Tag: Stillman and Birn

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.

#OneWeek100People: Day 6

As I expected I didn’t reach 100 people sketches in 5 days, but I still intend to get to 100 sketches, so I’m plowing on. My hands are still wrecked with neuropathy so today’s sketches are all pencil sketches, all of them using various Blackwings. Hopefully tomorrow I’ll be able to get back to ink and watercolour, but if not I’ll break out my vintage pencils and give them a spin.

The pencils and eraser used for these sketches.

#OneWeek100People: Day 5

My hands still really hurt, but I don’t want to give up the challenge, so I pushing on with pencil sketches. I’ve pulled out my Blackwings and am giving them a spin.

Garden Centre and Jaffa

Sketched this spread despite my hands killing me throughout the sketch. I still have poor control over the brush but I sketched it despite that because I really missed drawing. So glad that I got it done.

Here are some process photos:

Initial sketch with watercolour pencil.
First pass with colour.
Second pass with colour and ink.
First pass for the drawing on the bottom right.

Our Old Friend Joe

We had our weekly zoom call with our old family friend, Joe. I did my best to sketch him while we talked. It was slow, hard work and came out only so-so, mainly because my neuropathy is really bad lately (which is also why there’s been a dearth of posts). Still, I’m glad that I tried.

Sketch of our old friend, Joe.

Drawn with a Lamy LX Palladium, fine nib, filled with Diamine Harmony (an Inkvent 2021 ink).

Writing done with a PenBBS 535 Year of the Ox, RF nib, filled with Pilot Iroshizuku Ina-Ho.

The sketchbook is a Stillman and Birn Alpha 5.5’’ x 8.5’’.

Strange Palm Trees

I finished the Ramat Hanadiv spread today, drawing the second page from photos, as I had a few moments when I could sort of feel my hands.

I wish I knew what these palm trees were called. They looked amazing.