of pencil-perusing. And the range of colours? Well, just what you'd expect really - lots. (Including Van Dyke Brown, whatever that is…)

At the End of the Day

So the next time you find yourself stumbling through the front door after a hard day's work, head a-buzz with stuff you haven't done, have forgotten to do or simply don't want to do, try to steer yourself away from the drinks cabinet and home in on a packet of pens and a colouring book instead. Your liver will thank you. And so will we.

Posted on July 07, 2015

Laura Barnard: Artist of the Month - February 2015

Every month we ask a different artist to design a banner for our newsletter - Penorama. If you don't already receive Penorama, you can subscribe here.

This month's artist is Laura Barnard, who draws all sorts of different things, but specialises in huge and detailed cityscapes and maps.

Here's the banner Laura designed for us:

Cult Pens: Tell us a bit more about yourself?

Laura: I'm an illustrator who lives in Peterborough but grew up by the sea in Essex. I started out as a painter/fine artist, jumped abruptly into design, and have now settled in a very happy medium between the two as an illustrator.

Cult Pens: How would you describe your work?

Laura: Detailed cityscapes and complex patterns, stylised maps and a few humans all tied together by black line.

Cult Pens: What got you into drawing/illustration?

Laura: I've always drawn and although I took a bit of a wavering path to get here, I don't think there was ever any question in my mind that I would end up doing something like this. There was a point where I thought I might get stuck forever working in a warehouse, but I think I'd have always drawn on the side as well even if that had happened.

Cult Pens: If you weren't an illustrator, what was the back-up plan?

Laura: There wasn't one, so it's lucky it worked out. I have done many varied jobs – some terrible, some verging on the enjoyable – over the years, so I expect I'd have just carried on doing one or other of them. I did make a stab at being a graphic designer at one point but they rightfully rumbled me as someone who just wanted to draw things.

Cult Pens: What are your favourite subjects/topics to draw?

Laura: I quite like complex things and draw a lot of buildings, machines, maps and that sort of thing. I like drawing almost anything though, really. If it's difficult, it's just a challenge. I do have a longstanding and semi-famous hatred of drawing the Gherkin in London though. Soz, Norman. It's a brilliant building, and I love it as a thing, but it's a pain to draw and of course every London cityscape tends to need it somewhere.

Cult Pens: Where do you get your ideas or inspiration from?

Laura: Being out and about, weird books, odd corners of the internet, conversations with people. I try and avoid the obvious sources of inspiration, particularly on the internet, as I think looking too much at that sort of thing can lead to work that follows current trends but doesn't stand out.

Cult Pens: What are you currently working on?

Laura: I'm just finishing something biggish for a client that I can't talk about, and I'm also about to start on a side project that's been brewing for ages and I've finally got the time to work on it. It's continuing a side project I did a year or so ago where I made and sold objects, and I enjoyed it so much I've planned another venture.

Cult Pens: How long does it normally take to complete a project?

Laura: That's so dependent on the job, but anything from an hour to a month depending on how detailed it is.

Cult Pens: What are your top five pens or pencils?

Laura: Ooh! There's a question.

Staedtler Noris and Tradition pencils are just good, nice pencils for drawing stuff
Graphite Aquarelle pencils are really interesting for misty landscapey stuff
Uni-ball Eye pens are great for bog standard drawing
There's some really nice water soluble pastels by Caran d'Ache called Neocolor for bright flashes of colour
And I'm a sucker for a dip pen and a bottle of FW Artists' Acrylic Ink - the black is wonderfully, ominously black and the colours are dazzling. Great stuff.

Cult Pens: Do you prefer black & white or full colour?

Laura: I started off just doing black and white line drawing but I'm moving more and more towards colour. I think it's partly that I work almost exclusively digitally now and colouring on the computer suits me a lot more, and I love that really flat colour you get on the computer. I can definitely see my work moving more and more into colour as time goes on, I think.

Cult Pens: What pen or pencil couldn't you live without?

Laura: A bog standard HB or 2B pencil – I use them all the time. I'm not even that fussy about brand, as long as it's not terrible (there's nothing worse than a terrible pencil).

Cult Pens: Do you know when a work is finished or are you constantly tweaking?

Laura: Obviously, if something isn't right, I'll fix it, but I'm not a huge tweaker. Part of that is often having really tight deadlines – I barely have time to finish them sometimes, let alone tweak. But even for my own stuff, I tend to be happy to just move on to the next thing. I think I'd rather learn from something and perhaps do things differently for the next one. I know for commercial work where there have been a lot of changes, it's rare that the work ends up looking better for a lot of fiddling about and overworking, so I try and bear that in mind for all my work.

Cult Pens: What work are you most proud of?

Laura: I have a bit of a soft spot for this drawing of Bristol. Since then, I've done work that's more complex and probably technically better, but it was the one that sent me down this route to begin with and really began to get my work noticed. It was also before I worked digitally, so it was all drawn on A4 sheets and scanned in – there must have been about 20 or so of them, and I got through loads of those Uniball pens. There's a huge amount of satisfaction in Finishing A Pen.

