Hot Stuff, Caran d’Ache Luminance 6901 pencils on Langton Prestige watercolour paper, (28x33cm)
Liz Seward is overjoyed with the results obtained when using Caran d’Ache Luminance 6901 pencils.
Over the years when I have wanted to retreat from the hurly burly of painting with the wet media, I have returned to the quiet, slightly contemplative activity of using coloured pencils, taking me straight back to my first love – drawing and illustrating.
Much of the work produced this way has never seen light of day. Some were framed, exhibited, and sold, but I still have most of them and treasure them as I consider them to be an absolute labour of love, my enjoyment at doing them showing with every mark.
One of the problems with producing work for exhibition with coloured pencils has always been that there has been a slight question over their permanence.
Although over the years I have taken great care to make sure that the colours I have used have a good lightfastness, other people remain to be convinced.
Therefore imagine my joy when I acquired my set of Luminance 6901 pencils from Caran d’Ache with the promise, backed up by good evidence, that they are the most lightfast pencils on the market.
Now those of us who love working in coloured pencil also have the security of working with something that has a lightfastness akin to paint.
Top features:
- Lightfast
- Highest quality pigments
- Pure, intense colours
- Rich, velvety feel
- Great for layering
- 100 colours available
Where to buy
Caran d'Ache Luminance 6901can be purchased from Jackson's Art Supplies by clicking here and from art shops and other online retailers.
Luminance 6901 can be purchased individually and in sets of 20, 40 and 76.
SEE HOW LIZ GOT ON WITH THE PORTRAIT SET
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Still life with Caran d'Ache Luminance 6901
Tea Break, Caran d’Ache Luminance 6901 pencils on Langton Prestige Hot Pressed paper, (35.5x46cm)
I often draw this sort of subject but rarely paint it. Now I have the best of both worlds.
This was a completely ‘found’ still life, which in my view is often the best kind.
None of the objects were arranged, all I did was straighten the tubes of paint slightly, but the tea did go cold and the apple did go brown.
Being able to overlay colours easily made this drawing a joy to produce.
A joy to use
To describe Luminance 6901 as a joy to use would be an understatement.
There are 100 colours in the range, enough to cover any subject.
Each pencil has a softness derived from the finely ground highest quality pigments, chosen for purity and intensity. I can create a subtlety and softness with these that is similar to watercolour.
Laying them on paper or board has a rich velvety feel due to the wax content and by varying the pressure used, very subtle graduations of tone are obtained. Building up colour by layering one colour over another becomes a very simple process.
Comparisons
Recently I allowed the drawing group that I teach to use my set of Luminance 6901 and compare them to the cheaper brands of pencil that they normally use, with startling results.
All of them realised how much using better quality materials made their job easier and they were absolutely delighted with the results, as was I. (Yes, I did get them all back, but reluctantly!)
All of them put a set of these on their birthday present list as there is a set for all budgets, 20, 40 and 76, as well as being available individually. Even I realised how much I had got used to their superior quality when I tried them alongside some of the students’ own equipment.
Using Luminance 6901 in mixed media
As I am a mixed-media lady I can’t ignore the fact that many artists will want to use these in conjunction with other media.
I normally use them over a light wash of watercolour or acrylic inks where they stand up well.
The paper or board that I use is important, therefore I use a hot pressed watercolour paper such as Arches or Langton Prestige which gives me just enough texture to make it interesting without being too ‘grainy’.
A smooth illustration board is the choice of many artists, especially where a lot of detail is needed.
Well done Caran d’Ache, this is yet another winner to add to their long list of superb products.
Demonstration: Hot Stuff
Stage one
I had been itching to include this French mustard pot in a painting so when I bought the chillies the opportunity was too good to miss.
The subject was drawn with a 3B graphite pencil on the smoother side of the hot pressed paper.
I started by giving the drawing a loose and light wash of watercolour, using colours that would complement the pencils.
Stage two
Using cobalt blue, grey blue and Payne’s grey I began to define the objects by colouring the shadows around them.
As I am left handed, my natural inclination is to shade with diagonal lines, which can be distracting, so over the years I have consciously trained myself to shade with vertical lines for variety and strength.
I began to lay the local colour on the chillies, lightly covering the red ones with orange and the green ones with spring green, introducing these colours into the shadows cast by these objects, and other areas such as the beige pot where a little excitement would not go amiss.
Using sepia, Payne’s grey, permanent red and moss green, I started to get ahead of myself as I couldn’t resist increasing the pressure on the pencils and getting some darker tones to shape and model the chillies.
Finished painting
Hot Stuff, Caran d’Ache Luminance 6901 pencils on Langton Prestige watercolour paper, (28x33cm)
With the same selection of colours plus alizarin crimson, I made haste slowly building up the layers of colour sometimes lightly and sometimes with a firm hand.
The softer highlights were rubbed out with the plastic eraser but the highlights on the pot and spoon were worked around for a crisper finish.
Details on the label and the plate were drawn with very sharp pencils (I’m usually reluctant to paint labels in any detail, but this one gave me an opportunity for some bright colour).
I finished the piece by smoothing the colours with the wax burnishing stick included in the set.
For more information about Caran d’Ache Luminance 6901 pencils visit www.carandache.com
About Liz Seward
Liz taught and demonstrated for 36 years and is a member of the Society of Women Artists and the Society of Floral Painters. She has exhibited widely and her work has been reproduced as greetings cards, and she has won many awards for her work. Liz teaches residential courses at Dedham Hall and demonstrates to art societies.