I Appear, I Leave

10/28/19 Gloria (10-min. pose)

My current reading is Ways of Drawing: Artists’ Perspectives and Practices, by the Royal Drawing School. It’s a collection of essays about the practice of drawing by students and faculty of this classical drawing school in London. While most of the essays are by artists, a notable exception is by a long-time art model, Isley Lynn. Not an artist herself (in fact, she’s a playwright), she has experienced a range of encounters with artists who spend many hours scrutinizing and interpreting her nude body. 

I appear, I leave, and the artwork is the trace of my visit. Thousands of people have seen me intimately without knowing me. They never see me, they see a reflection of me, a version of me, someone else’s story of me. And art to a model is like money to the dead – you can’t take it with you when you go. – Isley Lynn

20-min. pose

10-min. pose

10-min. pose

Caran d’Ache Watercolor Pencil History Update

The incomplete and confusing history of Caran d'Ache watercolor pencils.

With a few exceptions, most of my vintage colored pencil collecting has been led by whim, curiosity and availability of affordable items on eBay – without specific targets. One notable exception has been Caran d’Ache’s water-soluble colored pencils. As my favorite maker of and the original creator of my favorite art material, Caran d’Ache is special to me, and therefore its history is interesting. The product history of Cd’A’s watercolor pencils is also short enough – the Swiss company developed the first one in 1931 – that I might actually have a chance of acquiring samples of all its products through various eras. Although I’m certain I don’t have samples of all variations through Caran d’Ache’s history (many questions remain unanswered), I think I now have a fairly good range.

Since I’ve already written about most of these pencils before, this post will serve as an update rather than a rehash of my previous speculations and theories. For the context, please see these posts:

• Vintage Prismalo (possibly from the ‘30s; the oldest set in my collection)
• Vintage Prismalo (probably from the ‘90s)
• Contemporary Prismalo (100^th anniversary edition, with historical comparison)
• Contemporary Supracolor (in which I ponder at length about why Supracolors are called Supracolor “II” when there is no Supracolor “I”? It turns out there was a “I”! Read on.)

My latest acquisition is a set of Supracolor I (left, top row, in the photo above), which answers the question I had been asking for a long time. When I first acquired the “Water Soluble” set (center of top row), I was told that these pencils and Supracolor I (which I didn't own yet) were the same – only the names on the boxes and the barrels were different. In addition, Supracolor I and “Water Soluble” both have the product code 3999. Now that I finally have some Supracolor I to make my own comparison, I have confirmed that the cores are, indeed, the same: The thin cores are very hard and contain little pigment. According to the Supracolor I tin (below), these pencils have “fine leads, ideal for detailed drawing,” while Supracolor II have “thick leads, ideal for shading.”

 

Bottom of the Supracolor I tin.

Although I could see from initial swatches that the very hard Supracolor I pencils would not be easy to use for coloring, I made a sample sketch of an apple on principle. As you can see, I had difficulty developing saturated hues, but as promised, the very hard cores remained sharp throughout the sketch and would be ideal for fine details.

 

11/6/19 vintage Supracolor I pencils in Stillman & Birn Beta sketchbook

According to Atelier Caran d’Ache: The Workshop Book, the Supracolor product line was introduced in 1988 (though the I and II designations are not specified). I wish I had a sample of Supracolor II from that era to see how it compares to a contemporary Supracolor II. In any case, a new question arises: When did Caran d’Ache stop producing the I line and why? Personally, when I need a colored pencil for sharp details, I reach for a hard traditional (wax- or oil-based) pencil so that all the fine marks I spend time making won’t accidentally wash away. Perhaps other artists concur, and Caran d’Ache saw no need to maintain the harder I line.

To add to the mystery of the set of Prismalo that I reviewed last year, I have acquired a few pencils that came in a random lot without a box which are labeled Prismalo I on the barrel. What?! Prismalo and Prismalo I!? (Can you be any more confusing, Caran d’Ache?) To my hand, Prismalo feels slightly softer than Prismalo I, but beyond that, there’s no difference. Both have the product number 999. Why the two names? When did Prismalo I disappear? And was there ever a Prismalo II (doubtful, but the question is cause for yet another sleepless night)?

