As part of our 180 year celebrations, we're inviting staff and friends of Derwent to provide memories of years gone by. Here, Jay DePalma reminisces about his first experience of Derwent pencils...

"As a child artist in the 1960s and growing up in a home with a single parent - my mother, she knew the value of a dollar, but I was blessed for my mom also understood the unconditional importance of quality art materials. She made sure that my pencils received to up-most usage and even when it was too small to hold, she would help me take the led out of the wood case and grind it into powder so I can use it as a shading aid. What a clever idea from a woman without no artistic background whatever. I always keep myself in check and remember the young and lean years when my hopes of a bright future as an artist seemed almost like an impossible dream. My dearest mother, her undying love and support of my talent and of course, Derwent pencils the best pencils in the world. Thanks you both! Jay DePalma"

Thanks so much to Jay for sharing this memory with us.

Our next Featured Artist is Tiffany Budd, an artist from Surrey. Tiffany has worked with Derwent for many years and recently featured on our packaging for Pastel Blocks. We asked Tiffany a few questions about her work:

What inspires you and your work?

There are many things really, but as artists go, the often forgotten Russian Constructivists inspire me. The way they created new exciting work using shapes, perspective and light is brilliant. They were primarily inspired themselves by the Cubist movement (Picasso and Braque), another one of my favourites. For use of colour, Patrick Heron and Howard Hodgkin are masters in my eyes.  

My Fractured style of painting came from visiting a Russian Constructivist exhibition at the Tate Gallery about 4 years ago. It was like a light bulb moment! I got home, sat down with a glass of wine and sketched the said glass and bottle in a way I hadn’t done before, extending out lines and shading in the blocked up areas. I’ve not looked back since!

When I think of a painting idea, light, reflections and movement get me going. Unusual building shapes are great too. I am about to do a large scale drawing of the Millennium Wheel in my Fractured style, I am very excited about that! I love photographing water and waves too, then translating it onto my canvas as a later date. This is why I always carry a small digital camera with me. You never know what might grab your attention for the next drawing.

What are your goals as an artist?

To create something unique, that no other artist has done before. And for the viewer to look at it, appreciate it and enjoy it, and you never know, purchase it!

Which artist inspires you?

Do I have to choose one?! Aleksandr Rodchenko (Russian Constructivist), Picasso for his diversity and incredible talent, and then Carravaggio for pure drama. Oh then there’s Matisse, Patrick Heron, Howard Hodgkin like I mentioned before….see? Impossible to choose just one!

Do you have any top tips for drawing?

If you think something is not quite right, but can’t figure out quite what, try looking at it in a mirror. For some bizarre reason, the ‘mistake’ jumps out! Don’t ask me why, but it does!  Also, take your sketchbook and camera everywhere like I mentioned before. You never know when something might inspire you and get your fingers itching! When using coloured pencils and want to remove the pencil marks to create a smooth image, a blender pencil is invaluable. It doesn’t affect the colour but blends it all nicely together.  And finally, buy the best quality pencils you can. Cheap ones tend to break and that can incredibly frustrating.

How and when did you start drawing?

I’ve always drawn, as long as I can remember. It was something I was good at school (unlike Maths!). I was at a school which had a fantastic art department. They really encouraged me to develop my talent, and in the process, recommended I give up trying to do A level Biology. Which I did willingly! At Christmas and birthdays growing up, I always asked for art materials. (I still do) I can’t imagine not drawing or painting.

How has your style changed over the years?

Quite dramatically. I wanted to learn how to draw first and foremost, so would copy, sketch figure studies, still life.  Once I could do that, I tried other things, abstracts, collage and I developed a range of floral work using the collage. I still do those, but I’ve moved onto my Fractured work more now. Every now and then, I still do the basics, almost like a refresher course. I love drawing so just want to keep on improving and developing my skills. I believe you need to know the basics of drawing, perspective and copying before you can develop your own personal style.  But that’s just me! Some people have a distinctive style from the outset, but I didn’t.

What have you learned about yourself and your work over the years?

