PENCIL ( and CHALK)

Nothing compares to a pencil.

Pencil is arguably the the simplest, humblest tool an artist can work with, yet it has the subtlety of any bowed string musical instrument. It allows subtle softness, paper-surface destroying boldness and everything in between. So: yes, I love pencil. A pencil is the life-saving knife you can rely on. It is the only tool that follows the artist in the most difficult to reach "levels" of consciousness.

Like many, I started with a set of pencils, ranging from far too fat to far too hard, and I found the wearing points a real problem. So I switched the technical 0.3 pencils that kept their sharp points. After years and years of experience, I only kept three: HB, H and 4H. Every possible hue can be created with these.

I never use the side of a pencil point to create broad and easy effects; nor do I use a stump to blend as it tends to kill all the vibration an intricate set of lines tends to create. Its strength is its subtlety, or: the pressure-sensitivity. All hues can be built up with lines in different pressure-levels. Pencil dioes not need effects, it only requires patience. But what is time when you do what you really like doing?

I also added the chalk drawings to this gallery. There aren’t many of them, so it would be silly to give them their own gallery. They did get their own page though.