Notice that all three tins – Supracolor I, Water Soluble and Prismalo – look identical, with an image of the Matterhorn, red flowers and the sans serif Caran d’Ache logo.

The blue box shown is another new mystery. Contained in this tin was a set of pencils with three sailboats on the barrel. Their cores are slightly softer than the others and contain a bit more pigment. What was this nameless line, and where did it fit within the Prismalo/Supracolor history?

 

The nameless, numberless "sailboat" pencils (and one random Prismalo that came in this used set).

Finally, also in a random lot, I acquired a single Swisscolor pencil, with a core similar to contemporary Swisscolors, which are dryer than Prismalo and Supracolor and lower in pigment (my guess is that they are student grade). The product history in the Atelier book is not helpful regarding the “sailboat” and Swisscolor pencils; they are not mentioned at all. Since the book seems to focus more on artist-quality products rather than student products, perhaps both belong in the latter category.

All the above-mentioned pencils are water-soluble. I also have a few unnamed pencils with two tulips on the barrel (product code 333) that are not water-soluble. A precursor to the contemporary Pablo, perhaps?

Shown below are specimens of all the vintage product lines or eras I own. The last two in the photo are contemporary Supracolor (now called Supracolor II Soft with the product code 3888) and Prismalo.

 

From top: 1930s Prismalo, 1980s Prismalo, Prismalo I, unnamed "sailboat," unnamed "water soluble," Supracolor I, vintage Swisscolor, unnamed "tulip" (not water-soluble), contemporary Supracolor II Soft, contemporary Prismalo.

The swatch comparison indicates that all the vintage pencils (top row) have about the same pigment level except the “sailboat” set, which is slightly higher in pigment and softer. For reference, the two swatches in the bottom row are from contemporary Prismalo and Supracolor II Soft pencils. (Whenever I compare contemporary pencils with their vintage counterparts, I am always grateful for advances in technology and manufacturing that enable me to have products now that are of much higher quality than their predecessors. I like collecting old pencils, but with few exceptions, I don’t prefer them to contemporary pencils.)

 

Swatches made on Canson XL 140 lb. watercolor paper

The Caran d’Ache watercolor pencil history described in this post is not exhaustive by any means. If anything, it just raises more questions. If you know more about Caran d’Ache colored pencil history or can solve the mysteries described, I’m all ears!

Updated 7/12/21: A reader contacted me with photos of two tins of "Prismalo II Soft" (product code 888) pencils -- so they did exist! Moreover, the product descriptions on the tins comparing Prismalo I and Prismalo II are identical to the descriptions (above) comparing Supracolor I and Supracolor II! This leads me to surmise that Prismalo I and II were intended to transition to Supracolor I and II, and perhaps the name Prismalo was to be abandoned. Instead, Prismalo became the name of the harder, less pigmented pencil, and Supracolor the name of the softer, more pigmented pencil, and the I and II were dropped from the names. (Thank you, Marie, for shedding light on this part of the Cd'A mystery!)

Supracolor I

Updated 11/24/21: Since the last update, I have acquired a tin of Prismalo II Aquarelle Soft pencils. The well-used pencils that came in the tin are hardly a set; instead, they seem to be an eclectic selection of colors for a specific project. (Ratty though they are, I like knowing that they were well-used by someone; I especially like the hand-sharpened ones.) The odd assortment includes Prismalo I (product code 999) and Prismalo II Soft (888). Prismalo II Soft is softer with a slightly thicker core than Prismalo I. These pencils are further evidence that Prismalo II Soft eventually morphed into the current Surpracolor II Soft and the harder Prismalo I became the current Prismalo. The I and II were eventually dropped from Cd’A’s continually confusing nomenclature. (Perhaps I should say “partially” dropped; the contemporary Supracolor does not include the II on its tin, but the pencil barrels still include the II.)

Other than adding a new piece to my Caran d’Ache historical collection, the best part of this find is the adorable St. Bernard on the tin. Also of note is that the original owner paid £2.80 at a UK store called Jarrold. (A department store called Jarrold is still in the UK, and it carries quite a few colored pencils, including Prismalo.)

