i’m very excited about the new piece i’ve recently started – i hadn’t even put the first line of ink on the paper when i told someone it’s my best work so far – “how on earth do you know that?” – “because i’ve seen it”

i’m trying a new technique that will be the way forward with my future work. while i will always strive to refine my style and improve my work, it also generally means the amount of time it takes to create on of my drawings will increase

it can take up to 200 hours to execute a single drawing – once i begin with the ink i’m able to work quite quickly because i’ve already drawn every detail in my mind

these three items are the tools of my trade – to share with everyone what i see in my mind, they’re all i need

for me, the nib holder is just as important as the high quality of the paper and the ink i use. every day is different so i have a selection of nib holders on hand fitted with duplicate nibs - whichever feels right on the day

the nib holders

my carved bone nib holder dates around the late 19th century and features an optical bijou, commonly called a stanhope - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanhope_(optical_bijou) – through the tiny viewer the life of napolean is depicted in four detailed drawings – morbidly, the last image is him in death

i usually reach for my silver nib holders – they feel nice in my hand and the varying lengths and weights means i hold and use them differently – the long thin holder is very light and good for soft and delicate areas – i use the other two for larger areas, like when i do the initial outlining

i tend to use my porcupine quill for when i’m writing letters and cards – yes, my pen and ink is part of my whole life. i love the length and lightness of the quill for fluid writing – and it now holds significant sentimental value that i cherish whenever i use it. because – before i considered the magnitude of the task ahead, i decided i had to hand-write *all* our save the date cards, wedding invitations, inserts and thank you notes – including the ones i didn’t think were up to scratch, and the ones discarded because of a tiny mistake

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the inkwell

one of my treasures is the sterling silver inkwell i use daily. the large inkwell was once part of the william tallon collection – in 1951 when william tallon was 15 years old he began working as a junior servant for the british royal family. after working his way up, in 1978 william was promoted to the position of steward and page of the backstairs – the queen mother’s most senior butler. as a further gesture of her majesty’s high regard for william she sought from the queen permission for william to live in the gatehouse at clarence house – this was granted in december 1985 when william and his collection took up residence at ‘the little house’ as the queen mother called it

william started collecting royal ephemera as a teenager. in addition to his own purchases and gifts from friends, william was rewarded gifts from the queen mother and other members of the royal family. generations of the royals grew up with william’s warm and attentive welcomes when visiting the queen mother at all of her homes. over his fifty-one-year career he amassed an amazing collection

william tallon died on 23rd november 2007 at the age of 72 years. he was given a magnificent funeral at the queen’s chapel, st james palace, which was attended by over 200 people including lord snowdon, representatives of the queen, prince charles and princess alexandra, and many actors, artists and friends from his colourful life

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the paper

i almost exclusively use one type of paper – arches 300gsm hot pressed archival paper – it has 100% cotton fiber content, is acid-free, pH-neutral, gelatin-sized, air-dried and still made today at the original arches paper mill in lorraine, france – founded in 1492

hot-pressed paper has little tooth (surface texture), so it is very smooth – created by pressing a finished sheet of paper through hot cylinders (calenders) – this allows my nibbed pen to glide smoothly across the paper and add fine detail to my work

gsm is the weight or density of the paper – so the 300gsm paper that i use is 300grams per square meter – typical office paper is 80gsm

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i became an admirer of blue willow ware when i first saw it as a child – when i discovered there was a tragic and sinister story behind the design i was hooked

when i first decided to take my art to the next level from hobby to career, blue willow plates were one of the first things i started drawing – the detailed and ornate patterns were great to practice and refine my line-work. they have featured solo in my work and continue to re-appear among a table-scape of eclectic objects

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although popularised by thomas minton, the blue willow pattern was first developed by thomas turner at caughley, shropshire in 1779, imitating chinese patterns which had preceded it. the pattern was produced by several potteries in many variations but its most famous user is minton pottery.

the design is based upon a legend of two lovers who are transformed into lovebirds. in fact this legend is english in origin and not chinese

the legend of the blue willow pattern – upon learning of the affair with his daughter, the mandarin banished his secretary and constructed a fence around the gardens of the estate so that chang could not see his daughter, koong-se, who could now only walk in the gardens and to the water’s edge

one day a shell fitted with sails containing a poem and a bead which koong-se had given to chang, floated to the water’s edge. koong-se knew that her lover was not far away

she was soon dismayed to learn that she had been betrothed to ta-jin, a noble warrior duke. she was full of despair when it was announced that her future husband, the noble duke, was arriving, bearing a gift of jewels to celebrate his betrothal

however, after the banquet, borrowing the robes of a servant, chang passed through the guests unseen and came to koong-se’s room. they embraced and vowed to run away together. the mandarin, the duke, the guests, and all the servants had drunk so much wine that the couple almost got away without detection but koong-se’s father saw her and gave chase across the bridge

the couple escaped and stayed with the maid that koong-se’s father had dismissed for conspiring with the lovers. koong-se had given the casket of jewels to chang – the mandarin, who was also a magistrate, swore that he would use the jewels as a pretext to execute chang when he caught him

one night the mandarin’s spies reported that a man was hiding in a house by the river and the mandarin’s guards raided the house. but chang had jumped into the raging torrent and koong-se thought that he had drowned

some days later the guards returned to search the house again. while koong-se’s maid talked to them, chang came by boat to the window and took koong-se away to safety

they settled on a distant island, and over the years chang became famous for his writings. this was to prove his undoing. the mandarin heard about him and sent guards to destroy him. chang was put to the sword and koong-se set fire to the house while she was still inside

thus they both perished and the gods, touched by their love – immortalised them as two doves – eternally flying together in the sky