Cult Pens: What tips do you have for aspiring artists/illustrators?

Laura: Keep going. Almost everyone who gets paid to do this has been knocked back over and over again, and it's not that those have 'made it' have been lucky, it's that they've been tenacious enough to carry on through 99 rejections and still be around for the 100th one. On the other hand, it's also important to realise when something isn't working and to look at a different way to do something. Tricky balance, that.

You can find out more about Laura and her work on her web site: Laura Barnard

3 February 2015

Posted on February 03, 2015

Seymour Yang: Artist of the Month - January 2015

Every month we ask a different artist to design a banner for our newsletter - Penorama. If you don't already receive Penorama, you can subscribe here.

This month's artist is Seymour Yang, known as Meerkatsu, who draws people and animals in a cartoon-like style, with influences from Chinese and Japanese art as well as his sport of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.

Here's the banner Seymour designed for us:

Cult Pens: Tell us a bit more about yourself?

Seymour: I am a 44 year old family man living in London. By day I work for a photo agency editing pictures and sourcing news stories, in the evenings and weekends I train in the martial art sport of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Although rather a niche sport, it is an incredibly vibrant community of practitioners and clothing companies that I create a lot of artwork for.

Cult Pens: How would you describe your work?

Seymour: My artwork is definitely very cartoony. I draw highly stylised human or animal characters. I like using thick pen strokes to outline subjects with lots of cross hatching, saw-tooth shading and stippling for textures. If I use colour, I tend to be very, um, crazy with it.

Cult Pens: What got you into drawing/illustration?

Seymour: I distinctly recall being a small annoying child constantly showing my doodles to my teacher or parents who seemed to react neutrally. Rather than be put off, I have continued to be annoying and love showing off my doodles.

Cult Pens: If you weren't an illustrator, what was the back-up plan?

Seymour: Although I have always freelanced I was never interested in it as a ‘career’. I studied botany for a degree (I got to draw lots of plants at least) and thought I would be a scientist instead. Fast forward several decades and I’m still not a scientist but I do at least get to draw stuff.

Cult Pens: What are your favourite subjects/topics to draw?

Seymour: Cartoony animals mainly - usually doing martial arty things. I quite like fusing two random creatures together to invent new forms – like my dragonfly design, which is a dragon and a dragonfly as one. I guess that’s the twisted scientist in me :/ I also like drawing Japanese or Chinese style demons and monsters.

Cult Pens: Where do you get your ideas or inspiration from?

Seymour: As an animal documentary addict, the natural world is full of crazy and weird stuff all the time so I have no shortage of reference material. Since nearly all my work is done for the grappling and martial arts community, those sports also inspire me to create concepts. Oh and I love following the work of really amazing tattoo artists.

Cult Pens: What are you currently working on?

Seymour: I’m focusing a lot recently on my own brand – Meerkatsu.com. The past 3 or 4 years were spent mainly working freelance for other companies but I realised now was as good a time as any to develop my own line of leisure and sports clothing.

Cult Pens: How long does it normally take to complete a project?

Seymour: I’ll usually spend a few days sketching out roughs in pencil. In between I will be thinking up scenarios in my head too. Once I’m happy, I’ll spend one or two evenings inking up the art which once complete, is scanned into computer for colouring and compositing. I like to use both analogue and digital tools to complete my works.

Cult Pens: What are you top five pens or pencils?

Seymour: Fineliners – (I actually wrote a cool review of several brands) – I am love with the Copic fineliners. They offer the perfect blend of tip hard/softness, pigment richness and handling. They’re pricey compared to other fineliners, I think however if you use black pens a lot, they are worth the money.

Sakura Microns would be my very close second choice pens. I find the barrel a little harder on my hands compared to the Copics however, so for prolonged inking work, I prefer the Copics.

For large expanses of black, a Sharpie does the job excellently. I use two nib sizes, the fineliner version is good for stippling but the ink does spread a bit depending on the paper absorbancy.

For colour, the POSCA marker pens are genius. Seriously amazing. I wish they did more colours or mid tones. Mind you, being colour blind, I like using their kid-friendly palette as it is. Painting on the snapback was fun using the Poscas.

I’m pretty surprised the humble pencil can vary so much in quality. One HB is most certainly NOT like another! I’m liking the Stabilo pencils at the moment. They’re very soft but the graphite cleaves off leaving a rich layer of grey onto the paper giving my pencil lines a really nice almost finished quality.

Cult Pens: Do you prefer black & white or full colour?

Seymour: I have this debate whenever I start a new project. Some works lend themselves better in b/w, others can only work in colour. It helps that most of my work is t-shirt related and the cost effectiveness of a low number of screens is important. Hence I usually choose around four colours to work with.

Cult Pens: What pen or pencil couldn't you live without?

Seymour: For roughs and ideas work, I’m happy grabbing any old thing. My best initial concepts were done with my kids crayons and literally the back of an old envelope. But if I had to choose, my moleskin plain book and a set of Copic fineliners.

Cult Pens: Do you know when a work is finished or are you constantly tweaking?

