Graphite for Gilligan’s Island

 

My picks, from top: Dixon's Typhonite Eldorado, Faber-Castell 9000, Staedtler Mars Lumograph. The other two didn't make the cut.

11/27/24 Faber-Castell 9000 8B

Regular readers of this blog know my preoccupation with thinking about what I’d take to Gilligan’s Island. Don’t laugh – when it comes to art supplies, it’s an important question. Although I typically ponder this issue as it relates to my entire sketch kit, which would always certainly include at least one graphite pencil, it was only recently that I began thinking more specifically about which graphite pencil I would take.

The question came up during Pencilvember while I was using a Faber-Castell “Castell” 9000 pencil for a draped scarf study. For a graphite sketch, I typically use one hard grade to begin, then finish with a softer grade. In the case of a full-on, finished drawing, I might use several grades in between. But I was in a hurry that day with only 20 minutes before I had to leave for an appointment, so I tried an experiment: Instead of my typical method, I used only the F-C 9000 in 8B.

I know 8B sounds way too soft, and I thought it would be challenging to draw the initial blocking and lightest values with a pencil that dark. In fact, it is very strangely both hard and soft. While the end result is not as smooth as it might have been had I started with a harder grade, I was happy with it – both the result and the process. Because the entire 9000 range is so hard (compared to any Japanese range and probably even some European ranges), the 8B was suitably hard while also being dark. Huh – I wouldn’t even mind taking it to Gilligan’s Island.

11/29/24 Dixon Typhonite Eldorado 3B

That’s what got me thinking: what other graphite pencils would be good candidates for the “three-hour tour”? Before I get started, let’s consider the criteria:

Multiples and variations must be minimized. Anticipating a potential rescue, the Skipper tells the castaways that they may bring only the “bare essentials” (a term that makes Mrs. Howell gasp and adolescent 1960s viewers titter). Ginger’s 15 evening gowns would not make the cut, and neither would a full range of graphite pencils.

In addition to being compact, each choice must be versatile. If one colored pencil can take the place of two (oooh, bicolors!), that’s great, but if it’s also a watercolor pencil, all the better. The double-sided Viking Verso would be an ideal graphite choice – if only I liked the scratchy graphite.

Practical matters must also be considered. One could make the argument that a clutch and a box of leads in a variety of grades would certainly be a compact graphite set for the island. But how practical would it be to continually change the lead in a clutch while making a drawing? Not at all. I’d be rescued by the time I finished that sketch.

Finally, a subjective criterion is also important. I must enjoy using the pencil, or being stranded for any length of time would be intolerable.

12/1/24 Staedtler Mars Lumograph 2B

With these criteria in mind, I determined that a pencil for Gilligan’s Island must have graphite hard enough to last far beyond that three-hour tour to minimize sharpening, but it must also be soft enough to build darks efficiently. While the result may not be as smooth as using multiple grades, it must be at least adequate. To test the pencils, I made more draped fabric studies using the Field Notes Streetscapes sketchbook.

My top three candidates are the vintage Dixon’s Typhonite Eldorado 3B, the previously mentioned Faber-Castell 9000 8B, and the Staedtler Mars Lumograph 2B. Each is simultaneously hard and dark, making them versatile, compact pencils. The Lumograph is not as smooth and pleasant to use as the Eldorado or 9000, but it does meet the criteria. The Lumograph and the 9000 have the advantage of being readily available almost anywhere (except the Island, of course) compared to the vintage Eldorado (though it can be found often enough on eBay).

12/2/24 Tombow Mono F: Too hard.

Although I had doubts, I tested a long-time favorite pencil to see how it would fare: A Tombow Mono F. Sometimes I start graphite drawings with this F as my first, hardest grade, then finish with a softer grade or two. Unfortunately, it's not soft enough to finish a sketch, at least with my patience level, because it takes too long to build up the darkest darks. (Who’s got that kind of time when there are coconuts to pick?)

My search was by no means exhaustive; I probably have other pencils that would pass the Gilligan test. These were simply the ones that were fresh in my memory from this year’s and last year’s Pencilvember. What are your graphite candidates for Gilligan’s Island?

12/2/24 vintage Eberhard Faber Microtomic 6B: Too soft.

All pencils were freshly sharpened before making the test sketches. This image shows how the points looked after the sketches were finished.

New Digs for Drawing Jam

 

12/7/24 I don't often get to draw a bunny in a 
Liberace-inspired tux! So frustrating not to be able 
to see his face or the front of his outfit well.

Except for the pandemic years, I’ve been attending Gage Academy’s Drawing Jam annually since 2012. Last Saturday was the first time the event was held at the school’s new South Lake Union facility, and it was also my first visit since it moved last summer – an exciting first for me!

My personal tradition has always been to arrive at least a half-hour before the opening so I can get a prime seat in the costumed models’ life-drawing studio, one of the most popular attractions. I recall many cold and rainy waits outside Gage’s door and one particularly memorable year when the temp was 20 degrees. Per tradition, it was pouring Saturday morning, but when I arrived around 15 minutes before opening, no one was waiting outside the door – I was the first attendee to arrive! And they let me in early! That set the right tone for the rest of my visit, which was more relaxed and less crowded than all previous Drawing Jams.

