Galen Leather Co

I love wood, silk, wool, cotton, linen, leather, and other natural products, and will choose long-lasting natural products over plastic or synthetic wherever possible. I also love pens and paper, notebooks, journals and inks. 

A number of years ago I found that shares a similar range of interests, making gorgeous, well designed leather and wood products for writing and journalling. It is Galen Leather Co. This is a company with a beautiful, though sad story, that was started 2012. You can read the story here as it is their's to tell.

I have bought a number of products from Galen Leather over the years, for my own use and as gifts, and I really enjoy all of them. Shown here are the ones I use the most. 

The large tan one is a 'Leather Zippered Leuchtturm1917 B5 & Extra Large Moleskine Folio'. The large black one is a 'Leather Zippered A5 Leuchtturm1917 Notebook Folio'. The smaller black case is a Leather Zippered 3 Slots Pen Case and the small tan one is an  'EDC Wallet' (Every Day Carry).

Galan Leather: Zippered folios in B5 and A5, 3-pen holder and EDC wallet.

Galan Leather B5 Zippered folio

I use the B5 zippered folio for my sketchbooks, which are the B5 Perfect Sketchbooks (available from EtchrLab.com) and they fit in perfectly. I can put the various tools I am sketching with in the slots within the folio and keep everything together. The 4-pen holder can be removed if desired. I can work seated (as I usually do) with this on my lap,  my water on the ground next to me, and my watercolour palette in my hand.

Galen Leather 3-slot pen holder

I use the 3 slot pen case for my three main sketching pens. These are three Pilot Custom Heritage 92 pens, each with an F nib. One is inked in De Atramentis Document ink in Brown, one in Urban Grey and one with a dark grey. It will hold another one or two pens loosely if necessary, and still zip up. There is also space for business cards and a slim notebook or sketchbook if desired. I tend to use these pens for sketching, though they are also gorgeous for writing, and keep them with me in my handbag.

Galen Leather EDC

The EDC Wallet perfectly fits my tiny handmade brass palette along with some business cards and a couple of brushes, though it could be used for a pocket knife, key ring, notebook or many other purposes. I believe the tiny Kaweco Sport fountain pen also fits in the pen slot. This also lives with me as part of my portable studio.

Galan Leather Zippered Folio A5

My first Galen Leather purchase was the A5 zippered folio for my annual Leuchtturm1917 diary that I draw up a year or two in advance. (I shared a little about that here.) My diary contains my life as I don't do a digital diary so having it protected with the various pens I use keep together was terrific. I am using a slightly larger PaperBlanks diary this year, just for a change, but I miss having everything together - my portable office - so will enjoy returning to the A4 sized dotted Leuchtturm diary in 2026!  Tin the meantime, this folio has been temporarily repurposed to hold my French notebook, where I record the lessons daily using a fountain pen and various Pigma Micron pens. (I'll be posting about these shortly too!)

Galen Leather have their own gorgeous range of Tomoe River paper 'Everyday Blank Notebooks' and Leather Blank Notebooks, along with many other useful brands in a range of sizes. I love the 400 page Tomoe River books as they are a joy to write in with a fountain pen. The notebook shown is the A4 Everyday Blank notebook. The paper takes fountain pen beautifully and though only 52gms, there is very little show through. 

The Galen Leather website is excellent, and has terrific photos of all the many products. It's fun to have a look and see if there is something that you have always thought would be useful but no one had made it!

These are not inexpensive, but we don't expect handmade objects to be cheap. I have bought some items when on sale, but generally I have chosen to buy items that I know I will use daily, and that will last and be a joy to use. I have shared them here as perhaps you will also find something to treasure. (Please note that as always this is not a paid promotion and all opinions are entirely my own.)

I've added a video to my YouTube channel if you want to see more 🙂 

Focus on Blues

I made a video painting out a range of blues to show a range of what is available, rather than just the ones I use or recommend. I have made similar videos showing greens and earth colours, though as there are so many more options I have focused on my favourites for those. 

