Prismacolor Pencils

By BRENNE MEIROWITZ

As an artist, I can use almost any medium to express myself, but one of my favorites is colored pencil art.  Using a pencil has its advantages and disadvantages; it is erasable, but it also requires a lot of time and patience.  Coloring in a large area can sometimes get very tedious, unlike a paint brush that is made to cover areas broadly.  Yet, that said, I do think that it is the challenge that makes drawing more appealing to me.  Yet, that said, I do think that it is the challenge that makes drawing more appealing to me, although Prismacolor watercolor pencils are definitely a wonderful mixture of both.

One of my favorite artists is Austrian, Gustav Klimt (1862-1918).  I admire Klimt on a number of levels, but it is his art that speaks to me first.  One of my favorite pieces is his Pallas Athene, painted in 1898, which inspired me to draw Pallas Judea in 2006.

Gustav Klimt, 1898
Pallas Athene
Oil on canvas 33 x 16 1/2 in.
Historisches Museum der Stadt Wien, Vienna

Brenne Meirowitz, 2006
Pallas Judea
Prismacolor pencils on paper and gold leaf paint 36″x24″

My drawing is a combination of Prismacolor colored pencils, Prismacolor watercolor pencils, and gold leaf paint.  It is meant to be a self-portrait – me as Jewish artist, or as the late R.B. Kitaj would have it – a Diasporist Artist. Coined by R.B. Kitaj, a Diasporist Artist is a member of a minority group and as such defines his or her art from one’s inner connection to one’s minority identification.  Many of Kitaj’s work reflects his inward Jewish struggle to reconcile Antisemitism, Jewish culture, history, and religion with the non-Jewish world.  For example, in his 1976 painting, If Not, Not is a surreal painting of Auschwitz, the Polish concentration camp; it depicts human suffering and destruction.

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By BRENNE MEIROWITZ

Prismacolor colored pencils are not cheap art supplies, but do cost less than most other name brands.  For example, compared to Derwent, a single Prismacolor colored pencil costs about $.95 – $1.43, whereas Derwent costs $1.34 on average. Stabilo colored marking pencils sell for approximately $1.40 each. Dick Blick has its own private label brand of colored pencils which range from $.67 – $.79 depending up the quantity ordered.  So, Prismacolor is not the least expensive, but does costs less than the leading name brand competition.  They are also made consistently from very high quality pigments, which are smooth and very rich in color saturation.

In the case of a private brand label or a generic product, quality may not always be as consistent as a specific manufacturer.  The reason – name brand manufacturers are counting on customer loyalty and satisfaction.  One the other hand, when Coca-Cola came out with a new Coke, the majority of consumers hated it.  They scrambled to remove it from the market.  However, in the case of new Coke versus Classic Coke, the consumer knew that they were buying a different product from what they had in the past. With a generic or private label product, for example, you never know who is really manufacturing the product – it could be Coca-Cola one year and the next season it could be Pepsi!  Therefore, for the most part, my suggestion is to stick with a name brand product that has proven its quality and consistency to you over time. Not all cheap art supplies are created equal!

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By BRENNE MEIROWITZ

If you have been following this blog, you may have noticed that I alluded to using Prismacolor watercolor pencils in my last article, “Prismacolor Colored Pencils Drawing Techniques.” Prismacolor watercolor pencils are made up of water-soluble materials, which enable an artist to create watercolor like effects within a drawing.  By applying a damp paintbrush to a composition drawn with water-soluble colored pencils, rough areas can be gently smoothed away.  Rather than use an eraser to try to remove or lighten areas of a drawing, applying a damp brush to these so-called mistakes, can actually enhance a drawing.

Here is an example, suppose you are drawing a landscape.  Rather than worry about having to cover a large area, such as the foreground, simply color the area gently with pencil, and then apply your brush to smooth out the spaces.  You can also draw on top of the water brushed area, but make sure that your paper is not too wet, or the paper will tear.  An alternative would be to wait until the paper is dry, and then apply a second layer of pencil to the drawing.  This may only be a few pencil accents made with yellows, violets, or reds to indicate flowers.  Once you have drawn in your flowers, use the damp brush again to blur and smooth the area.  You will find that brushes will pick-up some of the Prismacolor watercolor pencil pigment, so you can use that color to add additional color and texture to your drawing without having to put your pencil to the paper.  Remember always to keep a cup of clean water near your drawing area, in order to rinse accumulated pigment from your brush.  Dry it gently using a soft rag; paper towels will come apart and leave pieces in your brush.

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