Be yourself and be patient! I used to be incredibly impatient and would rush things and inevitably ruin them. It took years for me to slow down and concentrate more on my work. I do things slowly and carefully now. Although saying that, I have begun to do demonstrations for art societies and you have to complete a painting in 2 hours and talk at the same time! That does tend to speed you up a bit! I also used to try and do styles which just weren’t suited to me. I admire people who do loose, free work. So I tried it, and it didn’t feel right, or look right. Stick to what you’re best at! I also like chatting to and being with people, which is why I began to do art demonstrations. Being an artist can be quite a solitary experience, so this works perfectly for me.

Which country would be your dream drawing destination?

Easter Island! I have had a lifelong fascination with tribal sculpture and beliefs. The fact that this island is as far away from anything you can get, and yet these mysterious, beautiful giant heads gaze inland, not out to sea is incredible. I would love to sit there all day and draw, and think about what they mean! I imagine the light on this island is crystal clear and bright.

What are the most enjoyable and rewarding aspects of being an artist?

Creating something which people enjoy, and that I enjoyed doing myself. Getting paid for it is also a bonus!!! I love being an artist, and I couldn’t imagine doing anything else.  

You can find out more about Tiffany on her website: www.tiffanybudd.co.uk

We love crafting here at Derwent, so who better to show us some great techniques and projects than super-crafter Sarah Hurley? Sarah will be bringing us lots of fun and colourful ways to craft using Derwent products so keep your eyes peeled... take it away Sarah!

Today I’m sharing with you a Valentine’s card using Inktense pencils and blocks. They are so versatile and have such bright vibrant colours; I just love using them in my crafting!

I’ll be showing you how to stamp and colour with Inktense…

Supply List – Inktense Blocks, Inktense Pencils, Watercolour Paper, Waterbrush – Derwent, Jar Stamps – Little Musings, Cloud Stamp – Hero Arts, Valentine Stamps – Pink Paislee, Once Upon a Princess Cartridge (Cricut Expression) – Provocraft, Staz-on Ink Pad, Kraft Card, Water Spray Bottle 

Firstly I stamped two jars (in case of a mistake or smudge!) using a Staz-on ink pad (this is a solvent based waterproof ink so won’t run and spoil my image once I start to add colour) onto watercolour paper. Using the Inktense pencils, I added some Bright Blue to the edges and bottom of the jar and some Teal Green to the inside of the jar (very lightly) then, using a water brush I blended the colour out using lots of water as I wanted the colour to be very feint to give the effect of glass.

Once this was dry I added some Black to the edges of the lid and some White in the centre and blended with a water brush. While the lid was still wet I added more White to highlight and blended (the colours are more intense when used on wet paper.)

While the jars were drying I cut a piece of watercolour paper to 13 x 9.5cms, using the Inktense blocks dry I coloured the cloud stamp with two shades of blue (you can add colour to a dry stamp but it won’t stamp until you wet the stamp or stamp onto wet paper) I then misted lightly with water using a spray bottle and stamped onto the watercolour paper – set aside to dry.

I then cut a piece of Kraft card to 14 x 10cms and using my Cricut Expression I cut a heart shape in the middle. I then rounded the corners and used a red pen to doodle stitching round the heart and the edge of the paper.

When the cloud image was dry I mounted it onto a card blank using double sided tape, then using 3D foam I added the Kraft card over the top, allowing the stamped clouds to peek through the heart.

Once the jar was dry I stamped the hearts inside the jar using the same technique with the Inktense blocks – using them dry onto the stamp and then misting with water. If you miss any parts out (i.e. if too much water goes on one area and dilutes / washes away the colour) you can just touch up the area with your Inktense pencils or a corner of the Inktense block.

I then added the jar to the front of the card with 3D foam, and a stamped greeting to the top left corner.

Some of my Top Tips! 