I love the St. Bernard! Purchased at Jarrold for £2.80

Well-used

Updated 6/22/23: See my post about Supracolor Fine, a name variation of Supracolor I.

Updated 1/30/25: The serendipitous find of the "St. Bernard" Supracolor set below has definitively dated the era!

St. John the Evangelist

11/7/19 Greenwood neighborhood

The bishop’s hat on top of St. John the Evangelist Parish always catches my eye when I’m in its neighborhood. In Greenwood for an errand on a foggy and then overcast morning, I was attracted to it again, though I knew it would be a challenge in that indistinct light (as it is in any light; I attempted it last year and several years before that, too). But the lazy sun on one side and the bright white sky on the other framed the hat with subtle highlights that gave me somewhere to start.

Now that the leaves are falling off, I think graphite season is beginning.

Dick’s on Queen Anne and La Marzocco Café

11/8/19 Dick's on Queen Anne Avenue North

Dick’s Drive-in has been a Seattle-area institution for 65 years. When I think of the family-owned chain of burger joints, I think first of the one on Broadway (which I sketched few years ago) with its classic drive-in shape (though in-car dining is no longer an option). The one in lower Queen Anne has a more modern building, but it’s still a neighborhood icon. On a brisk and still-partly-foggy morning, I started the Seattle USk outing with a sketch of Dick’s.

Chilled after standing for more than an hour in the shade, I went back to the meetup location – La Marzocco Café – to warm up. Housing indie radio station KEXP (DJs are visible through a window, and the station’s broadcast is the café’s soundtrack), the café is also a large public space for town hall meetings and other events. There’s also a vinyl record shop and espresso-making equipment shop inside. I didn’t have much more time than a hasty sketch of café patrons in front of me, but I’d enjoy going back to take advantage of the many seating (and therefore composition) options. The coffee and snacks aren’t bad, either!

11/8/19 La Marzocco Cafe

Dappled

11/5/19 Wedgwood neighborhood

After being sadly surprised by how much lower the light is in the early afternoon, I set my sketching clock back to sync with the sun. Shortly before lunch (instead of after), heading toward the sun, I found this dappled street where the trees’ colors were visible only around the fringes of branches. Although I missed all the color I would have seen if I’d faced the other way, I had more fun capturing the shadows and the tiny sparks of yellow burning through. Any day now, clouds and rain will be back for the long haul; I’m hunting as much light as I can – even from the back.

Life Drawing Lessons from Apples

11/4/19 Clara (20-min. pose)

As you know, I sketch a lot of simple still lives consisting of no more than one or two pieces of produce. These aren’t especially inspiring compositions or subject matter, but they give me practice in working on values in color and blending with colored pencils, and fruit is easily available in my home. The forms of apples and pears are so simple that they aren’t very challenging to draw, but anything three-dimensional is good practice in rendering form and interpreting light logic.

One day at a Gage life drawing session last spring, I suddenly made a new observation: In addition to the strong shadow under the breasts (which I always expect), I saw subtle arcs of light reflected from the model’s thigh or some other plane of lighted skin. I know it sounds like a sophomoric joke to compare breasts with apples, but I realized that the reflection was exactly the same as the reflected light I always see in my sketches of fruit that I place on white paper to help me see the shadow easily. I’ve been going to life drawing for years, yet this was the first time that reflection on the model consciously registered in my brain – and the light bulb turned on. All that fruit I’ve been sketching had taught me something – though it took a long time for the lesson to sink in.

Now I always look for that reflection as well as the shadow. It might take a while to learn, but once seen, a lesson cannot be unseen.

5/8/19 Shannon (20-min. pose)

4/29/19 (25-min. pose)

2/8/19 Lessons from apples and other handy produce.

Time Change

11/3/19 Crown Hill neighborhood

In the early fall, I tend to go out sketching after lunch when the sun (if it’s out at all) is still high enough that I can catch some light. I remembered to set my clocks back on Saturday night, but the next day I went out to sketch at my usual time, according to the clock – forgetting that it would be an hour “later,” according to the sun. By 2 p.m., it was already so low in the sky that I was too late for the shimmering backlit views I’ve been chasing lately. By the time I finished this sketch, the shadows looked like dusk.

I need to adjust my sketching time along with the clock.