CHENNAI: If you want to learn a drawing technique that lets you dabble with thick and thin variations of strokes with just one tool, here’s your best option — crow quilling. Drawing with a crow quill pen is an age-old technique which other than a few calligraphers, comic and graphic artists, is not used by many. Saravanan K, a qualified and trained alumni of College of Fine Arts, who has been working in this medium for 20 years, is conducting a workshop this weekend in the city.
“For me, my love for art started in school when I took part in several competitions,” shares Saravanan, who won the ‘best student’ category from College of Fine arts. “I equipped myself with techniques and trained hard. While in college, I was exposed to world art and that fuelled my aspirations more,”
he shares.
Apart from using water colours, oil and pastels, Saravanan also took a liking to calligraphy and began using that in sketches and drawings as well. “I was roped in by a friend to write certificates and invites. But, I decided to use calligraphy for drawing as well. I exposed myself to different nibs and pens. Gradually, I moved to other pen drawing techniques like brush, charcoal, pen and crow quill,” he narrates.
Talking about the crow quill technique, Saravanan shares that modern day pens that have an inbuilt reservoir/cartridge have threatened the existence of crow quill.
“It’s disappearing these days and not many artists work in that medium, for several reasons,” he explains. “Unlike modern pens, the crow quill doesn’t have a feeder and a reservoir. So, the nib has to be dipped in ink every now and then. Many see this as a tedious process. Also, without experience in the technique, the process of creating an artwork can get messy.”
But, the crow quill technique provides richer details and variations in strokes. “This technique can be used for bolder subjects like sculptures, motifs, architecture renditions, botanical and biological studies,” he shares.
Another aspect of the technique is its ability to mix inks, without having to change nibs. “In modern pens, two different inks need to be filled in different pens and then used to mix colours. Whereas here, you can dip and use the first ink, wipe the nib and then use the second ink. It makes it quicker,” he explains.
The workshop will focus on black and white drawings and Saravanan shares that the technique predominantly uses traditional Indian ink. “The Indian ink is thicker and is most preferred. It gives a rich black colour” he shares.
While the technique is rich and vivid, it has its own limitations. “Since it is a dip pen, the ink drains off and has to be ‘recharged’ again and again. So, sometimes it breaks the momentum while drawing a piece. Also, the ink, holder and the nib has to be carried separately,” he shares.
The number of shops that sell crow quill tools are also scarce and Saravanan says that not many take to pen drawings these days. “Writing has been an age-old tradition — be it with reed or bamboo, the chisel and stone or the needle and palm leaf, it has always been there and promoting more such art is necessary,” he says.
The workshop will have a small run-up of materials used, including the nibs. “We will predominantly be concentrating on applying the strokes,” he explains. Can art works made from the technique be digitised? “It can be, but nothing can give the comfort of working on paper. Digitising gives scope for correction but, nothing can beat manual rendition!” he adds.
The workshop will take place at Ashvita Nirvana, Besant Nagar on Dec 9&10, from 11.30 am. For details, call: 9094187411