• Using the Inktense blocks directly onto your stamp is a great technique to achieve a watercolour effect for backgrounds etc
• For more precision you can use Inktense pencils onto specific areas of the stamp
• The more water you add, the more blurred and painterly your image will be when you stamp
• Bear in mind as you flip the stamp over some water will run, mixing the colours; if you want to avoid this look then wet the paper instead of the stamp, this will also make your colours brighter.
• For a more intense colour, wet your stamp with the mister first and then add colour to the stamp.

I love discovering new things with these pencils & blocks. They are so versatile, I’m sure you’ll be seeing more of my experiments popping up here soon!

www.sarahhurley.com

Derwent and Paleta Art in Poland launched an exciting art competition in art schools in November 2011. The theme was 'Polish Architecture' and the response was fantastic with many students eager to enter. I think you'll agree the winners and runners up work is of a wonderfully high standard.1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd prizes will all receive a selection of Derwent products as well as the opportunity for their entry to be displayed in the Pencil Museum, for 1 month following the competition and to be featured on our social media sites.

Furthermore, the 1^st place winner will also have the opportunity to work to a brief, with our design team, to create a step by step workshop programme using brand new, yet to be launched, Derwent product. The final step by step will be featured on our website and has the potential to feature in further marketing used by Derwent. Finished pieces of work will be returned to schools for re-distribution to individual students.

The winner was a piece named 'Gdansk' Adrian Rogala from Domin school in Poland.  

Second prize was awarded to Agata Skoneczna from Domin school, with her drawing of the Lichen Sanctuary.

Third prize went to Magda Rusek from Labirynt, for her piece named 'Wooden Chapel'.

The Highly Commended prize was awarded to Edyta Fularz, Labirynt for the piece 'Country House'.

We'd like to thank all the students for their entries and to Paleta Art for their hard work in organising and helping to choose the winners!

The Cumberland Pencil Company is celebrating its 180th birthday in 2012 and throughout the year I'll be interviewing its staff to bring you an insight into our world. We start off with David Sharrock, Director & General Manager:

Can you give us a brief description of your role & your life away from work?

Overall responsibility for the strategic direction, operation and performance of the company.

Married to Kerrie, with two teenage daughters (!), I have been with the company for over 30 years, initially in finance, taking over my current role in 1989. We have seen many changes in the business over the years, but I believe the current Derwent team is the strongest we have ever had, and I am very proud of their achievements, and privileged to have their support.

Over the last 30 years, what have been your most poignant memories with the Company?

In the 30 years I have worked for the company I have seen and been a part of the transformation of a traditional, almost Victorian, small business into a modern global world class industry leader.

When I first arrived in 1981, the Keswick factory was a dark, depressing place, with antiquated machinery and outdated, manual systems. Recipes and formulations were kept in people’s heads, production was managed by moving tags around an enormous pegboard and the accounting records were hand-written.

The original building from 1832 was still in use and it was like entering another world with its low ceilings, wooden beams and creaking floorboards, flaking paint, tiny windows and ancient lighting which cast eerie shadows on the walls as you penetrated the gloom.

The people in the company were amazing. Generations of the same family… 40 years plus service… exponents of the ‘black art’ of pencil making, they had forgotten more than I would ever know. Sadly many of these characters have passed away, along with their hilarious stories of life in the mill. We realised too late how priceless their recollections are, and only recently started an audio archive in the Pencil Museum.

Gradually we brought the company into the nineteenth (!) twentieth and then twenty first centuries. Along the way we replaced the ancient machinery, opened the Pencil Museum, improved the buildings, updated the systems and finally moved from Keswick to Lillyhall.

Several events stand out along the way:

Introducing computers and getting information out of heads onto hard drives was a major exercise – as was introducing cashless pay. Many of our employees did not have a bank account, nor did they have any faith in banks!

Asking them to withdraw cash by inserting a piece of plastic into a hole-in-the-wall machine was as alien as going abroad on holiday. It just wasn’t done in 1980s Keswick!

Our wood waste extraction and furnace system was an amazing feat of Victorian engineering. The ignition system was technically complex - throw a burning rag onto the sawdust and quickly shut the door! A new Health and Safety Inspector came round, saw this operation and immediately issued a notice requiring its replacement, despite many years of incident free operation. The new system he specified was duly installed at great cost.

