DrawWithMike.net

I did this woman on Arches cold pressed watercolor paper just for experimentation with a bic ballpoint pen. The paper was so rough that I would spend a lifetime trying to build up darker colors on it, so I gave up on that after a while. The one thing that I like about ballpoint is the ability to get softer shading, but the trouble is, as noted in the previous post I made, this will fade and change with time. I am hoping to find some archival ballpoint pens!

Lovely.
And yes, Arches cold press is difficult to draw on. However, if you ever want to experiment a little, try using diluted ink or watercolour first and put down some light wash areas as required on the Arches CP, then add your pen work once dry. You can achieve some really interesting effects.
I tend to use LANA Hot Press papers in preference to Arches as I have found the sizing on the Arches surface annoys me.
Re the fading, another good trick (apart from keeping out of the sun), is to fix and then frame under UV resistant glass. It is 10 to 20% more $ than ordinary glazing, but worth the expense. All my drawings are framed using UV glass just for this reason.

Oh, another question for you. Have you tried using a fountain pen such as a LAMY or a Pilot Kakuno? these are great fun to play with, and the ink while still wet can be wet a bit to achieve areas of soft tone. The Pilot is an economical one to buy first to try out. I think you would enjoy.

Thanks so much for the tips! I will have to try that. My watercolor sits in a corner - it scares me, so I tried to use the paper for something or another. Even some of the best watercolors are not lightfast, so I know from that realm that the finished works can't be put near a window.

I have Lamy Safari and it's okay, but fat line. I have carbon ink which is waterproof, or rather more water resistant. The best and finest fine point fountain pen I have is a pilot extra fine - a cheap fountain pen at that, but superior line. I am trying more pen and ink, but I think it lays down a thick line even in the fine realm. Perhaps what I like about the ballpoint is that it sits somewhere between a pencil mark and a pen line. I think I'm going to gravitate back to graphite. I love my ballpoint pens. There's room for both!

I've learned that Ballograph, a Swedish pen that I bought on Jet Pens and Cross Pens have archival ink. I am going to do a test piece and put it in the sun to see what happens. I have a Cross pen and I had an older package of refills half used and it said on the refill package that the ink was archival. I'm not sure all of their inks are archival, but I will give this one a test. This won't happen over night, but let's see what happens!