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Interview: Pen-And-Ink Illustrator Rob Turpin

May 23, 2019October 5, 2015 by Tony Bridges

While we all love pens in their various incarnations, ultimately, they’re just the tools that channel the creativity of craftsmen, both artistic and practical.

Here at The Pen Vibe, we’re all about those craftsmen, the pens they use, and what they choose to do with them. So it’s always exciting for us when one chooses to share his story with our readers.

Today, it’s Rob Turpin, an illustrator known for his sci-fi and fantasy-inspired drawings done in pen and ink.

This is our interview with him.

Please tell us a little about you.

Originally from Yorkshire, but now living in the suburbs of southwest London, I trained and worked as a graphic designer before making the leap in to illustration. I’ve just completed my first book illustration project, and I’m working on another about robots.

Sharpie Nail Art

October 14, 2024September 29, 2015 by Tony Bridges

I’m forever amazed at the things that people can do with Sharpie markers. So I was fascinated when I stumbled …

Artist Turns Rocks Into Doodlestones

December 11, 2019September 22, 2015 by Tony Bridges

(Update: Bryan Payne’s mother Barb just let us know that there is a DoodlestonesUK community on Facebook.)

OK, this is a project that should go global. We’re going to say right up front, we’d love to see this happening in the UK.

What “this” do we mean?

Doodlestones, a project created by a man in St. Louis, Missouri named Bryan Payne. He uses markers to draw faces and other features on small, flat stones, then hides them in places around town. Sometimes, he lays them flat in an unobtrusive spot, other times he uses Scotch mounting putty to attach them to surfaces.

Pilot G2 + Potato Message = Money

November 5, 2020September 17, 2015 by Tony Bridges

I thought this was a joke when I first heard it that someone is making money with nothing more than a Pilot G2 Gel Pen and some Potatoes. Actually, I’m still not convinced that it isn’t a big hoax.

But it was on TV, so it has to be true, right?

A man in Texas – it would have to be Texas, wouldn’t it – has created a business out of writing on potatoes with a Pilot G2 and sending them to people.

Teachers Making Good Use Of Red Pens

April 10, 2020September 10, 2015 by Tony Bridges

The color of ink that teachers use to mark papers occasionally stirs up a fuss in the UK as some schools move away from red pens. The idea is that red ink leaves a negative impression on students and alienates them from their teachers. There’s some research to support that idea.

But with school starting up again, I’ve been doing some more reading about ink colors and marking. And it seems that maybe red pens have a place in the classroom, after all. Teachers using red ink pens to comment helps to clearly differentiate from the original work, but it is essential that the red ink is not used in a negative way.