Faber-Castell Perfect Pencil

Posted on March 26, 2014 by Larry Marshall

I have to confess up front that I’m not a pencil guy. I might even want to be but I enjoy pushing pens across paper so much that it’s hard for me to use anything else. And so I carry a single 0.5mm mechanical pencil with 2H or 3H lead that I use to quickly block in a subject before I start drawing it. As I said…I’m not a pencil guy.

So it’s odd for me to be talking about a pencil but Faber-Castell’s Perfect Pencil snapped my head around when I heard about it and double-snapped it when I found one in an Ottawa art supply store last weekend. It’s just plain cool, even if it is a pencil.

I also have to confess that I love wooden pencils. They just feel good in my hand. I also like that you can use the side of them, use them dull, or sharpen them up for fine details.

I don’t use them, though, for a couple reasons, mostly stemming from the fact that I do my drawing on the run as a street sketcher. This, for me, makes (or made) wooden pencils impractical. Here’s why:

1) You have to sharpen them and the tiny portable pencil sharpeners produce a short, stubby tip. Yes, I can use my pen knife, which is very Bohemian, but also rather impractical when sitting in a music recital or riding a bus.

2) The tips break unless protected. Yes, I can keep them in a case but then they’re not available. A lot of my sketching is ‘grab the book and draw’ sorts of sketching.

3) The length becomes a problem as the pencil is used. And yes, I could buy an extender. Something else to carry.

What makes the Perfect Pencil so perfect is that it solves all THREE of these problems. The Perfect Pencil comes with a sharpener, and not just any sharpener. It’s a sharpener that produces a nice, long and sharp tip. The Perfect Pencil has a cover for the pencil tip, a cover that has a clip just like my fountain pens so it’s easy to carry. And when the pencil becomes short, you can stick its rear end into the cap, which acts as an extender. Best of all, you get all this for the price of one of those high-priced coffees where you get to feel empowered while making all those mind-bending choices.

I can’t say much about the pencil that comes with the Perfect Pencil. It seems like a Faber-Castell HB pencil but it’s round rather than hexagonal. That said, you can replace it with any standard-size pencil. I’ve tried other Faber-Castell pencils (including watercolor pencils), Staedtler pencils, and Blackwing 602s. The 602s defeat the extender function because of their square eraser but otherwise they work fine. I might become a pencil guy yet. In any case, I’ll be carrying my Perfect Pencil when you see me on the street.

Visiting The John Ruskin Exhibition

Posted on March 22, 2014 by Larry Marshall

“The greatest thing a human soul ever does in this world is to see something, and tell what it saw in a plain way. Hundreds of people can talk for one who can think, but thousands think for one who can see.” – John Ruskin (Modern Painters vIII, 1856).

John Ruskin was a reknowned art critic, outspoken advocate for art that reflected nature, a proponent of hand-craftsmanship in the face of the industrial age, a curmudgeon, a prolific writer, and by many accounts, something of a mental case. I ignore this last attribute of his character as it’s a facet of his life that approximates my own.

Well, there is another. Ruskin never considered himself an “artist.” He was in the business, he said, of creating “documentation”, often of nature but also of architecture that he was, at times, fighting to preserve.

National Gallery of Canada

And by some luck and good fortune I had a very good excuse to get myself to Ottawa to see the exhibition of 140 examples of “documentation” created by his hand. It was a mind-bending experience to see what Ruskin could do with pen and ink, though I don’t want to short-change his watercolor/gouache works a bit. The exhibit runs through May 2014 and if you can, I recommend it to anyone who lifts a pointy device and puts it to paper. More info is available at their website here. Words cannot begin to describe Ruskin’s art so I won’t even try.

If you are someone who draws, and haven’t already done so, Ruskin’s book, Elements of Drawing is an excellent text – better than most in my opinion.

And my new prized possession is this volume – a compilation of the exhibition drawings/paintings with historical commentary associated with each one. It is prefaced by what appear to be substantive essays on Ruskin, his influences, and those he influenced. I wish I could say that I have read them but I just got back from Ottawa a few hours ago (grin).

Give Me A Hand And….

Posted on March 19, 2014 by Larry Marshall

…I’ll draw it. Particularly if it’s a plaster cast of a hand.

Canson Ingres toned paper, Pilot Prera, Noodler’s Lexington Gray ink

I’m so excited!!! Hidden away, in the bowels of the Université Laval music building is a museum of sorts. Sadly, it’s not a museum you can visit. It’s a place where the entire collection from the now defunct natural history museum is stored. In addition, Madame Wagner, the curator, has stored a very large collection of plaster casts that were cast off by the art department when it was decided that learning to draw wasn’t quite as important as it once was. Abstract art, it seems, has had a very debilitating long-term affect on the art community 🙁

So imagine a place where you can walk among stuffed water buffalos, bears, mountain sheep and caribou. Imagine cabinet after cabinet of avian, insect, marine, and mammal fauna, all just waiting to be drawn. Imagine another room full of artifacts from all parts of the earth and some from outer space. Imagine walls lined with plaster busts, full statues, and other plaster body parts. Would you like to sketch there?

Me too. And just to sweeten the pot, imagine that in one corner of this place is a makeshift studio where one can take any item, set it up on a stage, light it, and then sit in a very quiet room while drawing for as long as you like? Pretty sweet picture, isn’t it?

