The first thing that I would like to tell you is that you don't have to have any special oil to do pen work. ANY oil that you paint with will work. Let me repeat that: Any oil that you paint with will work for pen oil. There is one exception to this statement and that is fat oil which is too thick by itself to use with the pen, but not when used in conjunction with other oils. The trick in using the oil to make pen paint is to get the paint as thin as ink so that it will flow from the pen point. Now that I have your attention on the oil, let me clarify using the oils. As you know, some oils dry faster than others. Therefore, some of the pen paint will dry faster than others and if there is some of the closed medium left in the point ,it will start drying and clog the point ,causing problems. As you work with the pen, keep it clean. When you go over graphite, you will pick up small amounts of it and this will also clog the point. To clean the point, never dip it in turpentine. Turpentine makes fat oil and as it dries in the little crack of the point, it will make the fat oil and the pen paint will not flow. I always put a little denatured alcohol on a rag and wipe the point with this, using a finger nail to clean out the crack. This way I don't put too much pressure on the point, thus spreading the two sides and maybe springing them.

When I use the pen, I use my regular medium to sign my name. I mix enough oil and paint on my brush so that I can scrape it off on the point to fill it. This is the only time that I do this. If I am going to do a lot more pen work, such as pen work scrolls, I mix a little puddle of Rynne's Dark All Purpose Painting Medium with whatever colour I will be using and dip the end of the point in this mixture. This is a drying medium and it will set up, but it takes a while to do so if you should need to make corrections. When I work with the pen for a lot of work, such as a Gibson Girl, I mix my dry paint with fat oil until it is thick and sticky and thin to the ink consistency with clove oil. This formula is a very fast drying one and when dry, you can transport your china anywhere without messing it up unless you spill turpentine or alcohol on it. Another thing that I like about this formula is there is almost no loss.

When I make the first mixture, I will make quite a bit more than I need at one time and then break up the main glob into little pieces. These will dry like rocks and can be stored in one of the little containers that we use for ground paint. When I know that I want to work with my pen later in the day or even the next one, I get out a little piece and put a drop of clove oil on it to soften it, then when I get ready to use it, add more clove oil until it is as thin as I want it. Since this is a closed medium, I have to keep adding more clove oil when it starts to thicken. I put this on a small tile and when I am through for the day, place it in a covered container and store it. Once this oil is dry, it can be covered with an inch of dust and I still can use it. All I have to do is clean off the dirt and add more clove oil. This is because dirt that gets in wet paint will ruin the puddle or fire into the piece, but dirt that gets on dry paint can be cleaned off to be used or even fired and it will not fire into the china.

Most people that have trouble with working with a pen point do so for several reasons: the paint is too thick. Keep the paint at the consistency of ink. the china is dirty or greasy. Clean only with denatured alcohol or a fingernail polish remover without lanolin in it. Rubbing alcohol, turpentine or anything with lanolin will leave a film. the point is loaded incorrectly. When it loaded be sure that the paint does not fill the breather hole in the point. This will keep the paint from feeding down to the tip. the paint is scooped up from the side. All you need to do is dip the point into the pen paint just like you would a bottle of India Ink then touch the point to your tile to remove the excess paint. If you scoop, you can bend the point and keep it from loading correctly the tip of the point is bent or sprung. This occurs when you either drop it or use the wrong pressure. holding the pen wrong. To get the pen to work correctly, hold it the same way you would a pencil or ink pen. putting the wrong pressure on the point. Most people who have problems with the amount of pressure on china do so because they are trying to write on the body of the china, just like they would on a piece of paper. What they don't realize is that we aren't writing on the body, but the glaze and so must use less pressure to get the ink flowing. The glaze is a fraction of an inch above the china, but our eyes trick us into thinking we are working on the body since the glaze is clear and we see the white body. too much graphite. When tracing the design, use a light graphite and only the bare minimum of lines to get the design on. An example is the Gibson Girl. Put on only the outline of the face, features, hair and dress. You don't want to put in all the shadow lines, this will only get confusing and clog the pen. If your graphite is too heavy, place it between two pieces of typing paper and go over it once with a cool iron to remove the excess.

Here are a few tips on what to do to help you with working with the pen. Don't try to make continuous lines. When you run out of paint and haven't finished a line, after refilling the point, leave a tiny fraction of space between where you stopped and where you will start again. If you try to restart at the same spot you will leave a small puddle that will show as a dot. The small gap will be less noticeable. Use different pressures to make your strokes. All lines don't have to be the same value. Some should be lighter than others. Vary your strokes to make sure the shadows are a different value than the highlight areas of the design. This is accomplished by the distance of the strokes, not using the same stroke all over and using crosshatching strokes. To make thinner lines pull the pen point down sideways. If you pull it straight down you will put on more pressure and the point can divide and cause the lines to be thicker. Clean up mistakes with denatured alcohol. This will clean off all the paint and no leave a residue. I use a small brush that has been dipped in the denatured alcohol and then blotted dry. If you need to remove anything after the lines are dry, use a needle or sharp knife to scrape off the area, then wipe over it with a dry alcohol brush to remove the fine particles. Keep the point clean. Make sure you don't have a build up of either paint or graphite. Most importantly, keep the point protected when not in use so that it doesn't get bent.

I hope this will help you with working with the pen. If you have any questions, contact me at Alice Wofford 200 Sherwood Avenue Sherwood, Arkansas 72120 phone 501-835-5445 E mail: Sam5416@flash.net

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