Van Dieman's 2026 - Loch Ness Monster - 100ml Shimmering Fountain Pen Ink

Loch Ness Monster

September 2026 Ink of the Month

For centuries, something has been said to move beneath the dark waters of Loch Ness.

Long before grainy photographs and twentieth-century headlines made “Nessie” famous around the world, the loch and the waters around it were already places of story and mystery. Scottish folklore is filled with strange creatures inhabiting its rivers and lochs, while one of the earliest tales associated with Loch Ness dates back to the sixth century, when St Columba was said to have confronted a great “water beast” near the River Ness.

Whether monster, misidentified animal, ancient survivor or simply one of the world's most enduring legends, the Loch Ness Monster has remained tantalisingly out of sight. A ripple. A dark shape. Something glimpsed for a moment before disappearing again beneath the water.

Our September Ink of the Month takes its inspiration from that uncertainty.

Loch Ness Monster begins as a cool, misty teal-grey, light to medium in saturation and deliberately atmospheric rather than heavily saturated. On the page it shades strongly, moving from softer slate and dusky blue into deep, almost midnight pools, with subtle light purple undertones appearing through the paler areas.

But, like Nessie herself, what you see depends very much on the angle.

Suspended through the ink is a dramatic colour-shifting shimmer. Viewed one way, it flashes an aquatic aqua-green, like light catching beneath cold water. Turn the page, and the same shimmer transforms into a striking pinky red. Between the two extremes are fleeting hints of silver, turquoise, purple and rose.

The effect is particularly striking against the restrained blue-grey base. Rather than overwhelming the ink, the shimmer seems to appear and disappear across it as the page moves.

The original artwork was painted by Belinda Rix with Van Dieman's inks, including Federation Peak, Ragdoll Kiss, Mermaid, Firefly and Tortoiseshell, imagining Loch Ness not as a bright Scottish postcard, but as the place its legend demands: still water, distant mountains, dark pines, drifting mist and a stormy sky reflected across the loch.

And somewhere in all of it, almost easy to miss, something is watching from the water.

Ink Characteristics

Base Colour: Cool teal-grey with light purple undertones
Saturation: Light to medium
Shading: Strong
Shimmer: Multichromatic aqua-green to pink-red colour shift
Sheen: None

Loch Ness Monster is an ink built around glimpses. The blue-grey base gives you the cold, deep water. The purple appears in the mistier passages. The shimmer changes whenever the light does.

And Nessie?

You'll have to look a little closer.

Ink of the Month Special

As always, our Ink of the Month comes with a little extra.

Buy any 10 bottles of ink before the end of September and receive Loch Ness Monster FREE.

It is our way of saying thank you to those who keep their collections growing month after month. The free bottle will be added automatically when your order qualifies.

Offer valid while stocks last and during September only.