You can see all these blues and more on my website here, where they are arranged by pigment number.

Here are the ones I chose for the video, which can be found here. I plan to create a number of YouTube videos this year, sharing more about colours but also sketchbooks, techniques, brushes, inks and so on. 

These are not in any particular order, except to have similar colours close enough to each other for easy comparisons. The brands shown are VD (Da Vinci), DS (Daniel Smith), Sch (Schmincke) and Are (Kremer). Cobalt Blue is D.S.

 

Wishing you and yours all the very best for 2024. Happy painting!

Blue Pine Arts Handmade Watercolours.

I was sent a lovely collection of Blue Pine Arts handmade watercolours from Trupti in India. There are some really playful colours that were fun to paint out. I have more to add to this post but will publish the colours so you can see them this festive season.

Blue Pine Arts Watercolours - Alphonso Yellow, Sunset Ibis, Quin Gulaal, Rosamarine, 

Lady Marasaki, Butterfly Ultramarine.

The effects of the two pigments in Alpine Lake green and Nebulla Green are lovely.

 Blue Pine Arts Watercolours - Trupti's Indigo, Old Jeans, Alpine Lakes Green, Berylmarine, 

Deodar Green, Nebula Green

These are all convenience greens, but very pretty and usable.

Blue Pine Arts Watercolours - Forrest Green, Imperial Jade, Mango Leaf Green, Fern Green, Sap Green, Paddy Green.

Moss Green and Henna Green are also lovely convenience mixes.  The Burnt Orange was a 'wow' to paint out :-)

Blue Pine Arts Watercolours - Moss Green, Henna Green, Light Olive, Gold Ochre, 

Nutmeg Raw Sienna, Burnt Orange.

Poinsettia and Maple also have unusual effects - fun mixes to play with on damp paper. I like the fun spicy names.

Blue Pine Arts Watercolours - Poinsettia, Maple, Indian Red Chilli, Staranaise Caput Mortuum, 

Dark Clove Hematite, Ash Grey

Blue Pine Arts Watercolours - Trupti's Grey, Trupti's Grey II, Storm Blue, Living Shadow, Mars Black Pepper.

More to come - in 2024. Happy New Year!

Arkaar Handmade Watercolour

I received a collection of handmade watercolours from India, created with love by Tripsi. It's taken a little while to paint them all out and scan them to share here. 

I scan the swatches with a Canon LiDE 400 scanner, and crop and eventually individually colour match each swatch as closely as I can. However the colours are still not perfect - especially some of the yellows and yellow oranges. They frequently distort again when loading them onto this blog. I haven't had a chance to individually colour match the full range, but want to at least share the colours this year!

These are reasonably accurate until the Iso Yellow, which doesn't show the rich brightness of this colour. It's the colour of a typical cadmium yellow deep.

Arkaar Watercolours - Buff Titanium, Nickel Yellow, Cadmium Lemon, Benz Yellow, Cadmium Yellow, Iso Yellow.

The following are scanned together - I'll individually colour check them later, though after the yellows and oranges they are pretty good matches already.

The first yellows are actually brighter than they look here.

Arkaar Watercolours - Hansa Yellow Deep, Cadmium Golden, Cadmium Orange, Benz Orange, 

Cadmium Red Light, Cadmium Red Deep

The rest are fairly accurate as they are.

Arkaar Watercolours - Lake Red Deep, Quin Rose, Coral, Quin Magenta, Orchid of Amazon, Ultramarine Pink

Arkaar Watercolours - Manganese Violet, Ultramarine Violet, True Lavender, 

Ultramarine Blue, Oriental Blue, Cobalt Blue Deep

Natural Indigo is used here, so won't be lightfast. Best used just in a sketchbook.

Arkaar Watercolours - Warm Indigo, Cool Indigo, Blue Lavenda, Arkaar Blue, Cobalt Cerulean, Cerulean Blue

Arkaar Watercolours - Ercolano Blue, Cobalt Turquoise, Cobalt Blue Green, Arctic Lake, Viridian, Nicosia Green

Arkaar Watercolours - Chrome Green, Brilliant Green, Vintage Green, Pear Green, Moss, Dark Green.