Seymour: Most clients have a deadline so the job is finished when I can’t tweak any further without risking the clients’ wrath! To be honest, I’m not really much of a tweaker. Once I get started, I work fast and then move onto the next job. If there is subsequent work needed, it’s usually concerning other aspects eg font choice or placement.

Cult Pens: What work are you most proud of?

Seymour: My series of geisha ladies fighting Japanese demons I am very fond if. I’m not a great figure artist, in fact I suck badly, so to draw humans in mid-battle using specific jiu jitsu techniques is quite a challenge. Get it wrong, and my audience would berate me for not depicting the technique properly. The trick also is not to allow my characters to do just any ole grappling technique. A lot of them involve awkward body positioning that would look weird or impossible to enact coming from someone wearing a tightly wrapped kimono. So knowledge of both the sport and the costumes is necessary. It’s incredibly fun and rewarding however so I’m very happy with how the series is developing.

Cult Pens: What tips do you have for aspiring artists/illustrators?

Seymour: Keep drawing and draw every day. Hustle, a lot. I work with a lot of talented photographers in my day job. Some of them hate the social media / hustling for business side of things. But it is essential in order to build up a rep and to get business. The most successful artisans are not necessarily the best at what they do (I’m certainly very low down the illustrator’s pecking order) but they are the best at hustling for business. That’s my opinion anyway.

You can see more of Seymour's work, and buy his designs in many forms, on his website: Meerkatsu

13 January 2015

Posted on January 13, 2015

Wendy Stephens: Artist of the Month - November 2014

Every month we ask a different artist to design a banner for our newsletter - Penorama. If you don't already receive Penorama, you can subscribe here.

This month's artist is Wendy Stephens, also known as Dark Iris, a graphic designer specialising in nature, birds and women

This is the banner Wendy designed for us:

Cult Pens: Tell us a bit more about yourself.

Wendy: Hi! I'm a graphic designer and artist. I started my graphic design business, Dark Iris Design in 2009, but I've been in the business for about 15 years. After the recent birth of my little girl, I have started to re-explore my personal art under the name Dark Iris as well.

Cult Pens: How would you describe your work?

Wendy: I'm such a magpie. I'm constantly trying out new styles and techniques. I like to work in pencil and then ink. I've experimented with acrylics and watercolour, but they were a disaster for me - I like the clean tight lines of pencil and ink drawings. I really struggle to describe it, as I like my work to speak for itself I guess.

Cult Pens: What got you into drawing?

Wendy: I remember checking out a huge book on the art of Walt Disney for a project at primary school and liked to draw the characters from memory. I have always loved drawing, but the revelation that this could be a job was amazing to me and I still can't quite believe I get to do this for a living.

Cult Pens: If you weren’t an artist, what was the back-up plan?

Wendy: There really wasn’t one. I’ve been drawing since I was tiny and I can honestly say there were no other ideas on the drawing board. (That’s a terrible pun, but it really wasn't meant to be!). I like to hide little symbols in my work, as psychology and symbolism have always interested me, so perhaps something down that route?

Cult Pens: What are your favourite subjects to draw?

Wendy: Nature, birds and women. I always find myself coming back to them again and again. Feathers are tricky to ink though.

Cult Pens: Where do you get your inspiration from?

Wendy: Literally everywhere. Growing up, I used to tear out pictures from magazines, or scan photos from books that I liked. Until Pinterest was invented. I’ve cleared out about 3 shelves of paper research by switching to that!

My brain works faster than I can draw, so sometimes I actually write down a description of the picture I have in my head. For example for the piece for Cult Pens I wrote: “A medusa-like woman with horns, flowing hair and a pen headdress". After I started working on the idea of a woman as a physical representation of CULT, I wanted to make the finished piece work almost like a sigil or token to be worn in battle. I liked the idea of the pen being a weapon of creation, so she has a few fountain pens as symbols of previous battles won.

Cult Pens: What are you currently working on?

Wendy: I’m self employed, so I am able to decide what graphic design projects I want to work on. I also have freedom to create the art I want, as I set myself a lot of self-initiated projects. I'm working on a Mexican Day of the Dead piece at the moment, but I have SO many ideas bouncing around my skull, I just need to get them on paper.

Cult Pens: How long does it normally take to complete a project?

Wendy: Before our daughter was born, it actually took much longer to finish a project. Only having a few hours to work on a project each day really focuses your mind to achieve what you need to and leave the unnecessary details out.

Cult Pens: What are your top 5 pens?

Faber Castell Grip Plus 0.7mm. I like the nice chunky barrel, and the 0.7mm lead gives a good line thickness. I have 2 of these; one for blue lead and one for graphite too.

Pilot Neo-X Lead Soft Blue 0.7mm. This is what brought me to Cult Pens. I read a US review but wanted a UK supplier, and bingo! It’s a blue lead that disappears when scanning in black and white, which is ideal for inking.

Uni Pin Black fine liner - 0.5mm. I use these all the time for inking details.

Sharpie. I use these for filling in thicker areas. I recently discovered Metallic sharpies too, which are lovely for finishing details, and no shaking or glooping up!

