Pen Porn: Stanford Pen Studio Hummingbirds

Disclaimer: I take no responsibility for pen envy or impulse purchases resulting from viewing this post.

Per usual, you can click on the images to view them larger. I do my best to provide you with high-quality pen porn. 😉

Back in November last year, Stanford Pen Studio posted a giraffe pen in a stunning color palette. I’ve never been a giraffe fanatic, so I held off buying it. When I finally decided to get it anyway, I found out I was too late, it had already sold. But, that left me with an opportunity. I asked Di if it would be possible to get the same color palette, but with a hummingbird as the subject. She took my request to Marian Binder, the artist who painted the giraffe pen, who agreed to the commission.

Fast forward a few months, and this beauty, and its accompanying bright packaging, made it to my door. Of course, with something this awesome, I have to share it with you.

360° Glory

As is becoming my norm for pen porn posts, I’ve got to “unwrap” the design. There’s nothing quite like seeing it laid out flat like that.

I also filmed a 360° short. Do you find the videos useful? Please let me know.

Flowers

The hibiscus and fuschia are beautifully rendered. I adore the dept of color and dry-brush strokes that remind me of paintings on weathered boards. The leaves are also beautifully done. Perhaps because the base color is lighter, I can better appreciate the attention to the play of light and shadow.

Hummingbirds

You can really tell that Marian has seen a hummingbird in person — watch Di’s video of this pen for the story. These hummingbirds are stunning! The colors are so bright and cheery, they can’t fail to make smile.

And the amount of detail Marian managed to capture at such a small size. She’s got individual feathers on the belly and forewing. And the fantastic brush strokes on the wings and tails help give the birds some movement.

Details

Of course, my pen has the standard Stanford Pen Studio coin on the cap finial.

But, the barrel finial has a fun surprise — a miniature hummingbird! It’s minuscule, only 8mm x 8.5mm, but so perfect! I kind of want to get it as a tattoo.

The leaves and dots at the finial end of the barrel add a nice pop of color to tie the whole pen together.

And I love Marian’s signature. Even more so because she did it in the floral pink to bring that color further down the barrel.

The Perfect Nib

But wait, there’s more! When I saw Tim Cullen’s — of Hooligan Pens — hummingbird nib, I knew I had to have one. I originally planned to put it on my Mayan pen, but since Brian engraved the nib on that one to match the pen, I decided to put it on this pen. And it’s perfect!

Like my Bumbledore pen — also by Marian — and ARTUS pens, this truly is a magnificent work of art that I can write with.

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