The humble pencil

Although I was trained in painting, my ultimate joy comes from drawing. I enjoy the immediacy of its mark making and the simplicity of its tools. Usually in stick form – charcoal, crayon, pencil, pastel – drawing tools are simple to use. Put stick to surface and move; drawing shows the immediate movement of the artist’s hand. 

“Drawing is the artist's most direct and spontaneous expression, a species of writing: it reveals, better than does painting, his true personality.” – Edgar Degas

I enjoy listening to the drag of a pencil over paper. Or the swish-swish-swish as it moves back and forth to colour in. I appreciate that the simple act of applying pressure will create a darker or more vibrant mark, as opposed to paint which needs to be mixed darker or lighter.  

As a child I loved to draw and colour in. Some of my strongest childhood memories involve drawing. At one grandparents’ house there was always stacks and stacks of fax paper to draw on, and the pencil tin smelled like the twistable crayons that lived in there. At my other grandparents’, the pencil tin was an odd assortment. It seemed older, grubbier and smelled like grey leads. I admired my Poppy’s collection of calligraphy pens, and I tried that for a while too. These are beautiful memories, however, pencils did cause some traumatic experiences. 

For my seventh birthday (I think), my grandparents gave me a tin of 72 Derwent pencils. I cannot express to you how much I loved those pencils. For a young artist, those pencils were the most affirming and special gift I had ever received. All lined up in their tin they looked to me like little jewels. Nobody had to explain that Derwents were quality pencils. I could tell by looking at them. I would admire them as I ran my fingers over them, taking my time to select the perfect colour for the job. They were almost too precious to use, so when I did use them it was very special and I took it very seriously. 

Then one day, tragedy!

 I came home from school to find two of my precious Derwents had taken a big hit. It appeared that my little sister had taken quite a liking to my Jade Green and Rose Pink pencils and had sharpened them down to stubs in my absence. I was mortified and inconsolable. My precious pencils! Holding my Rose and Jade stublings in my hand, I quickly flew into anger. I couldn’t even see all that much pink and green in the colouring book, how could she be so wasteful!? In my mind I could see her smug little face as she sat there, cranking them through the sharpener, singing along to the sounds of pencil destruction. Not even colouring at all! Just sharpening! And where was mum in all of this!? Why wasn't she protecting my pencils!? Couldn’t she hear the evil laughter coming from the next room? I wanted a full trial. I didn’t get one. I was left feeling violated. Knowingly or not, my sister had taken something from me that she couldn’t give back. My pencil tin, and my heart, had big holes in them. 

This is an infamous story in our family (I never let them forget it!). So much so, that 20+ years later, my sister gave me a new Jade Green and Rose Pink pencil as a gift. It might seem petty, but it wasn't until this that I fully forgave her. The original set of pencils were long gone, but I appreciated the sentiment behind the gift. I recently found them again, and thought it fitting to colour this:  

Hindu Yantra for generosity and kindness, in Jade Green and Rose Pink

In recent years my Poppy passed away and left me his unopened tin of Derwents. It appeared he had bought his own set, perhaps at the same time my grandparents gave me mine. Modern Derwent’s look different now, so receiving this old set transported me straight back to my childhood. Not only do I have my Jade and Pink back, I have the full set! 

I see these recent events as signs from Inspiration to find the artist child within, and to once again explore the nostalgic pleasure of colour pencil. 

On a practical level, pencils are convenient, portable and quick to set up and clean up. And I see their environmental impact as less than other art supplies – non-toxic, no water wash-up and no plastic. When compared to a marker or paint tube I feel a pencil leaves less of a footprint on the environment. This is something that is important to me, as I see a lot of waste in teaching art and a lot of plastic being used in the art world of today. 

On an educational note, here is a video that shows how my precious Derwent pencils are made.  

Until next time, 

Erin

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