In grade school in the early seventies, if you had one of these 4-color Bic ballpoint pens, you knew you had Arrived. As an avid and constant doodler, I pined and pined for the pen. I spent many happy hours imagining what I could do with four colors, even green(!), at my constant disposal. With an uncharacteristic single-mindedness, I badgered my mother to buy me the pen. I begged. I pleaded. I bargained: I would do extra chores. I could use my birthday money. I would never ask for another thing. NOT EVER. Since all this nagging wasn’t my usual M.O. (and I imagine she wanted me to shut up already), Mom finally relented and bought me the pen. She told me to take care of it because the outrageous price (I’m thinking $2?) meant she was never buying another. Of course, I was so overjoyed with it, I wore out the clicking mechanism within days, rendering the pen useless. My heart broke with the pen. I’m not sure I ever got over it.
Before my dreams of being the Queen of the Cool Pen were dashed, before I had any hope of owning such a magnificent instrument, I used to imagine myself drawing with it. In my mind, my drawings looked every bit as skilled and lovely as today’s art. Alas, during the brief window when I owned the pen and it still worked, my drawings fell short. Very, very short.
Moving on, today I bring you the phenomenal ballpoint pen drawings by Nicolas V. Sanchez. Envy aside, I confess I am having a bit of trouble figuring out how he manages them. His shockingly-adept use of unexpected colors and his mastery of the art of shading make for some of the most exceptional sketches I’ve ever seen. They make me want to go back in time and try again.
Sanchez is so good, he’s even got his own pen, the NS1! Maybe this is the pen that will give me the boost I need to make beautiful art… (BTW, this magical thinking is why I’m no longer allowed to watch HSN or browse Etsy drunk.) (Any more.)
You can follow Nicolas V. Sanchez on his website and on Instagram. His pen has its own Instagram, too!
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My OBT 
May 17, 2019 at 6:09 am
Absolutely insane how good.
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May 17, 2019 at 7:06 am
I know. How the hell does he do that?
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May 17, 2019 at 7:23 am
And on such a small scale. Perfect…almost a photo. Only in my dreams.
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May 17, 2019 at 1:39 pm
You and I will have to be content knowing we have other gifts…
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May 17, 2019 at 12:40 pm
Woah nelly! This is hands down the best ballpoint pen artwork I have ever seen.
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May 17, 2019 at 1:40 pm
It’s really insane. He gives workshops all the time, too. I’m tempted to take one just to see him working in person!
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May 17, 2019 at 2:29 pm
That would be fascinating, I’m sure.
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May 17, 2019 at 2:30 pm
Also, do you follow Busymockingbird either on WordPress or Instagram? She also draws with ballpoint pen. She does great quirky pieces and collaborations with her young daughter.
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May 17, 2019 at 3:33 pm
Don’t think I’ve ever heard of her. I’ll check her out. Thanks!
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May 17, 2019 at 1:40 pm
Did you see what Beloved gave me this morning?
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May 17, 2019 at 2:33 pm
No and I went to snoop on your FB page and can’t see anything. I’m intrigued.
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May 17, 2019 at 3:33 pm
It’s a comment under today’s post. She got me one of those four-color pens!
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May 17, 2019 at 2:34 pm
Found it in a comment. I was being a dunce. That’s brilliant!
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May 17, 2019 at 2:26 pm
I had a pen like that! One color for each child on my incredibly busy calendar.. (my doodles don’t look like his though..holy cow. 😧
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May 17, 2019 at 3:31 pm
That sounds like a smart system!
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