The Almighty Pencil…

…”The King of all Art Instruments”…


Ahhh……the pencil……This is where everything starts for me.  It is the instrument that initiated my creative process and projects well over a half century ago…and is still my most prized “worker”.  It is this one lowly
simple piece of graphite that I could not live without!  It will start off every creative project as it transcribes my thoughts and imaginings into a visual reality.

From the lonely HB of my youth, which on its own could accomplish much, I now possess a full range from the hard “H”  to the softest 9 “B”s. These little work horses greatly enhance the creative experience.

Of course there are now even more choices then there were years ago.  Now this lowly little piece of graphite with a wooden coat has acquired a multitude of “relatives” that have shown up for the party, each with their own unique “personalities” and specialized functionality.

 Some are rather distant relatives that may “look” like their simpler HB relative, but are in fact a “distant relative” and are really only a “pencil” in name, as they hide within their centre a much more flamboyant and exotic nature.   It is my job to get to know these relatives intimately and coax them into a mutually beneficial partnership in which we can  both get credit for the work done.

So…now the new relatives to the lonely HB include:

  • H all the way up to 9H (hardest)
  • B all the way to 9 B (softest)
  • tinted graphite Pencils – to allow you to add a hint of color (water soluble)
  • Ink Pencils (water soluble)
  • Metallic Pencils (water soluble)
  • Pastel Pencils
  • Water color Pencils
  • Bendable Colored Pencils
  • Charcoal Pencils
  • Sepia Pencils
…. Well, I’ve probably missed some of the relatives … and they do keep multiplying … but … I’m bound to forget some that are not frequent visitors to my studio!…

… All the above have their unique functions and in the next blog we can explore this in more detail…