Although very time consuming it is suprisingly versatile. It allows me to create textures and detail in a wide range and lighting that can be striking in contrast or quite subtle. Black and white is my focus. It is elegant, clean, and honest. It forces me into stronger and truer compositions.
Many people think of pen and ink as a very rigid and hard-edged medium.
I find that to be totally untrue. While it can be pretty unforgiving once you've made a mistake, with lots of patience you can create an image whose range of effects is unsurpassed. I find that it gives me the finest lines and will taper them off as well. A cold-press ragboard has just the right surface texture so that you can skip the point lightly across the upper fibers giving you an incredibly soft and fine line. More and more I am using 4X0 and 6X0 technical pens for the pointillism.