Thursday, March 3, 2016

Moving into March

     I've just done the March newsletter and used a part of this as the illustration. It is on watercolour paper and was drawn with a sharpened wax crayon and then a watercolour wash was added. 
I've just taken it down to be framed as I was also taking in the painting that will be in Gateway Theatre upper lobby next month. I had a couple of frames with glass given to me but these still needed  matting and proper backing. I'll have them for DoorsOpen - which will be on June 4th and 5th this year.
    More on pencils: I remember when indelible pencils were fairly common- but I don't remember why- maybe it was before ballpoints, which became common in the mid 20th century.  I have a vague memory of my grandparents having indelible pencils .  Indelible pencils cannot be erased and were developed in the 1800's as alternatives to fountain pens which were quite expensive then. They could be used on documents and various legal papers. During the war, they were often used to censor letters sent home by soldiers. The earliest indelible pencils had silver nitrate in them. I remember as a small child being warned off them as whatever was used was considered toxic.  They are usually made now with graphite and an added dye.  There are still artists who like them because they don't smudge - but that would also mean no chance to erase. However, the wax crayon  I used in the above drawing was not erasable either. Indelible pencils are also used by dental laboratories- and, in Italy, they are mandated by law for voting papers. No chance of switched ballots!

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