Inheritance

 

An opportunity to honor an artist I didn't know.

A friend gave me a pile of art supplies. They had belonged to a friend of hers who had recently passed away, and she was helping Anne’s husband dispose of her belongings.

The large mix of colored pencils included mostly Eagle and Berol Prismacolors and Cumberland Derwent with a few Eberhard Faber Colorama – all several decades old. Although the brands were not new to me or my collection, one of the Berol imprints was one I hadn’t seen, and I didn’t have many Eagles with the italicized logo. I’m happy to have them.

The inherited pencils include vintage Eagle and Berol Prismacolors, Cumberland Derwents and Eberhard-Faber Coloramas. 

Going through the mix one by one, I thought about Anne (as much as it’s possible to think about someone I didn’t know at all). A ceramic artist, abstract painter and art teacher of young children, Anne had used the pencils well. Based on the colors that were shorter, I surmised that she had favored warmer hues. I hadn’t heard that she made drawings, so maybe the colored pencils were for studies. Or maybe she had let her young students use them (though they were in excellent condition, so I doubt it).

I didn’t check the Derwents individually, but all of the Prismacolors are duplicates of colors I have, so my initial intention was to pass these along to someone else. But I found myself sharpening several colors from the heap to use.

Since almost everything in my vintage collection came from eBay sellers who buy at estate sales, it’s likely that most of those art supplies once belonged to now-deceased artists. I have often wondered who those original owners were and what kinds of artists they were. Knowing just a bit about Anne has made me feel a stronger kinship through her pencils. Since she didn’t bequest these pencils to me, I suppose it’s not technically an inheritance, but she can rest knowing that her pencils won’t go to waste. I’ll honor her memory by using these pencils and thanking her for all the art she had made and encouraged in young people.

Below are a couple of sketches I made with Anne’s pencils.