Tag: Stillman and Birn

Cocktail Party

Quick sketch of people making cocktails in the dark. Uni-ball Jetstream Edge 0.38 on a Stillman and Birn pocket Alpha.

Surfers in the Sea

I went on a walk this morning, and as the wind was up, the surfers were out in full force. I decided to take a quick break and sketch them in my pocket Stillman & Birn Alpha sketchbook, and I used a Staedler 0.05 fineliner for a change. I used to love the 0.05 for the fine line it gave, but I haven’t used it for years, and while my neuropathy was bad I couldn’t have used it. As my neuropathy is improving with the weather, I decided to give the 0.05 a spin.
This was sketched on location and painted later on.

A sketch of surfers and a yacht in the sea, enclosed in a drawn frame and with a bit of text describing the scene on the top left corner.

The sketch as it was on location:

Surfers and yacht sketch as above, minus the text and with the sea not painted in blue.

And the original scene once I finished sketching:

A photo of a yacht in the distance and surfers in the sea

Gan Broshim

Quick sketch with watercolour pencils and watercolours.

Soccer Players

A quick fountain pen sketch with my vintage Waterman 52 fountain pen and Waterman Havana Brown ink (now called absolute brown) on a Stillman and Birn pocket Alpha.

Happy Independence Day

It was Independence day here today, so I took the opportunity to visit the Independence Garden and sketch for a while.

Woman in a pink dress looking out towards the sea, next to a memorial statue in the shape of an abstract flying bird.
Faber Castell Albrecht Durer watercolour pencils on Stillman and Birn Alpha

Vintage Pencils on National Pencil Day

Happy national pencil day! I recently bought this delightful bouquet of vintage pencils at a local stationery store. They include vintage Jerusalem Pencils (and slightly less vintage PanArt pencils, made in the same factory, post forced name change due to bankruptcy), Eberhard Faber Mongols, and A.W. Faber Castell 9000 pencils (pre-Faber Castell). I paid more than what the seller wanted, so he threw in three sharpeners.

Vintage pencils are the best.
I adore the typography on vintage pencils.

I have the pencils a spin, to celebrate the day. My favourites are the Jerusalem Pencils Shalom 777 F pencil (which is a seconds pencil, and that’s why it probably survived for so many decades intact) and the Eberhard Faber Mongol 482 #2 pencil.

Pencil day sketches.

Take some time to explore local stationery stores and flea markets for NOS and vintage pencils. They all tend to work exactly as they did when they were first issued (the erasers won’t work and the wood may be a bit brittle so be gentle with your sharpening), and they are usually beautifully designed.

#OneWeek100People: day 12

I’m done! It took me longer than I expected, but it was a warm day today, so I took a brush pen and sketched people on the move, from life and not from photos. I’m glad that I participated in this challenge, and I hope that it will kickstart my urban sketching again.

#OneWeek100People: day 9

I’m posting this at a bit of delay, as we’re having a cold spell and my neuropathy has really been giving me tough time. Logically I should have given up on this project, but I’m stubborn, so I won’t.

These were all sketches with Lamy Safaris and various De Atramentis Document inks.

#OneWeek100People: Day 7

We’re having a cold snap this week, which means bad news for my hands. So there’s only 6 new sketches today, but at least I am back to pen and ink, and I haven’t been confined to gesture drawings (not that they’re bad, I just wanted to practice my portraits).

Drawn with a Lamy Safari Petrol fine nib, De Atramentis Document Urban Grey ink on a Stillman and Birn Alpha.