New Pencils

I am in love. I recently discovered Derwent’s creamy drawing pencils and am now the proud addict of three colours: Ink Blue 3720, Ruby Earth 6510, and Chinese White 7200. I’ve put my ink drawing on hold for these lovely pencils, and have been enjoying a limited palette of sienna, sepias and blues. I’ve long been trying to simplify my drawing, to get it as minimal and loose as I can, but with these pencils, I just want to attack folds of flesh and wrinkles, reflections in glass and hazy skylines. I’ve been layering the pencil with washes and lines in gouache (and occasionally a dab of coffee or tea), and I am quite pleased with the results. 

The first sketch was done in revenge. While waiting patiently in line for a coffee, a fellow foreigner shamelessly cut in front of us— which prompted us to sit at the table next to him, and sketch exaggerated drawings of his scowling face in revenge. It was all done in good humour, and I’m sure the guy will think twice before cutting in line again. The full story is documented in detail on my blog.

These last two sketches are of a failed trip to the Princes’ Islands in the Marmara Sea. What began as a sunny day for a picnic, ended in relentless rain, keeping us in a café for nearly three hours, 10 metres or so from the pier on Büyükada.  It still was a lovely adventure, regardless. On the ferry back to Istanbul, the lady in front of us, an exhausted young mother, fell asleep against the window pane, becoming a perfect model for a sketch.

See the photos, read the stories on my blog Harika.