It exploded within the first month of operation, blowing out all the adjacent windows causing thousands of pounds worth of damage – strange thing was, the inspector never came back to look …

The Pencil Museum opened in May 1981 and soon became an established attraction on the Cumbrian tourist circuit. We expanded and remodelled several times over the years, held a 10^th Birthday party, at which the Rt. Hon. Willie Whitelaw, Deputy Prime Minister was our guest of honour. We held a series of Arts events over Whit Bank Holiday Weekends in the nineties, the first of which, called Arts Alive, was a huge affair.

In order to give visitors some interesting subject matter to draw and paint, one of our professional artists arranged for some animals to come from an animal park in Hertfordshire… The arrival of lion and tiger cubs caused a major stir in Keswick, even making ITV and BBC TV news as they happily splashed around in the River Greta.

Our efforts to eradicate the use of solvent in our painting systems were recognised by the achievement of a Queens Award for Industry, for Sustainable Development, and I attended Buckingham Palace along with Barbara Murray and one of our painting department operators, where we met The Queen, The Duke of Edinburgh and several other members of the Royal Family at a reception for all award winners.

And finally our move to Lillyhall also received Royal approval with the official opening of our new factory conducted by The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh.

They spent around an hour with us, meeting and chatting to our workforce before unveiling the Borrowdale slate commemorative plaque.  It was a truly memorable day.  I also got an invite back to her place to attend a Royal Garden Party the following July, which was also a memorable occasion.

So there we have it – a great job and many great memories!

In June last year, we blogged about DiegoKoi, a photo-realistic artist from Italy. We were so astounded by his work that we caught up with him to see what he’s been up to.

Since we spoke last DiegoKoi has been awarded the Audience Award for Best Artist at NonfermArti 2011 and will be collaborating with esteemed artist Calidonna Isabella in an exhibition.

DiegoKoi sent some recent drawings including some close up shots showing his remarkable analytical ability. Despite only being 23 years of age, DiegoKoi’s ability to show light & shade and unbelievable perspective in his work has astounded viewers worldwide.

What do you think?

You can 'Like' DiegoKoi on Facebook

I came across Niki Pilkington about a year ago. Her quirky, bright and breezy illustrative style popped out at me & I knew I had to get in touch for a chat. What struck me about Niki is her passion for style, design and colour - her illustrations are so whimsical & fun!

Niki graduated from Ravensbourne Academy of Design & Communication with a First Class Honours Degree in 2009. Since then she's been making waves in the fashion world working with the likes of TOPSHOP, UGG & ELLE. Niki has that rare skill of combining up to the minute colours and trends with a classic illustration style - no wonder she is so in demand!

Below is one of the window displays created for TOPSHOP featuring eccentric sketched models wearing the latest fashion trends within the store. In celebration of London Fashion Week Niki also designed some doll sets which were given away with purchases - each doll could be dressed in the latest fashion - a girl's dream!

Niki uses pencils, pens, fluorescent markers & collage to bring her pieces to life. The 3D element to her work is a quirky way of adding depth to the piece - it almost makes you want to reach out and touch. Perhaps this is why Niki's work is so sought after by fashion houses & stores; that ability to bring design to life is an amazing skill which Niki exudes. 

Things are looking neon-bright for Niki's future as an illustrator - not only is she working with MTV at the moment, (shhh! Top secret!) she's also preparing for an eagerly awaited exhibition named 'Pick Me Up' at Somerset House from 22.03.12 - 01.04.12. 'Pick Me Up showcases the best and most interesting new talent, with 20 designers and illustrators selected to exhibit at ‘Pick Me Up Selects’ the exhibition that runs alongside the fair. A selection panel featuring the most distinguished figures in graphic design including Camilla Parsons, Outline Editions; John O’Reilly, Varoom magazine; Angharad Lewis, Grafik Magazine; Liz Farrelly, writer and the curatorial team at Somerset House, have hand-picked the artists to exhibit everything from watercolour, collage and paper sculpture.'

