artJOURNALING daily...white pens & markers.
My FREE Doodles Unleashed online workshop launched January 1 and kicked off the Strathmore workshop series. In this week's lesson I share a plethora of techniques for playful printmaking using stencils and liquid watercolor sprays then adding layers with various mark-making tools like oil pastels, oil paint sticks, india ink and white out pens. There has been an enthusiatic response to my first lesson and students have shared amazing colorful artwork inspired by my videos.
A question came up about the white fluid correction pens that I use in my artwork, so I thought I'd share a few of my FAVE white pens & markers. I am always on the hunt for new white pens, so I have compiled quite a collection. I use these to write and doodle as one of the final layers over my mixed media paintings. I also use many of these on fabric...just test them on a scrap piece of painted fabric to see if you like the marks they make.
Some white fluid correction pens take a little time getting used to, practice on a separate sheet of paper or in your art journal before you draw on your painting. The trick is to write quickly and squeeze the pen as you write. Always make sure your paint it completely dry before using your pens/markers or you will ruin them. 
Here’s a list of some of my favorite white pens/mark-making tools...
- Office Depot Foray correction pen and chisel-tip correction pen. This is an office supply store in the US.
- BIC wite out pens--> I have used them often in my artwork. If you haven’t used them before, it does take a little getting used to. You have to squeeze and write simultaneously
- I have also found great white out pens from Japanese stationery stores Maido, Kinokuniya and the Japanese dollar store {actually $1.50 store} Daiso. I have not ordered from them online but have purchased a variety of pens in their stores.
- Sakura also makes a good white ink pen that works well over paint called Pen-Touch. It comes in different nib sizes.
- Sakura also make the Permapaque marker which has two different nibs...a fine point and chisel tip. These work great on fabric, canvas and paper. I've even used them for doodling on sneakers.
- Sakura Gelly Roll white gel pen is great for writing and journling. It's similar to the Uni-Ball Signo. They also make a Souffle and Glaze white gel pen. These are both 3D pens the Souffle pen creates an opaque mark and the Glaze creates a shiny line. I LOVE to use these on photographs and over my acrylic painted backgrounds.
- Stabilo All Aquarelleable white pencil- great water soluble white pencil for adding scribbles to my paintings. I dip it in water then scribble on the surface over my painted canvas. It creates great blending effects with wet paint too.
- Uni-Ball Signo is a good thin white gel pen, it's great for journaling or writing smaller text on paintings.
- Tulip Slick Dimensional paint – one of my favorite tools to write with over my paintings. I demo this in an upcoming lesson.
- white chalk ink markers – there are a bunch of different brands. These are also marketed as chalkboard pens.
- Sakura white slim paint marker - this is an oil based paint marker, it makes a mark like an oil paint stick. These also come in a larger size usually found in shops that carry graffiti supplies or industrial markers.
- Sharpie poster paint pen {white} is NOT opaque and will not yield the same result as using a white fluid correction pen but works for other doodling applications. Be careful if using over watersoluble mediums because they will blend. When used over dry acrylic paint it is semi-transparent.
- Sharpie oil-based paint pen - this is different from the Sharpie poster paint pen. it is more opaque and stands out more over paint.
- Crayola Twistables -these are creamy crayons. I LOVE to doodle with these on fabric
- TIP: check out your local dollar store or discount store, many of them carry white out pens.
Keep practicing...the more you work with the pens the easier it gets to write and control the amount of liquid coming out of them. Do you have FAVE white pens or markers? share them in the comments. Look for more fun doodling and mixed media techniques in my new book Doodles Unleashed which will be released in a couple of weeks!! Have fun experimenting! xoxo~treiC