Arkaar Watercolours - Verdant, Golden Green, Green Gold, Yellow Ochre, 

Oxide Yellow, Mont Amiata Natural Sienna

Arkaar Watercolours - Raw Cyprus Ochre, Verona Yellow, Limonite, Italian Raw Sienna, 

Orange Ochre, Italian Brown Ochre

Arkaar Watercolours - Pozzuoli Red, Elcolano Red, Red Earth, Burnt Sienna, 

Burnt Sienna Mont Amiata, Mars Orange.

Arkaar Watercolours - Arkaar Watercolours - Sanguine, Venetian Red, Terracotta, Potter's Pink Light, 

Potter's Pink Dark, Mars Crimson.

Arkaar Watercolours - Mars Violet, Violet Hematite, Malbec, Indian Red, Caput Mortuum, Sepia

Arkaar Watercolours - Cyprus Burnt Umber, Fossil, Cassel Earth, Cyprus Raw Umber, Saaya, Vintage

There is quite collection of greys!

Arkaar Watercolours - Midnight, Metamorphosis, Storm, Shadow, Das Schlon, Mist

Arkaar Watercolours - Frost, Warm Grey, Rome Black, Indeevar, Charcoal, Hematite.

Arkaar Watercolours - Mars Black, Lamp Black

There is more to add, but here are the colours to enjoy in time for the holidays :-)

Kakimori Inks

I really enjoy the Kakimori nib that was released in 2022, so have been intending to try out the pigmented inks. 

I settled on buying two sampler sets so I could try the range without having to make a choice about which of these gorgeous bottles to buy!

The first set has a yellow, two reds, a blue and a green. The second has another blue, turquoises, a brown and a black.

The inks are pigmented, but are water-resistant, not completely waterproof. 

They are designed to work in the Kakimori fountain pens, and with the Kakimori nibs, but will not necessarily work with other brands of fountain pens. Pigmented inks need to be used constantly so they don't dry up in a fountain pen.

The names are charming; "each whimsical name tells an imaginative story". 

Kakimori Pigmented Inks - Po, Torori, Tototo, Karari, Kuran.

01 - Po means "A colour tucked away in our hearts. Po is the way we blush when falling in love; the warmth of a face admired from afar."
02 - Torori means "A perfect omelette reveals its deliciously soft centre. Torori is the colour of anticipation, describing a rich consistency overflowing with flavour."
03 - Tototo: "Tototo is the gentle melody of a special rosé poured in quiet company. A colour to elevate everyday life or celebrate a special occasion."
04 - Karari: "Fresh like an endlessly clear sky. Karari describes a bright, cloudless day. With this blue in hand, a break in the clouds is never far away."
05 - Kurun: "Kurun depicts the dance of a vine’s curling tendrils. A green that captures both vitality and a sense of calm."


The second sampler set has these colours.

Kakimori Pigmented Inks - Toppuri, Solo, Zabun, Mukuri, Koton.

06 - Topperi: "Look closely and you might see the stars in the night sky. Toppuridescribes the comforting darkness that arrives after nightfall. A gentle colour that inspires reflection."
07 - Soyo: "Soyo is like a breath of fresh air. A colour that evokes the feeling of a pleasant breeze."
08 - Zabun: "Zabun is the sound of the deep, blue ocean. Listen for the lapping waves as the ink flows across the paper, awakening precious memories."
09 - Mukuri: "Mukuri describes the state of awakening, like a bear emerging from hibernation to the warm red earth. The colour signals the arrival of a new season."
10 - Koton: "The silence of the night is punctuated by koton, the sound of an ink bottle being placed on the desk. A colour for quiet contemplation."

Inks can be ordered with wood caps or an aluminium cap, and in Japan, you can refill the ink bottles and create your own custom inks.

