Lyrics from “A Portrait Of” by Sorority Noise. This impactful song expresses the singer’s desire to help his friends through their mental health issues while also dealing with his own. Though the song is full of powerful lines, I particularly liked the lyric: “so I’ll say it again and again / and again and again / and again and again / and again and again / I’m not trying to say it’s easy / but I’m trying to say it’s fine”. I like how simple the line “it’s fine” is. The singer’s not saying that the struggles his friends face are meaningful, or to ignore or get over them. He’s just saying that “it’s fine”. To me it seems like he’s trying to get his friend to simply be okay with going through the hard parts of life, as they’re impossible to avoid.

Happy Wednesday everyone!  We’re bringing back the pen reviews this week with what are probably the most famous brush pens of all time: Tombow Dual Brush Pens.

The swatches of the colors I have are pictured here, but my collection pales in comparison to the huge color selection these pens come in.  As you can see from my swatches, each color is given its own number, and the ones I have go into the 900s.  I’m not sure what the exact number of colors Tombow has released with this pen, but it’s clearly at least 1000, which is probably one of the biggest selections ever.

These pens are highly beloved in the lettering community, but to be honest, I’m not their #1 fan.  Yes, they do have their fair share of good qualities: of course, there’s the virtually limitless color selection, but the pens also have good quality ink that’s vibrant and smooth.The ink is water-based, which means you can blend it using water, either before or after putting it on the page, to create a really nice watercolor effect.

The pens also have two ends (hence the “dual brush pen” title), a brush tip and a bullet tip.  This is nice for getting the most out of your marker, because you can achieve totally different effects with each tip, and a lot of other pens do this as well.  Finally, because of their popularity, these pens are in pretty much every art store, so they’re super accessible in terms of being able to get your hands on them (plus you can test them out individually at Michael’s!).

However, there are a lot of things I don’t love about these pens.  First off, they’re pretty expensive.  Most high quality brush pens are, but in my opinion, these could be better for the price.  Sometimes the price drops on Amazon, but for the most part a set of 10 goes for $26.99.  Price aside, the pens themselves aren’t my absolute favorite.  The pen body is really long and top heavy, which can make them a bit awkward to write with, and also makes it so they don’t fit in most regular pencil cases.  My biggest issue with these, however, is how easily they fray.  Most brush pens fray eventually, especially felt ones like these, but these fray faster than any pen I’ve used, especially for that high of a price.  If you want them to stay sharp past a few uses, you have to get special paper that’s extra smooth, which is totally doable, it’s just an extra hassle.

All in all, the color range is my favorite thing about these.  The pens are nice, but I would still say they’re pretty overrated.  You could get a lot of other pens that are much nicer for a cheaper price point.

Good Morning everybody! I apologize for the late post. It took me some time to figure out what exactly I wanted to write about this week. It has been very difficult for me to start a new piece, and more difficult to allow myself to get back into my art again. I have a very bad habit of putting my entire life on hold when there is an academic goal that I am pursuing. As a pre-med student pursing a career in surgery, the passion for pushing myself and overachieving is intimately intertwined within my day-to-day. However, I have learned the hard way the importance of balance. I have been trying to extend myself compassion and love and allow myself to prioritize what brings me solace. My art has always been my cathartic release. It is the single most important thing for my mental health. Then why am I so good at foregoing it?

Junior year has been very trying on me academically, especially with the incoming panic and excitement of medical school applications. I stopped art for well over 7 months. The last piece that I completed, Payal, was in June 2022. In my mind, I had to put every ounce of energy, every waking minute, into my studies.

This. Completely. Backfired.

Not only did my performance and studies suffer, but I also completely lost touch with my friends, my life, and most importantly, myself. It was a really good wakeup call for me. Scientific research demonstrates the lasting and overwhelmingly positive impact that activities such as exercise, music, and art can have on all facets of life. Objectively I know this, but am very bad at putting it into practice.

So, after a 7-month hiatus, I have finally started a new piece. This is my to-date magnum opus, my biggest piece yet. I have some other ideas and next works percolating in the background, but for now I am devoting all creative energy to this work.

Excited to hear more about the piece? Tune in next week where I will give more history on the composition. Quick hint: It has to do with the Bhagvad Gita. As always, if any questions or thoughts arise, please comment or reach out to me!

 

Until next week,

Riya

 

Instagram: @riya_agg.art

Portfolio: https://theindianartist.weebly.com/