Visconti makes beautiful pens in their factory in Florence and I especially like their Van Gogh range. Taking inspiration from some of the great artist's works, the natural resin pens accurately reproduce the bold shades used on his canvasses, giving a dazzling mix of colours. Altogether there are around 20 different pens based on 20 of his best known and colourful paintings.
I already have the Visconti which takes inspiration from
Sunflowers and have enjoyed using it regularly for the past 5 years or so. I also have a lovely rollerball inspired by
Pollard Willows, a lovely mix of different shades of brown with flecks of greens and reds.
So, as a Christmas treat, Lindsey surprised me with two more from the collection -
Red Vineyard and
Self Portrait. As I expected, the colours are stunning and the pens are - of course - a delight to write with.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQhchT4eFGzid3xARXjJC0iB3LaErRE38xVkZwCb9jl_JrT9z8qXLBzlmoq8H2Ege4lo6PL8N14_jyxS0dl1bU9wCn8ixjtAxGHG433MxJqNrnM7g22oR5uZoRmOmHjwcem5PD4Y8BHeo/s640/DSC_1505+crop.jpg) |
Red Vineyard, Self Portrait and my original Sunflowers |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmkKGzaLwnvE-rulWKInxq1Yccl-HulT3a4j5ph-vXY3WLJnR4a0RtPl5Bzx7PItz2Bc1BvCoOessxE6l3UWQ0Ps0W8enZQWUQkI6j0nIJOgE8AjMgtfngM07Dy9iTI6vNkAKoFrbiyWc/s640/Van+Gogh+nib.jpg) |
The engraving on the nib |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjglls5BDOT1WEP6_T3G7H249K-J0_zZX3E-Zhx2GUgkLFDokr_X_VZOH95Wk33lQ53G-olRPHtvLOE6d6gCgVHmDAJj_hB19id020qjY2mUW5pON3gEbdJeAQVl7o-5UeYhBIAzgw9Yoo/s640/DSC_1508.JPG) |
The cap on Red Vineyard picks out the shades of brown and blue from the painting perfectly |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOQ0mRsNInt93TYRzczU-mMKOzi7iElHnFVy4l23TYKrHHVbrLv-2G0E6zm6VfagGD9rea-o2vSg9MKeE74WMPJz7dSS2ugGsIcJLaGgZKDEWcA_WOXzVz8Bgnflxjblfv1caGqFHLP1I/s640/Van+Gogh+Red+Vineyard+at+Arles.jpg) |
Van Gogh's Red Vineyards near Arles, 1888 |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPvRJKmfYX7beJravM2rer9ACi41jfNafFQi0P87fcGUhLdW7nWhEw2hD_pqt5mesP2dum93d-6OSWiFqRPCnnhc5AOZ14FweH0g1akbfMJcRTbEEV3daZqZpR1WngVrxAANZFWB8Yrqw/s640/Van+Gogh+Blue+Self+Portrait.jpg) |
Self Portrait, 1889 |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO8SWBRkNNC7xTL5Ui72V87VfQCHNaL2u3u-Md-4tgZHQXr5WEslClUTf4AdjjR_MSSd4sKklyxcSNhGrPVToypvy4vwtSQNX-i9Q4ENSVkdV9I_7A0U8ou0ShHPDs-v0XSnJXMZOloM0/s640/Van+Gogh+Sunflowers.jpg) |
Sunflowers (4th version), 1888 |