Parker fountain pen. I have terrible handwriting and always hope a fountain pen will magically correct it! Sadly, it doesn’t but it feels lovely to write with.

Cult Pens: What pen or pencil couldn’t you live without?

Wendy: I got fed up with constantly sharpening pencils, so made the switch to mechanical pencils a few years ago. My boyfriend gave me a Faber Castell Grip Plus 0.7mm mechanical pencil and I love that - much easier to hold than a regular pencil as it has a chunkier barrel.

Cult Pens: Do you know when a work is finished or are you constantly tweaking?

Wendy: Sometimes I ‘finish’ a project but I leave it open on my mac for a few days while I work on something else. If I wander past and something catches my eye I might have a tweak here and there until it just feels right. Or until I get a blinding migraine. Whichever comes first :D

Cult Pens: What work are you most proud of?

Wendy: Hard to say. It’s usually my latest piece, as I am constantly trying to learn new techniques or styles, and if this piece is better than my last then I’m happy!

Cult Pens: What tips do you have for aspiring artists?

Wendy: It's deathly dull advice I'm afraid. Don’t compare yourself to other artists and think ‘I wish I could draw like that’, as there are 10 people that would say ‘I wish I could draw like you!’. Just focus on improving on every piece and you will steadily make progress. Told you it was dull.

Best bit of advice I got was at a talk with Dave Gibbons, the comic book artist who illustrated Watchmen. It was along the lines of ‘If you are friendly, good at what you do, and inexpensive, you will never be out of work” and I try to remember that all the time.

Oh, and never say no to a biscuit.

You can find out more about Wendy and Dark Iris Design at www.darkirisdesign.co.uk

Buy prints and customised items here.

Follow Dark Iris on Facebook and Instagram.

Posted on October 29, 2014

Stina Jones: Artist of the Month - October 2014

Every month we ask a different artist to design a banner for our newsletter - Penorama. If you don't already receive Penorama, you can subscribe here.

This month's artist is Stina Jones, a freelance illustrator and graphic designer based in Manchester.

This is the banner Stina designed for us:

And here's how it will appear in this month's edition of Penorama:

Cult Pens: Tell us a bit more about yourself.
Stina: I’m a freelance illustrator and graphic designer from Manchester, creating imagery for everything from websites and branding, through to large scale artworks for venues and interiors.

Cult Pens: How would you describe your work?
Stina: Fun and a little bit quirky.

Cult Pens: What got you into illustration?
Stina: It’s something I’ve enjoyed for as long as I remember. I loved watching cartoons, doodling and making things as a kid – that coupled with my interest in computers is probably what set me on my path.

Cult Pens: If you weren't an illustrator, what was the back-up plan?
Stina: My background is in print and digital design – which I still enjoy doing from time to time – so if I didn’t take the illustration route with my work, I probably would have invested more time in learning to code websites and apps.

Cult Pens: What are your favourite subjects/topics to draw?
Stina: Surreal scenes, lettering, quirky characters and robots!

Cult Pens: Where do you get your ideas or inspiration from?
Stina: I’m a bit of a daydreamer so anything and everything can spark an idea – from letting my mind wander during a boring commute, to hearing an interesting story. I always keep a sketchbook handy to jot down ideas and rummage back through it if I ever get stuck.

Cult Pens: What are you currently working on?
Stina: Mostly top secret client commissions at the moment which I can’t say much about. I’m also working on a few pieces for The Rusty Alexander Travelling Art Gallery which hit the road in May this year.

Cult Pens: How long does it normally take to complete a project?
Stina: It varies depending on the job - projects can take anything from an afternoon, to a few months to complete.

Cult Pens: What are you top five pens or pencils?
Stina:

1. OHTO Promecha Mechanical Pencil
2. Faber-Castell Pitt Fine Liner
3. Faber-Castell Pitt Brush Pen (Black)
4. Tombow ABT Dual Brush Pen (Gray N75)
5. Sharpie Permanent Markers

Cult Pens: Do you prefer black & white or full colour?
Stina: I flit between the two a lot. At the moment, I’m really enjoying working in black & white, with little pops of colour here and there.

Cult Pens: What pen or pencil couldn't you live without?
Stina: I couldn’t be without my fine liners or my mechanical pencil – they’re my essentials.

Cult Pens: Do you know when a work is finished or are you constantly tweaking?
Stina: I’m definitely a fussy worker - even long after a project is finished I can always find something to nitpick at. I’d keep tinkering forever if it weren’t for deadlines.

Cult Pens: What work are you most proud of?
Stina: It was a while ago now but I’m still proud of the Daily Doodle project I did back in 2010/11, which involved creating 365 hand-drawn doodles to raise funds for the charity Shelter. I learned a lot along the way and owe much of what I’m doing now to the experience gained during project.

Cult Pens: What tips do you have for inspiring illustrators?
Stina: Be confident in what you do but remember there’s always room to evolve. Practice relentlessly and make time to try out new styles and techniques - even if the work never ends up being shared or published, it’s always worth the effort.

