“They keep breaking”: artists, designers, a director and animator, a photographer, a writer, and their pencils, with photographs of the pencils (The Guardian).
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All OCA pencil posts (Pinboard)
Saturday, November 4, 2017
People and their pencils
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comments: 5
I am charmed by the condition of the wood-cased pencils (not so much the mechanical ones), by the multiple facets and angles of the leads in the self-sharpened ones (as well as the precision and lack thereof in the cuts) and the degree of care provided the pencils by their owners. One can learn a great deal about the owner-artists' work habits by observing their much-used and care-worn instruments. The red leaded pencil reminded me of a starlet's smudgy crimson lipstick: how her haste in slapping on fresh color leaves probably as much on the tube (pencil shaft, in this analogy) as she smeared on her mouth.
Yes, seeing the points close up is a different way to think about pencils. I’m surprised to see so many people using a knife to sharpen. (A British practice?)
Years back, I bought a set of Derwent artists pencils, most of which I still have. Instructions for sharpening discouraged using electric or hand-cranked rotary sharpeners because, supposedly, too much of the pencil was lost. It took me awhile to learn how to put a fresh point on them using a knife, but I liked the results better. Plus, a knife puts the perfect shape to a carpenter's pencil, too. Good skill to have, I think. (I also like using a Staedtler sharpener for round pencils; better control as I age than a knife sometimes.)
When I was reading pencil blogs, I saw a fair number of comments about sharpening with a pen knife, etc. I think it's common among artists are trying to achieve a precise type of point for what they're doing with the pencil at the moment (outlining, shading, etc.).
The Dave Eggers one reminds me of the grease pencils my dad used to have that I haven't thought about in years and how he could never seem to figure out how they were getting unpeeled more than he thought he was doing . . .
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