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Getting to grips with coloured pencils

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Hang on Studio Wall
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Moi 17

Linda Wilson

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Probably the best thing for him Marjorie!
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Marjorie Firth

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Ahh......make him the star! Would be a shame not to do something with him.
Moi 17

Linda Wilson

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As you may have noticed from the gallery, I’ve moved onto other birds.  And now for something completely different.  A blue land crab.
Moi 17

Linda Wilson

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After the sketchy pencil drawing, I started with the the blues and used Inktense pencils as they have a good range of blues and the oil pencils will take on top of these, but not the other way round.
Moi 17

Linda Wilson

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Then some oil pencils for the extremities, forming a barrier for when the watercolour background was added.  I also gave him his big blue claw, which was hidden in my original photo. The earth and leaf litter was a bit of a challenge, but patience had run out by then.

Sylvia Evans

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Like this guy Linda... quite the little character .  We are both enjoying CPs but I sometimes use a brush and paint for light relief ..
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Lewis Cooper

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I've only just caught up with this thread.  An interesting read and some fine work.  I like coloured pencils.  I started with Faber water soluble which I like very much, once you start using water it's not unlike watercolour.  After reading their praises I've at last got some Faber Polychromos...the 'oil' version.  I bought some Zest, too.  Thus far I prefer the water soluble, but it's early days with the Polychromos.  I've tended to use the water as a base, and have added further layers that I haven't water blended.  So the oil pencils can be used for that.  I see from your use of Zest that it's picked up some of the bluish shading on the white leaves, in much the same way that the water-solubles work.  I too don't like using pencils to block in large areas of colour....like you, I've started using watercolour for that. These days, I seldom use just one media...it's watercolour, coloured pencils, and gouache.  But I like coloured pencils. I shall watch your progress with interest.
Moi 17

Linda Wilson

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Thanks for taking interest Sylvia and Lewis.  I know it only appeals to the minority.  Many of my pencils , have been acquired unintentionally, and so I have a large but motley collection.  20 Derwent coloursoft, which were a prize: 36Inktense, which were free with a course: 39 pastel pencils which I have gradually collected for portraits: 5 Derwent Drawing in portrait colours: 20 watercolour pencils from WHSmiths, when watercolour pencils were new: 20 Lightfast oil pencils in portrait colours and 20 Luminance oil pencils.  I won’t mention the number of graphite’s and duplicates. Consequently I struggle with many boxes, rolls and tins.  Does anyone have a method of coping with large numbers of pencils?  I know Lakeland used to have wonderful stacked boxes for 72 pencils, but I seem to need double that capacity.
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Lewis Cooper

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Odd that you mention storage for pencils.   Like you I seem to have acquired a mass of pencils.  Inktense, Faber soluble, Derwent, Polychromos, and just plain pencils.  On my recent birthday, my grandson bought me two packs of HB pencils (bless him)...60 of them, no brand I've heard of, but actually quite good to use.  I may never have to buy an HB pencil again.   How to store them, or more accurately...arrange them for easy/instant use?  So I've been looking at what's on the market for ideas. Some form of bag seems the most popular...like this one... It holds 200 pencils, costs about £22.  200 seems a lot, but I must have close to that, and I've only just started. These drawer jobs look nice... ...but, again...soon filled up. The next two are DIY efforts....tubes made from polystyrene, and a wine rack with plastic glasses... Space is at premium for me.  I like the polystyrene idea, but then it's very like a bunch of mugs.  The tins the pencils come in are good, but I like everything on display when I'm working. So for the moment I'm staying with a bunch of mugs...one for each type of pencil, maybe.
Moi 17

Linda Wilson

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Cor blimey Lewis, I had no idea! Thank you so much for this research. The first option looks best for me, so I could take them to my portraiture class and it is quite compact for storage.  At the moment I keep the on a shelf in a cupboard, so when I take one lot out the others may end up on the floor - not good for pencils.  The colour soft ones in the wooden box, rarely see the light of day.
With Sarah, Phil, Ellen, Rose the dentist, and the granddaughter whose name I forget.

Robert Jones, NAPA

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The bag is a good idea, for work on the hoof - the wooden boxes, in tiers, would be good for any professional colour-pencil artist, and that's what I think you are, or could be if you wanted to be.  You put me to total shame - my pencils are in tins for the most part, but I have a few favourites stored alongside my smaller brushes, in a variety of jam-jars (where they came from, as I don't eat jam, I've no idea).  I quail before this order and method - but my space is also very limited, and pencils have to compete for it with oil paint, watercolour, acrylic paint, dip pens, conté crayons, canvas-boards et al, easels (2), brushes (I have lots), watercolour paper, palettes (at least four), Linseed oil.... hardly surprising that I can hardly move in this flat...
Moi 17

Linda Wilson

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Pencil bag is now ordered from e-bay.  I settled for 200 slots and an already regretting that I didn’t go for252 as that would have included the pens as well.  If I only used them at home, I would have gone for the drawers - at least you can put things on top of them.  Thank you Robert for your words of praise.  I have only just started with proper coloured pencils and I think I am getting beginners luck.  I am still amazed by some other artists who get incredible detail, particularly on furry animals with cp’s.  But they suit me at the moment and don’t take up much room and I can doodle in an armchair, instead of braving it into the conservatory to paint.  Paper does not take up as much room as a canvas either.  So it’s a double bonus.  When the weather improves, no doubt I will want to be more adventurous with paint.  Meanwhile I am waiting for the light to improve to finish off my crab.
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