You can find out more about Stina, and discover more of her work, at the links below:

Web: www.stinajones.co.uk
Twitter: @stina_jones
Facebook: www.facebook.com/SJ.Illustration
Behance: www.behance.net/stinajones
Flickr: www.flickr.com/photos/stina-jones
Tumblr: stina-jones.tumblr.com

Posted on September 30, 2014

Ade Turner: Artist of the Month - September 2014

Cult Pens: Tell us a bit more about yourself.

Ade: I've drawn and painted most of my life, but apart from a few years when I worked as a graphic designer I've mostly only made art for pleasure. In the last few years I've started to see more consistent improvement in my work.

Cult Pens: How would you describe your work?

Ade: It would probably be more accurate to describe me as a sketcher rather than primarily a producer of finished works. I enjoy the immediacy of sketching and work simply in both pencil and ink. I also sketch in oils and watercolours, although acrylics seem to be taking over at the moment. If I do work towards a finished piece it's usually in the studio, but I enjoy working en plein air when I get the chance.

Cult Pens: What got you into drawing/cartoons?

Ade: Definitely Marvel comic books. When I was growing up through the sixties and into the seventies they fuelled my imagination. I had a mini ‘road to Damascus’ moment when suddenly I realised I could have a bash at drawing them myself. Comic books come in for a lot of negative comment, but I reckon without their influence I wouldn't be drawing and painting now.

Cult Pens: If you weren't a cartoonist, what was the back-up plan?

Ade: I guess I've been living the back-up plan all my adult life - the 'day job'. But, with one thing and another, now seems to be a very good time for me to start exploring options to make my art a more central part of my life. At last I'm starting to gear up to produce more considered, finished paintings with a view to sales.

Cult Pens: What are your favourite subjects/topics to draw?

Ade: Cats. I love sketching my two cats, I never tire of them, and I think familiarity means I'm finally getting my eye in now. Then I guess it's got to be coastal subjects and mysterious/derelict places with gnarled trees, moss covered rocks, that sort of thing. Then, when I think no-one's looking I'll sneakily drift into fantasy subjects too – but don't tell anyone…

Cult Pens: Where do you get your ideas or inspiration from?

Ade: Sparks can come from anywhere - a particular light through trees, shadow patterns, interesting colour combinations or just the mood of a place. I love folklore, myth and a medieval aesthetic; dreams and odd ideas often bubble up too.

Cult Pens: What are you currently working on?

Ade: I've finally made a start on a series of paintings inspired by the medieval poem 'Sir Gawain and the Green Knight', something that I've had in mind for several years. I recently finished an 18" by 24" acrylic painting exploring one approach but the main work’s still in flux at the moment. Apart from using wooden panels I've still not fully settled on how to treat the subject.

Cult Pens: How long does it normally take to complete a project?

Ade: As this is my first attempt at a considered series I'll let you know once I've finished it! I can move quite quickly on paintings when the mojo’s there, but sometimes I'll hit a wall which can really slow me down.

Cult Pens: What are your top 5 pens?

Ade: Uhm, this is going to come up short, I never used more than a couple of varieties. I love the Uni PIN series of black fine-liners in a handful of sizes. I also like Faber-Castell artist pens - the brush pens in black with a couple of greys and also a sepia set.

Cult Pens: What pen or pencil couldn’t you live without?

Ade: For the pen it would be a 0.3mm black Uni PIN, and for the pencil my trusty Kuru Toga 0.5mm revolving lead mechanical pencil by Mitsubishi.

Cult Pens: Do you know when a work is finished or are you constantly tweaking?

Ade: By nature I'm definitely a tweaker, but I think I'm getting better at knowing when to walk away now.

Cult Pens: What work are you most proud of?

Ade: Without doubt it's the cow's portrait in alkyds which I did on commission a few years back. It's also the largest painting I've tackled so far. Bringing it to completion was a challenge, particularly around halfway through when I started to lose my way a little.

Cult Pens: What tips do you have for aspiring artists/cartoonists?

Ade: A sculpting friend of mine recently told me to only make work which pleases me, first and foremost, ahead of any other concern. Good advice I think, because if you aren't committed to what you're doing you are less likely to produce your best work.

I'd add to that persistence and clarity. Stick with it, those difficult patches can usually be worked through, but maintain the clarity to know when a fresh start is really the best way forward.

You can find out more about Ade and his work on his site: Ade Turner - Artist.

8 September 2014

Posted on September 08, 2014

...and the winner is...Cult Pens!

Yes folks, your favourite pen retailer was not only nominated for a national award, but went on to win it! We were shortlisted in May for the Customer Award of the Internet Retailing Awards. The judging panel was comprised of internet retailing professionals from Google, M&S, House of Fraser, eBay, Waitrose and many more. The nomination itself was a great boost during a time where we were up to our eyeballs in stressful IT systems changes. Winning seemed unlikely as our co-nominees were John Lewis, Ocado, ASOS and Lovehoney – all fantastic businesses. However, we’re suckers for a party so a crack team of Devon pen-pushers made their way to the metropolis for a glittering night with the stars of ecommerce at a swanky Mayfair venue last Thursday. Photos (proof that we're not totally camera shy) below!