I'll be following Niki's progress over the next year, so stay tuned!

Over & out - Rebecca

Val Webb takes us through an illustrated guide to drawing eyes - let us know what you think!

Eyes are challenging to draw, but they are also a lot of fun -- and the eyes are often the key to expressing human emotion in a drawing. Here's a short, step-by-step tutorial on drawing realistic eyes in pencil. For your model, cut a pair of eyes out of a magazine photo or crop a pair from an online image. Cut away the rest of the face so that you won't be distracted as you concentrate on this drawing exercise. When you have finished, I'd love to see your results! My email is studio@valwebb.com.

Val Webb is an illustrator of flora, fauna & fairies - she also teaches botanical and nature drawing. Please visit www.valwebb.com for more information.

A guest blog from Lina Maria Carrillo on developing a personal style as an artist.

I have loved to draw ever since I can remember. Looking back at my work, I can see how I have gradually developed my own style as an artist. When flipping through my sketchbooks now, I laugh how many identical swans a 4 year old could possible draw over and over again. I like to hope that this level of persistence and commitment some day will serve me well in my artistic career. Later on, I have also cringed at some styles I have experimented with, particularly my naked life-drawing phase!

I think this is basically the same story for every person who likes to draw; we each like to hope that our work has evolved over time and stands out in our own way.

I believe the best way to develop our own artistic identity is to follow what we love. If you love to draw realistic, abstract or even finger paint, go for it!. There is no use trying to emulate someone else’s style, as at the end of the day our best work should clearly reflect who we are as an artist and our love for art.

At a personal level, now that my passion has turned into more of a career, I have to think about whether my work is pleasing to the audience’s eye, whether it is commercial enough to be used for advertisement purposes, and most importantly, whether it is effective in putting my point across. Having my own blog pushes me to come up with new ideas every week. I experiment with new techniques with digital media; I like to play around with my watercolors to create patterns that I can scan and play around with on my computer.

Eventually, when a stranger can pick my work out of others because it has my personal touch, this is something I definitely strive for. Developing my own style seems to be a continuous evolution but I am happy to forever be learning new methods and techniques. This is what I love most about being an artist!

Lina Maria Carrillo

Paperplaneslmc.blogspot.com

Keith McMean, watercolour artist tells us about the importance of sketching.

This is the first blog post I have written for Derwent Pencils and hopefully it won’t be the last.

Most of you might know that I am by definition a watercolour artist but as we all know the foundation of any good painting is the drawing that everything hangs on. Imagine what it would be like if the angles on a building were not quite right, this causes the viewer a slight discomfort and sometime they have no idea why but one thing they do know is they won’t be purchasing that painting or sketch!

Drawing and sketching are the fundamentals that any artist should master before even thinking about adding paint to paper or canvas. I remember holding a painting workshop many years ago and one of the students said to me “but I can’t draw a straight line” and my response was “there are no straight lines in nature, only man made” admittedly it was a landscape workshop we were on. But this doesn’t get away from the fact that drawing is key and care and attention should be paid to.

I have completed a small sketch of one of my favourite places, Whitehaven harbour and this is something I have painted and sketched a lot over the past 30 years and I never tire of looking at and painting it.

But what I have tried to capture is the essence of the place with this tonal sketch, sometimes I might even write the colours on the sketch to remind me, such as sky Ultramarine and yellow ochre and so on, this is a great way to bring the scene back when you are in the studio ready to paint.

I don’t underestimate the power of the pencil and I am sure that there are lots of pencil artists out there thinking ‘that’s rubbish’ and maybe it is, what I am getting at here is that using pencils for really detailed work or tonal sketches doesn’t matter, it’s the fact that YOU CAN use them to an end.

So next time you are in the art shop and you stumble on a box or rack full of pencils don’t dismiss them by thinking “what could I use them for?” there are a million and one things you can use them for…so go on use them!

Until next time.

Thanks so much to Keith for his interesting opinions on sketching. For more information on Keith's work, why not visit: http://www.thesocialartist.co.uk