Oof... first sketch felt very rusty.

I don’t know if it was actually less attended or if it was just that the new building is so open and spacious that it just felt less crowded. (I’ve heard that the square footage of the new building is actually smaller than the old school.) In any case, I enjoyed the relaxed vibe all day. Even the most popular costumed-model studios didn’t feel uncomfortably packed.

Hallway and gallery lighting is much brighter so that student and instructor art on all the walls is easier to view. The previous facility was a very old building that was either roasting or freezing, and the toilets were scarce, delicate and unreliable at best. Hallelujah – the new school offers a long bank of unisex restroom stalls containing reliably functioning toilets!

When I got frustrated with the poor lighting, I focused
on limbs that had some light on them.

My only complaint (and it’s significant) is that lighting in the life-drawing studios was not directed properly: The backlit models’ faces and fronts were completely in shadow, while the artists had lights glaring in their eyes! Frustrated, I didn’t spend as much time drawing models as I usually do and had more fun sketching the artists and musicians.

Finally I got so annoyed with the lighting that I stepped to the back of the studio and had more fun sketching the other artists. Meanwhile, the model was in the dark. :-(

It was fun sketching Ask Sophie, a band that was familiar from sketches I made at Drawing Jam in 2019.

I’m not sure what’s up with the lighting – Gage has been offering life drawing for all of its years of existence and certainly knows how to light models optimally for drawing. I have given them feedback, and I’m hoping it’s just a fluke of Drawing Jam and not a reflection of typical studio experiences. I would love to return to a regular life-drawing practice again – I have sorely missed it (and I sure felt rusty on Saturday).

Gage Academy's entryway

DJ'd refreshment area offered coffee and pastries during the Jam. That evening, it became a 21+ drink and draw.

Well-lighted hallways for viewing art.

I had the place to myself for a while. . . a leisurely look at all the art.

Lots of pencils among the free art supplies! In the interest of downsizing, I helped myself to only one pencil!

Reliably functioning toilets! Hallelujah!

A rare photo of me at Drawing Jam. . . taken during a break, so I'm looking at my phone! :-0 (Image borrowed from Gage Academy's Instagram)

Dilated on the John Lewis Bridge

 

12/4/24 Northgate

My retinologist’s office is a bit too far outside my practical walking range, but if I drive and park at the Northgate Light Rail Station, the rest of the way is easily walkable. The best part is that the walk requires crossing the John Lewis Memorial Pedestrian Bridge, which connects Northgate with North Seattle College. (I previously sketched from the bridge a couple of years ago, and I sketched the bridge itself in 2021 when it was brand new.)

Walking to my appointment in the early afternoon, sketching was fun; it was chilly, but the clear sky and sunshine felt great. By the time I walked back less than a couple of hours later, it was already the golden hour, and the sun was nearly below the tree line. Cold and with dilated pupils, it wasn’t quite as pleasant. I wanted to find something to fill that small vertical space near the center of the spread, but sometimes a blank space tells a story as well as a filled one.

Look at that lovely golden-hour light that turned my sketchbook from magenta to red!

Incidentally, the walking process I described above is my fitness ideal. My goal is to walk at least 60 minutes a day, seven days a week. I don’t always hit the goal, especially when the weather is inhospitable, but I try. Although walking is my favorite part of my self-care routine (which also includes yoga and a workout with hand weights and resistance bands), a commitment of an hour a day is a significant chunk of time. I try to find ways to incorporate the walking with whatever else I have going on that day, and sometimes that means driving part of the way and walking the rest – whatever works out. The best part, though, is that a potential sketch opportunity is always the carrot on the end of my stick.

Pea Soup for Breakfast

 

12/4/24 Maple Leaf neighborhood, about 8:45 a.m.

This is the time of year for sketching fog. Often it starts to burn off by mid- to late-morning and thins even earlier. If I want to sketch it, I have a relatively narrow window of time after full sun around 8 a.m. and whenever it may dissipate. Since I know it may begin lifting at any time, there’s always a bit of tension, which I relish. It was already fading by the time I finished this sketch shortly before 9 a.m.

I’ve tried different media to sketch fog, including watercolor (way back in 2013!), water-soluble graphite, charcoal and white colored pencils, but my favorite is graphite. In years past, I’ve often used a blending stump to soften graphite for a diffused, foggy look. The risk, though, is that the stump will darken graphite slightly, and it’s already challenging to apply graphite lightly. For this one and the one I had made the day before, I resisted the stump and challenged myself to draw as lightly as possible (and still be visible).

I’ve been using a Field Notes Streetscapes sketchbook, which has a lovely, mild tooth that I enjoy with graphite, but it might still be too strong a texture for soft fog. Next time I’ll try something smoother.

Mission Aborted

 

12/3/24 Briefly seen in a waiting room.

I thought I would have several minutes to sketch, but my wait turned out to be only a few seconds.

Lighten Up

 

12/3/24 Maple Leaf neighborhood

After so many instructors have drilled it into me that I should push dark values harder, I find it challenging to draw as lightly as a foggy morning requires.