Imagine our surprise when the announcement came. Cue a chorus of ‘Cult who?’ from the assembled throng, and much jumping up and down from the Cult Pens team. Suffice it to say that we partied on with renewed vigour until, tired and emotional, we were eventually evicted from the premises by weary staff.

A huge thank you to the team at Internet Retailing for a great party; and to the judging panel for recognising our work. Thank you also to all our wonderful customers – we couldn’t have done it without you! Customer service is truly a team effort which involves every single member of the company, and it’s fantastic to know that it’s been recognised at this level.

Cult Pens are: Simon & Amanda Walker, with Michael, Matt, Lynn, Nick H, Andrew, Louise, Jess, Nick W, Tammy, Helen, Becky, Kath, Martin, Olivia, Lynsey, Elliot and Herbie the springer spaniel.

Win 1 of 5 Cult Pens goody bags

Exclusively available at the Internet Retailing Awards, we thought you lovely people might like a taste of the action, so we have 5 goody bags to give away!

Each bag contains:

"Winners I Met And Liked" Archie Grand notebook
Platignum Studio ballpoint
Pentel EnerGel rollerball
Stabilo pointBall
Zebra Sarasa
Graf von Faber-Castell pencil
Staedtler Noris eco pencils x4
Uni-ball Eye Needle
OHTO Smile Clips
Limited edition Cult Pens branded Lamy noto

To be in with a chance of winning one of these prizes, write a one word review of Cult Pens in the comments section below before 31st July 2014. We'll then select our 5 favourites on 1st August and notify the winners, before posting the winning entries on here.

Note: We already came up with 'smug' so you can't use that one.

Update: The winners are in! Well done to G. Proctor, B Green, S. Booth, A. Mitchell and E. Otun. Congratulations, enjoy your goodies!

Posted on June 30, 2014

How I Finally Saw the Light

Guest post by Janey Fraser...

Janey Fraser I’m not one for boasting – in fact, far from it – but I think it’s fair to say that I used to have beautiful handwriting. This was back in the days when, thanks to Miss Shillito and Miss Scrimgeour (two wonderfully old-fashioned school teachers), I learned to wield a fountain pen without staining my brown and beige uniform.

Then, after university, I became a journalist and it all went wrong. Part of my training involved learning to type. At first, this was akin to learning to walk. But somehow, after some hesitant starts, my fingers began to fly across the keys. What a revelation! Suddenly, I could write about a hundred words per minute. Why had I bothered with ink for all those years?

Of course, I continued writing the occasional letter by hand. But then, when I suddenly found myself faced with two hundred blank Christmas cards, something strange happened. After about twenty years as a journalist, I began to find that my fingers wouldn’t grip a proper pen properly. Had I developed some awful nerve condition?

My doctor was equally mystified so he sent me to the hospital for tests. ‘You’ve got a bad case of keyboard-itis,’ declared the consultant. ‘It’s what happens when you type all day.’

The problem was that I had no option. By then, I had become a novelist too. Two thousand words a morning was the norm. Besides, I needed to be able to go back over my chapters and correct with ease. How could I do that with a pen?

I was beginning to feel like a smoker who wished she’d never started. After all, some of my novelist friends still wrote by hand. Why had I got off the bandwagon too soon? I tried to reform – believe me. But every time I attempted to write a sentence with a fountain pen, my writing looked as though I’d been drinking as much as my teenagers.

Luckily for me, a moment of revelation was about to appear. One day, in a charity shop, I picked up a pen which was thicker than most of the ones I’d been playing around with. Suddenly, I could write my name in a way which was (just about) recognisable. So that was the secret! Excitedly, I made my way to a shop in town that specialises in proper pens. There, with the help of an equally excited assistant, I discovered that the wider and less slippery the pen, the better. It also helped if the nib was broad.

Almost overnight, I found myself able to write properly again. But even better, I began to feel proud of my writing. It was a bit like discovering how much nicer your nails could look when they’ve had a manicure. (Every fortnight, since you ask.)

My Christmas cards now look as though they’ve been written with care instead of loopy words which need a de-coder. I’ve even begun to write long letters instead of typing them. ‘I adore your hand-writing,’ wrote back a friend after I’d sent her a Get Well card. ‘Where did you get your lovely pen from?’

Pens in the plural, actually. I’m now becoming a bit of a collector. In fact, whenever I do a book signing, I make sure I take at least two with me. ‘How nice to see someone use real ink,’ said a reader the other day. I didn’t tell her that I was only just out of writing rehab.

Mind you, I’ve yet to convince my children who are still happily texting away. Sadly, that’s their form of ‘letter writing’. But I do know one thing. Dear Miss Shillito and Miss Scrimgeour have long passed away. But I’m pretty sure they’re looking down on me and nodding their approval.

- Janey Fraser

Having spent many years as a journalist, Janey moved to Devon and has written 4 novels about the ups and downs of modern family life, whilst overlooking the sea.

Janey's latest novel ‘After the Honeymoon’ (published by Arrow, Random House), is now available to buy in store and online.

One honeymoon destination. Three couples. Six secrets.

