Year of the Pencil

When I asked myself what I really want to do this year, art wise, it is to draw. When I count up my colored pencils it comes to 694. This doesn't count the graphite ones. I almost HAVE to draw.

©Kathleen O'Brien, a bunch of pencils & a waterbrush

Then my dear spouse disobeyed me and got me the Cadillac of the pencil world, Caran d'Ache Luminance for Christmas. The direction was cinched. In large part that was the impetus behind going to Twinrocker Hand Made Paper to get the best paper available in the USA.

©Kathleen O'Brien, Caran d'Ache Luminance colored pencils

I want to say a few words about my experience with different pencils.  For years my favored choice was Prismacolor. They still are in many regards except for the pesky tendency for the points to break upon sharpening. They are soft, waxy and blend easily. The Art Stix are great for covering large areas quickly.

I like to use Faber-Castell Polychromos when I need to keep a sharp line, as they are harder. One nice consistency between the 2 is the shaft is round. This helps to differentiate between them and the watercolor pencils, which are hexagonal. The Faber-Castell Albrecht Durer watercolor pencils are very vibrant. It is exciting to activate them with a water brush. 

These new Caran d'Ache Luminance are really wonderful to use, even over other colored pencils. They have the highest rating on the market for light fastness. I also recommend Caran d'Ache Supracolor II Soft Water-soluble pencils and their Neo-Color II Water-soluble Crayons.

Please tell me about what favorite pencils you like to use. Must go draw now....