“My” Library is Back!

 

12/2/24 Green Lake Branch Library

Seattle Public Library’s Green Lake Branch had been closed for nearly two years for major renovations. Although I didn’t mind the longer walk to the Northgate Branch, I still missed “my” library (it’s a lovely Carnegie building that I’ve sketched many times). After some delays, it finally reopened in October, but I missed the grand reopening event. A book on my hold list became available this week, so I used that as an opportunity to see the “new” library.

The biggest improvements are invisible, such as the seismic retrofit and installation of an electric HVAC system that includes air conditioning. I was happy and relieved to see that historic features and original architectural components were preserved.

In fact, they did such a good job of retaining the original building that it was hard to find something to sketch. However, I noticed right away that the main desk where the librarians work had been moved from the entryway to a more central part of the floor. Noting the new tables and chairs in the main reading room, I stood facing the new desk and modern light fixture above it.

Encounter

 

11/27/24 Encounter church, Mercer Island

On my way to meet a couple of friends for lunch, it occurred to me that I probably hadn’t been to Mercer Island in more than 25 years. Although it’s on the Eastside, which requires crossing Lake Washington, it’s not far, and it’s actually easy to get to via toll-free Interstate 90. With cute shops, good restaurants and other reasons to visit, it has been off my general radar.

I arrived a bit early to take a walk around the strip mall where we were meeting. The first building I encountered was a modern church with a sign that said, indeed, “Encounter.” That’s all I know about it, but it wasn’t bad as a first sketch in a town only 20 minutes away. I’ll have to return someday.

Pencilvember Finale

11-27/24 Faber-Castell 9000 8B
(all studies made in Field Notes Streetscapes
sketchbook)

 

Without a plan or much intention other than to use pencils every day, my Pencilvember challenge began with low commitment at best. I didn’t even finish using the tan-colored Uglybook I started with, even though I vowed to. That was a disappointment because I’ve otherwise been consistent about filling every daily-carry Uglybook before moving on to the next. Something about that color just didn’t do it for me, though, with graphite.

I did, however, use a pencil of one kind or another almost every day of November (I think I forgot one day), which did remind me why I love them so much. Compared to the speed of markers, both colored and graphite pencils require a bit more time, so I tend to reach for efficiency when on the go. Nothing is quite as satisfying, however, as building tones gradually and modulating them delicately with a pencil. I enjoyed being “forced” by the challenge to take the time.

11/29/24 vintage Dixon Typhonite Eldorado 3B

My serendipitous breakthrough came when I viewed the new Ken Burns documentary about Leonardo DaVinci. A small mention of his studies of draped fabric set my brain on fire, and the remaining days were easy to fill with similar studies – all in graphite. I was a bit sorry I didn’t think of the idea earlier – I enjoyed them so much that I could have done a whole month of them (it’s safe to say that now, since November is over!).

I’ve posted all the other Pencilvember sketches throughout the month within the context of wherever I sketched. Here are the last three days of my draped scarf studies. (I took a break from the series on Thanksgiving to sketch the fog.)

For such an unambitious start, I’m happy with the way it went, and especially the way it ended.

11/30/24 Caran d'Ache Grafwood 4B

Black Friday Gab & Grab

 

11/30/24 Volunteer Park and Caffe Ladro, Capitol Hill neighborhood

Chen, Ron and Roy grabbin'!

As I’ve cleared out art-related books and art materials from my studio, I’ve been setting them aside separate from the general Goodwill heap. Although USk Seattle’s tradition is to have a Gab & Grab event in January each year, I had requested an additional Black Friday edition so that I could offload all the goodies I had been saving up. I forgot to take a photo of all the boxes, but I know I made nine trips (thankfully, not literally!) down two flights of stairs to get them all from my studio to the car!

For the Black Friday edition, I brought only books, fountain pens and inks. I’ll have much more for the January edition, but this was all that I could fit into the hatchback.

Devin, David and Kim gabbin'!

My photos look sparsely populated, but we actually had a great turnout of sketchers who preferred to “shop” free at the Grab rather than in stores. I didn’t remember to take photos until the event was well underway, so these tables were much fuller at the beginning.

Of the things I brought, only about a boxful of books remained by the end, which I then donated to the library where we held the Gab & Grab. It was a satisfying and successful giveaway for me, and I was relieved to haul only empty boxes back home!

At the top of the post is a comics page in which I didn’t leave much room for the all-important notations about my downsizing accomplishments, but they were nonetheless duly celebrated.

Paula, Kate and Dave perusing my inks!

Ron, Jan and Tamra grabbin' my books!

Foggy Thanksgiving

 

11/28/24 About 7:15 a.m., Maple Leaf

Just like two years ago, Thanksgiving day began with a thick fog. Around 7:15 a.m., the sun was still below the horizon, but the sky was beginning to lighten. From an upstairs window, I could barely see the driveway; the cone of light from this street light dissipated before it hit the ground.

A couple of hours later, the sun was fully up, but the fog was still deep. I sketched the same street light, this time with some context I could see across the street.

11/28/24 About 9:30 a.m.