I haven't yet tried these in a fountain pen, but will explore the Torori in as an under drawing for a floral watercolour. Drawing in a golden-yellow ink can be gorgeous.

Have a look at the website here. See my YouTube exploration here.

Happy drawing, writing or inking!

Daniel Smith Gouache

Daniel Smith Gouache has been in the pipeline for some years, with the first 22 colour selections now available. Made with concentrated pigment and gum Arabic, these paints can be used straight form the tube and dry with a matt finish.

Titanium White and Buff Titanium lend themselves to gouache as they are more opaque pigments. The yellows give a cool, medium and warm option which is very useful for mixing.

Daniel Smith Goauche - Titanium White, Buff Titanium, Hansa Yellow Light, 

Hansa Yellow Medium, Hansa Yellow Deep.

The scan doesn't capture the vibrancy of Pyrrol Orange. Pyrrol Scarlet is just on the orange side of red and Pyrrol Red is a rich tomato red. Quinacridone Magenta is a classic mixing red. Wisteria, like the watercolours in the same name, has added white.

Daniel Smith Goauche - Pyrrol Orange, Pyrrol Scarlet, Pyrrol Red, Quinacridone Magenta, Wisteria.

Lavender also has added white. Ultramarine is a classic blue in any palette. Cobalt Blue is less often found in watercolour. Cascade Green is an exclusive Daniel Smith colour created for the Cascade Mountains. 

Daniel Smith Goauche - Lavender, Ultramarine Blue, Cobalt Blue, Cascade Green, Permanent Green Light.

You can see that Indian Red is the most opaque of the colours, as this is also an opaque colour in watercolour. Yellow Ochre, Raw Sienna and Burnt Sienna are really useful earth colours.

Daniel Smith Goauche - Spring Green, Yellow Ochre, Raw Sienna, Burnt Sienna, Indian Red.

Burnt Umber and Lamp Black complete the set, for now. Raw Umber and a large range of other blacks, greys and darks will come soon.

Daniel Smith Goauche - Burnt Umber, Lamp Black

52 new colours will be available at the end of this year - bringing the total to 74. I am delighted to see some cool-leaning colours in this extra range, including a number of my favourites - Phthalo Blue GS, Cerulean Chromium and Permanent Alizarin Crimson - that will aid in mixing, along with Raw Umber, Piemontite Genuine Sap Green and of course Jane's Grey and the two Jane's Blacks. You can click on any of these to see how they look on the Daniel Smith website, painted out in full strength, diluted and over black paper.

Alizarin Crimson
Alvaro’s Caliente Grey
Alvaro’s Fresco Grey
Bloodstone Genuine
Bordeaux
Cadmium Orange Hue
Cadmium Red Medium Hue
Cadmium Yellow Light Hue
Cadmium Yellow Medium Hue
Carbazole Violet
Carmine
Cerulean Blue
Cerulean Blue, Chromium
Chrome Titanate Yellow
Cobalt Teal Blue
Duochrome Mauve
Enviro-Friendly Brown Iron Oxide
Enviro-Friendly Red Iron Oxide
Enviro-Friendly Yellow Iron Oxide
Hematite Genuine
Indanthrone Blue
Indian Yellow
Iridescent Aztec Gold
Iridescent Copper
Iridescent Electric Blue
Iridescent Gold
Iridescent Moonstone
Iridescent Sunstone
Ivory Black
Jane’s Black (Blue/Orange)
Jane’s Black (Red/Green)
Jane’s Grey
King’s Royal Blue
Lemon Yellow
Moonglow
Neutral Tint
Olive Green
Opera Pink
Payne’s Gray
Pearlescent White
Permanent Alizarin Crimson
Phthalo Blue (Green Shade)
Phthalo Blue Turquoise
Phthalo Green (Blue Shade)
Piemontite Genuine
Prussian Blue
Quinacridone Purple
Raw Umber
Sap Green
Sepia
Van Dyck Brown
Venetian Red