But, for me, there’s more cuz my friend Yvan has access to this place and I’ve been invited to join him. Suddenly I don’t care as much about our ridiculously cold temperatures and I’m hoping to spend at least one morning a week in this wonderful dream world. Today, following a tour, I grabbed a hand and did the small drawing above. I need to get better at shading with pen but it was sure fun.

Mo Music, S’il Vous Plait!

Posted on March 17, 2014 by Larry Marshall

We’re back in the deep freeze here in Quebec. Will it never end? But we’re also in the middle of recital season, a time when the students at Conservatoire de Musique give recitals and what a joy they are to attend. Today it was pianists…amazing pianists. Marie Robitaille, Sophie Doyon, Brigitte Legendre, Bruce Gaulin-Boilard, Manuella Gagnon, Corolane Tremblay, and Ariane Filion-Thériault each graced us with their musical prowess.

Stillman & Birn Alpha (4x6); Pilot Prera, Noodler's Lexington Gray ink

Stillman & Birn Alpha (4×6); Pilot Prera, Noodler’s Lexington Gray ink

And while they did, Yvan and I sketched, though I have to admit that at times I just stopped, listened and watched magical hands on keys. But here are a couple sketches I did during the nearly two hours of music. Thanks to the Conservatoire, the students, and Suzanne Beaubien-Lowe (their teacher) for making a very cold day seem just a little bit warmer.

Stillman & Birn Alpha (4×6); Pilot Prera, Noodler’s Lexington Gray ink

If Only I Had Time To Sketch…

Posted on March 15, 2014 by Larry Marshall

If you sketch in the presence of others you’ll hear it. It comes in many forms but, if you get down to the bone of what’s being said it’s “If only I had time to sketch like you do” and it’s said as though my daily 24-hour time allotment is longer than their 24-hour allotment. Or maybe they’re really talking to themselves, excusing themselves in some twisted way.

I’m not sure what it is but I never know what to say. The truth is, we all have the same amount of time per day. Yes, some have to work more hours than others. Some have kids. Some are in school. In spite of this, the average American, it is said, manages to watch four to five hours of television every day. Facebook and Twitter traffic suggest that the hours spent in front of computer aren’t insignificant either. Sooo…..whether you believe it or not, discretionary time is something we ALL have available to us. It’s how you spend it that determines whether you do or do not have time for sketching.

The truth is, it doesn’t take much time to be a sketcher. It’s true that I do spend time with sketching friends and that I often wandering the streets, enjoying extended sketching sessions on occasion. But I’ve been “very busy” for the last few days and so haven’t done any “serious” sketching. In spite of that, I have sketched and I’ve had fun sketching. I thought I’d show you a few of the smallish sketches I’ve done, providing a bit of context in an attempt to demonstrate just how easy it is to include sketching in your day.

Done in Stillman & Birn Alpha (4x6), Hero 9018 and Diamine Chocolate Brown ink

Done in Stillman & Birn Alpha (4×6), Hero 9018 and Diamine Chocolate Brown ink

The single thing that is required to be a sketcher is to be READY to sketch, which means you have paper and pointy device with you at all times. If my sketching were limited to finding special blocks of time to set up my art materials, I wouldn’t do 2/3 of the sketches I do. As the Boy Scout motto says, “Be Prepared.” It’s also important to think about enjoying the process of drawing, not creating great art. Sketching is about the fun – about the doing – or it should be. If you’ve got to find that ‘perfect’ scene, you’ll never sketch.

Here’s a sketch I did while I was at the library. It took only a few minutes. Libraries are target-rich environments and one of the few places where humans sit still for a while.

3×5 cheap notebook, Pitt brush pen

I stopped by the art store and picked up some Pitt brush pens, followed by a stop for coffee. It seemed as good a time as any to try out one of the new pens. This rooftop sketch was done in my el cheapo ($1.25 at the dollar store) notebook between sips of coffee and increased the enjoyment of that pause in the day.

Canson Ingres paper (3x5); Pilot 78G, Platinum Carbon Sepia & a bit of Lex Gray added with a Pilot Prera

Canson Ingres paper (3×5); Pilot 78G, Platinum Carbon Sepia & a bit of Lex Gray added with a Pilot Prera

I’d been at the art museum and if you look out their front window you see a monument to General Wolfe, the guy who died winning the battle for Quebec City back in 1759. Behind it is a street lined with buildings.

That night, I was watching American Idol with Chantal and I was bored, so I picked up a pen and a 3×5 piece of Canson Ingres paper (I have these materials available at my TV watching perch) and drew the scene from memory. It only took a few minutes but it was a pleasant experience and I emphasized the use of loose, light pen strokes.

3x5 cheap notebook; Platinum Carbon pen w/Platinum Carbon Black ink

3×5 cheap notebook; Platinum Carbon pen w/Platinum Carbon Black ink

At another time I was watching a Toronto Blue Jays pre-season game and drew this group of flowers. That are part of a larger, dried flower arrangement in our living room. Used a Platinum Carbon pen for this one.

Are these great drawings? Nope…but they were fun. Did they take a long time? Nope. In fact no ‘extra’ time was required at all. I just counted and from Sunday to Friday, when I’ve been ‘too busy to draw,’ I’ve done more than a dozen sketches, all in ‘spare’ time. The only exception was my attendance at a music recital that I would have gone to with or without sketching. It doesn’t take much time to be a sketcher. You DO have time… don’t you?