I think Germany owes me one, don't you? I've been singing the praises of Schmincke paints for a while now and today I'm talking up 8b Staedtler 'Mars Lumograph' pencils, both made in Germany.
Here are a couple of faces for the 101 Faces project, drawn with the Staedtler pencil mentioned above and then painted with Schmincke watercolor washes. The Mars Lumograph pencil gives me fabulous dark marks and that sensuous texture I like so much from the pencil medium, but they don't smudge as badly as graphite pencils do. I'm not sure what they're made of---they're almost, but not quite, as waxy as litho pencils. They're a lot smoother than Conte pencils. Love them.
I drew these bottles of Iceland with my wonderful bamboo pen and then painted with Schmincke gouache, than which gouache there is no finer. They are SUCH fun to use---you can't imagine how fluid they are and how full of pigment. The exact opposite of Winsor & Newton gouache, in case you were wondering.
Do you ever think how miraculous it is that you can buy bottles of water from Iceland or Fiji or France? I don't do it often now, because I worry about plastic and I worry about carbon footprints and things. But I had these bottles and they are so dear to me, full as they are of precious, pure water.
I believe that I am the first to solve the acrostic puzzle by having viewed only a limited number of 2008 images. The delineation of the strokes, the very marks themselves and the pattern of color selection make the answer obvious at this point expressed as a algebraic equation which in part includes, as a portion, A. Einstein’s famous calculation of mass and energy in the mathematical calculus. But lets not stray too far from the art itself which is so full of life and vitality. I’ll save the conclusion for the next installment.
Posted by: paul | February 01, 2008 at 07:25 PM
The fun thing about getting behind in one's visits is that one gets a whole gallery of Laura all at one go.
As for the German paints, I feel quite certain that you could grab a chunk of coal from my fireplace and a brown paper bag and make something lovely.
Posted by: marlyat2 | January 20, 2008 at 03:46 PM
I bought the lumograph pencils and they are great! Thanks for sharing and they ought to be paying you to endorse these products!
Posted by: lindsay | January 15, 2008 at 11:47 PM
Thanks very much for the fun, great comments! I've answered some questions in today's post, but to answer Anita's about the faces---9 1/2 out of 10 are done from life. The rest are done from reproductions of artworks or old photos. Dee, whatever you're using, it certainly works beautifully for you! I understand the thrill about having rescued them. About the bottles---I noticed, too late, that one of them, the curvy one, is really from New Zealand!
Posted by: Laura | January 13, 2008 at 02:24 PM
I love those bottles. I think your drawing makes them more lovely than they really are.
Posted by: Linda | January 13, 2008 at 02:15 AM
You continue to be such and inspiration to me, Laurel. I have become fascinated by faces, and am working from an utterly simple place of line, then timidly beginning to add watercolor, and who knows now it will all evolve. Your faces take my breath away!
Posted by: Joanie | January 12, 2008 at 12:45 AM