28 May 2014

Posted on May 28, 2014

Phil Wilkinson: Artist of the Month - May 2014

Every month, we highlight the work of a different artist or illustrator through the title banner of our monthly newsletter – Penorama. If you don’t already receive Penorama, you can subscribe here.

The artist of the month for May is Phil Wilkinson, a print-maker from Birmingham.

Here’s the banner Phil made for us:

Penorama Banner - Phil Wilkinson

And here’s how it appeared in our May newsletter:

Penorama Banner vol. 16

Cult Pens: Tell us a bit more about yourself.
Phil: I have had a lifelong attraction to art – I am self-taught – but have done a variety of jobs throughout my life. Following health issues, art is the only thing that has stuck with me!

Cult Pens: How would you describe your work?
Phil: Broadly figurative with drawing as the basis of everything from sketches through to working drawings for etchings and other print making forms. A lot of my output has been of either landscape, cityscape or aircraft!

Cult Pens: What got you into drawing?
Phil: The desire to draw has always been present but fluctuated through time but is now very prominent in my life. In my experience drawing has been a therapeutic support and refuge through difficulties.

Cult Pens: If you weren’t a cartoonist, what was the back-up plan?
Phil: Following my previous remarks, this is my back-up plan.

Cult Pens: What are your favourite subjects/topics to draw?
Phil: Predominantly these would be landscapes, cityscapes and the forms to be found within them. Another strand of work has been aeronautically inspired.

From Above #2

Cult Pens: Where do you get your ideas or inspiration from?
Phil: Ideas mostly come from my observational sketches and photographs and inspiration is found in the work of current and past artists.

Cult Pens: What are you currently working on?
Phil: There’s usually a few works in progress ranging from an etching to a painting and (almost!) daily contributions to Twitter themes organised by one of those inspirational artists @antsgreentree.

Cult Pens: How long does it normally take to complete a project?
Phil: That depends on factors such as medium, size, subject and complexity. Work on an etching is a lengthy process with much preparation and numerous steps even before arriving at a plate that can be printed from.

Cult Pens: What are your top 5 pens?
Phil:

Zebra Drafix mechanical pencil – in several lead widths and grades (both indicated on these pencils)
Pentel Graph 600 Automatic Pencil
Uni-ball Signo DX UM-151 0.38mm Gel Rollerball Pen

I always leave the house with at the minimum a pocket sketchbook and a wallet which holds:

Zebra F-301 compact pen
Muji mechanical pencil, which I will replace with a Zebra TS 3 Pocket Pencil (now discontinued, you can see other Zebra mechanical pencils here) should the need ever arise!

Cult Pens: What pen or pencil couldn’t you live without?
Phil: A mechanical pencil of some type.

Cult Pens: Do you know when a work is finished or are you constantly tweaking?
Phil: Sometimes yes, often not. Print making is by nature something which can be endlessly tweaked.

Cult Pens: What work are you most proud of?
Phil: Certain examples of my Birmingham buildings and aeronautical original prints and those awarded prizes at open exhibitions at the Royal Birmingham Society of Artists (RBSA). The ultimate accolade one day, would be to have a print selected for the Royal Academy’s Summer Exhibition!

Changing Birmingham

Cult Pens: What tips do you have for aspiring artists/cartoonists?
Phil: As with any chosen path, some permutation/combination of determination, regular practice and taking up opportunities. I am still at the aspirational stage and always receptive to tips!

You can find out more about Phil’s work here.

Treescape

Posted on May 12, 2014

Chris Williams: Artist of the Month - April 2014

The artist of the month for April is Chris Williams, a cartoonist from Liverpool.

Here’s the banner Chris made for us:

Penorama Banner - Chris Williams

And here’s how it appeared in Penorama:

Penorama Banner vol. 15

Cult Pens: Tell us a bit more about yourself.
Chris: Hello I’m a freelance cartoonist working in Liverpool. I draw under the pen name of Dink as there’s lots of Chris Williams out there (Kipper Williams for one). I’m happy to be involved with The Cartoonists’ Club of Great Britain, the UK’s largest cartoonists’ organisation.

Cult Pens: How would you describe your work?
Chris: I’m mainly a single panel gag cartoonist but occasionally do strips or caricature work. Work is usually delivered digitally but everything starts with pens, paper and pencils.

Cult Pens: What got you into drawing/cartoons?
Chris: Drawing my own comics and cartoons as a kid with dreams of becoming the next Tom Patterson. I’d read, collect and copy any comic or newspaper strip I could get my hands on. Looking back on it… Andy Capp and Flo punch ups aren’t the things a 6 year old should be drawing really.

Cult Pens: If you weren’t a cartoonist, what was the back-up plan?
Chris: I’m also a web designer so don’t worry I’ve got it covered. Other dreams included being an astronaut or driving one of those council vans that clean gutters with the twirly brushes.

Cult Pens: What are your favourite subjects/topics to draw?
Chris: Befuddled people. I also like doing topical jokes but they have lifespan of a few days so have short shelf life.

Cult Pens: Where do you get your ideas or inspiration from?
Chris: Being silly on twitter, Facebook or current events. But ideas just pop in from anywhere at anytime.

