Pentel Kerry Mechanical Pencil: A Sketcher’s Review

Posted on June 15, 2014 by Larry Marshall

If you hang out on Facebook sketching groups you get the impression that if you use a pencil as a precursor to a pen drawing you will be struck down by the art gods, or at least chastised by them. The fact that most of the great artists used them is not pertinent to the case made by Facebook artists.

But I use one… sometimes. I enjoy being able to quickly sketch in some organizational lines, locating major objects, and their relative sizes. It’s during this time that I actually think about what I’m seeing. I evaluate angles. I look at the relationship of one object to another. Where do they intersect, how do three points on the drawing create a locating triangle, curve, or box. These light marks help me to engage my brain. Necessary? The marks, maybe not. The brain engagement, most certainly.

I use 2H lead for this so the lines are very light but they’re enough for me to ‘see’ whether I’ve got the proportions right, or at least close. If necessary, and it generally isn’t, I’ll use a kneaded eraser after I’ve done the ink sketch to remove these guidelines. I don’t carry a regular eraser as I don’t seem to need one. If I did, I’d use it proudly.

Today, though, I’m not here to discuss technique but rather to talk about a truly wonderful mechanical pencil, the Pentel Kerry mechanical pencil. This isn’t your average $3-5 mechanical pencil. The Pentel Kerry is a high-dollar ($20) pencil. You can get one, in a variety of colors, from Jet Pens, one of the best suppliers of pointy devices on the planet.

Why buy an expensive mechanical pencil when there are so many cheap ones? I could get all philosophical about this but, for me, it was to solve a problem. In addition to enjoying my sketching more when I use quality tools, I am a street sketcher and that means I carry my pens clipped inside a bag. This means that two things happen. Sometimes the lead guard, that thin tube that sticks out of mechanical pencils, snags in the bag fabric. It can poke into waterbrushes I have in the same pocket where I clip my pens/pencil. I’ve even had one guard bend.

So, I went looking for a solution and found one. The Pentel Kerry is a beauty. It caps and posts just like a fountain pen and so the lead and its guard are covered. When posted, there is a mechanism in the cap that advances the lead. If you use a pencil’s eraser regularly, however, you may not like this pencil as it’s hard to get the cap off to use it. Until writing this review and doing a detailed search, I just assumed it didn’t have an eraser but it’s there if you can grab the cap with very strong and pointy fingers, or your teeth, to expose the eraser. Not only is there not much to grab but you have to work against the spring action associated with the lead advance mechanism. As I don’t use it, that doesn’t bother me.

So, problem solved… my lead guard is now covered with its cap. Beyond that, this pencil is just a joy to use and to behold. Spending a bit more on a pencil gains more than improved function. It just looks cool. I do find the grip and balance to be comfortable which means that posting its metal cap makes it slightly tail-heavy, allowing for a light touch. It can be bought for .5 or .7mm leads and in half a dozen colors. I chose red as it’s easy to find in my bag as I don’t use any red fountain pens.

Is $20 too much to spend for a pencil? I don’t think so, but then I don’t buy my coffee at Starbucks so maybe I have more money than some to spend on my art supplies (grin).

Baseball Doodling

Posted on June 14, 2014 by Larry Marshall

My Blue Jays are in FIRST PLACE in the AL East. I have to say that now for two reasons. The first is that they’ve been on the other end of the scale for the past couple years. The second is that they’re in a slump right now so I thought it important to say it before things change. I guess that makes me a pessimist. Cubs fans will understand.

But one thing is certain. Baseball season brings the TV into my life – the couch potato existence that is modern life for so many. I only watch Blue Jays games but still, it’s a big time committment. And so I compensate, some. Instead of beer and chips, I sit armed with pointy devices and sketchbooks. I doodle. Maybe this is why I don’t like hockey. You can’t doodle while watching a hockey game.