Cult Pens: What are you currently working on?
Chris: Amongst other things I’m working for a couple of regular corporate clients who use cartoons to lighten up press releases or to get complex messages across. A good idea and it must work because they keep asking for more.

Cult Pens: How long does it normally take to complete a project?
Chris: Completely varies upon how many elements are in the cartoon or if it’s more than one panel. Could be an hour, could be a day.

Cult Pens: What are your top 5 pens?
Chris: No idea they all seem to be in Japanese! What’s this black one? Help! Hang on, I’ve had them translated.

1. Tombow Fudenosuke Brush Pen

2. Pentel Brush Pen

3. Faber-Castell Grip 1347 Mechanical Pencil

4. Koh-I-Noor Toison D’Or Clutch Pencil

5. Copic MultiLiner SP

Cult Pens: What pen or pencil couldn’t you live without?
Chris: Too late! It’s gone! I had a great Staedtler Mechanical Pencil for years, yellow with a rubber grip, and I’ve just lost it *sniff*

Cult Pens: Do you know when a work is finished or are you constantly tweaking?
Chris: I’ve pretty much learned when to stop now. Over working something and giving people’s eyes unnecessary work to do doesn’t make a cartoon any funnier.

Cult Pens: What work are you most proud of?
Chris: Oh I don’t know really.. There’s an early gag of mine about a ventriloquist with very big hands. It’s not the best drawn cartoon but it still gives me a smile when I see it.

Cult Pens: What tips do you have for aspiring artists/cartoonists?
Chris: Don’t stop, you’ll regret it. Even if you’re distracted by earning a living in other ways keep drawing. Best thing you can do is not keep your cartoons to yourself. Join online groups and forums to show your work. The Cartoonists’ Club of Great Britain’s public Q&A forum is a great place to join in with competitions and to post your cartoons. You’ll gain confidence and receive friendly advice from some of the best cartoonists in the business…….. oh and buy some pens.

You can find out more about Chris and his work here: www.dinktoons.com

Ventriloquist's Dummy

Posted on April 07, 2014

Shaun Raven: Artist of the Month - March 2014

The artist of the month for March is Shaun Raven, a cartoonist from Essex.

This is the banner Shaun made for us:

Penorama Banner - Shaun Raven

Here’s how it appeared in our newsletter:

Penorama Banner vol. 14

Cult Pens: Tell us a bit more about yourself.
Shaun: My name is Shaun Raven, and I’m what you might call, a “mature” cartoonist/illustrator based in Essex.

Cult Pens: How would you describe your work?
Shaun: Simple, clean, colourful cartoons that are hopefully funny too!

Cult Pens: What got you into drawing/illustration?
Shaun: I came to it late in life. I’ve been in the IT industry since I left school, and I was looking for something creative to do that I could fit in with a hectic schedule. I’ve always been interested in cartoons, and I love to doodle, so the two came together naturally. It later turned into a second career…

Cult Pens: If you weren’t an illustrator, what was the back-up plan?
Shaun: Cartooning/Illustrating IS my backup! Like many cartoonists, I have a “day” job to pay the bills…

Cult Pens: What are your favourite subjects/topics to draw?
Shaun: I don’t think I have one. It’s the thing I really like about cartooning – there are no limits about what you can draw. One day it’s a girl baking cakes, the next it’s a Stormtrooper cuddling a droid! It’s your world – you draw what you like (or at least, what your client likes)…

Cult Pens: Where do you get your ideas or inspiration from?
Shaun: Anywhere. TV, Radio, comments that people make the Internet, etc., etc., etc…

Cult Pens: What are you currently working on?
Shaun: I’ve been commissioned to draw a cartoon for a head teacher’s retirement – he loves cricket, so that features heavily. I also regularly enter the Cartoonists Caption Competition, where you have to draw a cartoon to a given caption – not as easy as it appears!

Jayne Cobb - Draw

Cult Pens: How long does it normally take to complete a project?
Shaun: It varies depending on the project.

Cult Pens: What are your top 5 pens?
Shaun: Oooh – tough one. I regularly use Paper-Mate Flairs (both “Nylon” & “Ultra”) as they don’t bleed with my colour pencil technique. I also use Koh-I-Noor polycolor pencils (lovely consistency), Letraset Promarkers, Staedtler Tradition Pencils (HB) and Zebra Disposable Fude Brush Pens (Fine).

Cult Pens: What pen or pencil couldn’t you live without?
Shaun: Standard HB pencils and my flairs – my style is quite graphic, and I use the two different lines frequently

Cult Pens: Do you know when a work is finished or are you constantly tweaking?
Shaun: I try not to tweak too much, because I know I’ve ruined stuff I’ve worked on in the past. If you’re not sure, walk away and come back to it later…

Cult Pens: What work are you most proud of?
Shaun: The next one…

Cult Pens: What tips do you have for aspiring artists/illustrators?
Shaun: Practice, practice, practice…

You can find more information on Shaun’s work on his website, www.hypervox.co.uk

Posted on March 11, 2014

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