Anyways, it occurs to me regularly that the internet is great for budding artists as we get to see all the great art done by our betters. But the downside is that this sets the bar a bit high. I sometimes feel more sketchers should post their doodles, failed sketches, etc. to indicate the real world rather than the internet world.

So, for your amusement, and my embarrassment, here are some of my baseball doodles. All are done either from something that flashes by on the TV screen or from memory of someone’s style I’ve seen on the internet. You’ll notice that I play with a lot of techniques and approaches, just to see how it feels to draw in different ways. No high art was committed in the creation of this blog post.

<- Here I was playing with my Kuretake #13 brush pen. I love it but I still struggle to control line width with it. The smudges were some tests of a couple gel pens, looking at how ‘waterproof’ they were (weren’t).

What’s not to like about little stuffed animals?

A look at minimalist building sketching

Looking here at quick-sketching approaches

I was trying out a new mechanical pencil, quickly creating these fictitious pieces of architecture

Here I was playing with my new refillable Sharpie pen

Playing with a little 4-color palette

Felt like drawing some ellipses in pencil

I hope you enjoyed sitting on the sofa with me. Go Blue Jays!

While Walking Through The Park One Day

Posted on June 12, 2014 by Larry Marshall

The Plains of Abraham, in Quebec City, is a large area where a guy once had a farm. Then the Brits climbed the cliffs, shot it out with the French and among other things, they built a large fort to protect the area from those big bad Americans that would soon invade.

They never did but the result is that this large, partially wooded, and well-developed park area is now labelled Battlefield Park on the signs but everyone who lives here calls the area the Plains of Abraham. It’s our oasis – a place to sit under a tree and have a picnic. It’s a place to walk through a forest, although it’s really a managed clump of trees by forest standards. Our art museum is in the middle of the Plains. When the likes of Paul McCartney comes to town, the Plains are where he sings Let It Be. Oh, and the Plains plays a significant role in my mystery novel, Her Book of Shadows.

It’s also a place where I go when I’m in the mood to sketch some nature, though more often than not I turn to my favorite subjects, man-made objects. This sketch is something of a mix but I couldn’t resist this small scene. After I did the sketch I went to the garden to sketch, but all I did was sit and enjoy the sun on my face and the large array of tulips that were blooming. Life is sweet.

Stillman & Birn Alpha (9×6), Pilot Prera, Noodler’s Lex Gray

Halloween door sketching

Posted on June 5, 2014 by Larry Marshall

A week or so ago I posted a sketch of a fancy door in Quebec City. A comment from a long-time friend, Pat Roberson, asking for more door sketches has resulted in this one.

A week ago I saw this door but I was on my way to St. Vallier to sketch with friends and so couldn’t sketch it. It’s not one of the old, classic Quebec City doors, but Pat is such a fan of Halloween, and apparently doors, that I just had to go back and sketch this aperture into the bright orange house with black trim. Hope you like it, Pat.

Stillman & Birn Alpha (9x6), Pilot Prera, Noodler's Lexington Gray

Stillman & Birn Alpha (9×6), Pilot Prera, Noodler’s Lexington Gray

Refillable Fine-Line Sharpie Pen

Posted on June 3, 2014 by Larry Marshall

In a recent blog post, I mentioned that I used a disposable Sharpie pen to do the sketch. This is a very cheap, but effective drawing tool. I paid $2.50 for a pack of two of them from the local drug store. The ink is waterproof and line width is roughly equivalent to a Micron 03, maybe a wee bit finer.

I like the pen but I hate the very notion of disposable pens. We’re burying out planet in plastic and much of it can be traced to disposable products that replace perfectly good refillable products. We were talking pens on Facebook and one of the Singapore Urban Sketchers mentioned that there is a refillable version of the Sharpie pen and that it is available from Jet Pens. A few minutes later I had one winging its way to me.

It does increase the initial cost as this beautiful metal-body pen is $5.00. But refills are cheap and you’ll be throwing away a lot less plastic and feel good about yourself. That aside, this is a beautiful way to point a fine, felt pen at paper.