Six members of Team Derwent took part in the Workington to Keswick challenge a couple of weeks ago! Lisa Hawkrigg (Accounts), Judy Marsland (HR), Jason Birbeck (Purchasing), Phyllis Meckin (Manufacturing), Anthony Robinson (IT) and his wife Lesley battled against wind and rain to take part in the walk. Here, Lisa tells us her account:

"The weather conditions were terrible but the organisers, having already postponed it once due to snow, really couldn’t postpone it again. So on Sunday morning at 7.30am our small but happy band set out in the torrential, often horizontal rain and gale force winds to walk the 32 miles to Keswick. The conditions were so bad that 109 people who had pre entered did not even bother turning up on the day!

We were soaked to the skin by the time we passed the factory and going over Fangs Brow the rain felt like needles on the side of our faces. We had to wade through knee deep flooding at Lorton (or scale fences and walls to get round it!) to get to the check point.  Unfortunately, Phyllis and Lesley had to retire due to injury at Buttermere, but they both did amazingly well to get that far (19 miles).  The rest of us then had to struggle up Honister through 60 mile an hour head winds but at least the rain had stopped at this point.

The last few miles to Keswick seemed to go on for ever and we were all hurting but we finally made it to the finish line in just over 10 hours."

I asked a few members of the team about their own experiences...

Anthony, what were the best and worst things about the walk?
The best thing about the walk was, even though the weather was hideous, we were all able to still laugh about the situation we were in...most of the time!

The worst thing was the weather... and that horrible bit of road flooded by glacial water we had to walk through just before the second checkpoint.

Judy, what drove you on to complete the walk?
Staring hard at the back of Lisa's heels and the thought of hot pies at the end!

Jason, do you feel like the preparation you did for the walk helped on the day? If so, in what way?
The preparation for the walk was invaluable. Getting back out and doing regular practice walks at the weekends was the only way to go. Just getting used to walking longer distances on tarmac was a big thing in itself. Nothing, however, really prepares you for 65mph winds and driving rain!

Phyllis, can you give me a few words about your experiences during the last few years of doing the W2K walk?
I usually like to start preparing for the walk at least 3 months beforehand. I try to walk every day but this year, with other commitments, it was difficult. This year was a big low; I was so disappointed I couldn’t carry on past Buttermere.

I did the walk one year on my own it was supposed to have been with someone else but she dropped out. It was pleasant because as you went along everyone spoke and passed the time of day and as everyone walked at different speeds it passed the time away.

As I was walking along Borrowdale I met a lad from Seaton so we walked into Keswick together and when we got towards town we started running up the main street; it was funny because people started clapping as we went past.

Well done to the team!

To celebrate the launch of the fashion inspired Coloursoft Special Edition set, we're giving away 2 sets along with 2 beautiful fashion journals from Laurence King. Both the journal and tin were illustrated by Niki Pilkington and make the perfect companion for any fashionista!

THIS CONTEST HAS NOW FINISHED! The winners were Kathryn Barstow and Allison_HVK!

• No purchase necessary.
• Winners will be picked at random from all entries received.
• Only one entry per person on the blog & one via Twitter
• Closing date for entries 20th March 2013.
• Not open to employees of the Cumberland Pencil Co, ACCO, their families and its agencies.
• This competition is open internationally.
• Winners will be notified within 14 days of the draw taking place.
• No cash alternative will be offered.
• Submission of entry constitutes acceptance of the terms and conditions.
• Promoter: ACCO UK Ltd, trading as The Cumberland Pencil Co, Derwent House, Lillyhall Business Park, Workington, Cumbria, CA14 5HS.

Graham Bradshaw returns with some more fantastic tips for drawing in graphite.

Rendering

These days pencil artists are using techniques which make pencil lines disappear & as a result you get a much more photo realistic look to your portrait. We use tools such as torillons, cotton buds or even tissue paper. Some artists use graphite dust & paint brushes; this is known as the dry brush technique. Personally I use tortillons so this is the method I’ll explain in more detail.

A tortillon is otherwise known as a blending or paper stump which is made of compressed rolled up paper & used to blend graphite after you’ve applied it to an area. To get the best results you’ll need to apply the pencil as smooth as possible keeping your strokes close together (fig1).

Whilst doing this you’ll have to also create the shade & depth you need for the specific area which is not only done by the grade of pencil you’re using but also the pressure you apply to the pencil (this does of course take practice & can only be determined by the artist’s eye & ability). Once you’re happy with the rendered area use the blending stump in a circular motion to smear the graphite (fig2). Use as little pressure as possible to begin with then gradually build it up to a nice smooth area. Be careful of graphite build up on your tortillon because you’ll soon find it will no longer

be effective. You can either clean it on a scrap piece of paper or more effectively on a piece of sand paper.

This method of rendering is really effective on skin tones, around eyes, noses & ears. I also use it for creating hair which appears blurred & out of focus.

Depth

Creating dark areas with a pencil always seems to become the topic of conversation whenever I upload images of my work online. Some artists use charcoal which is a great way of getting dark black areas without the graphite shine. They still consider themselves graphite artists which is fine, although in my opinion the drawing has now become mixed media. I have been thinking about using this method myself at some point but at present I use the dreaded 9B to create my dark areas. Using the 9B in such a way will always cause graphite shine unfortunately it’s unavoidable; I’m not going to lie. So the best way to deal with this is to try & control it the best you can by drawing in deep circular motions instead of scribbling long deep lines; this will help the appearance of the drawing when you look upon it directly (Fig1). Applying 9B to paper is very similar to the methods used by tattoo artists when applying colour & shading to skin; deep circular motions.

I will stress that without using charcoal or a black pencil this shine will always be the downside to using graphite pencil.

Graham will be back next week with another set of top tips. Visit Graham's website for more inspiration.

Visit our website for more information on Graphic Pencils.

Today I'm sharing one of my art journal pages, I don't often share these but this one I'm making an exception for as I had such fun making it with my Aquatone sticks! Aquatone is probably the most fun art material I've had since I was a child with a box of crayons in every colour. These highly pigmented sticks of colour blend with water to create the most rich, intense and vibrant colours; I just love using them whenever I can, especially in my art journaling!

For this page, done in my little Derwent Journal, I lightly misted the page with water and then blended the colours, starting with the lightest yellow in the middle out to the darkest purple at the edges. Once dry I went over again, this time wetting the Aquatone sticks and going over where I thought I needed more colour or to blend the colours together better - I love the way these layer...

Once it was dry, I then misted and spattered some white spray over the top, I thought it looked like stars so I knew then exactly what to doodle over it!

Once the spray was dry I then used a black pen to doodle my picture over the top, finishing with a border and the quote, one of my favourites. I finally added some silver stars which I also doodled around to make them stand out...

I hope you'll give Aquatone, and Art Journaling, a try - it's a great free way to make art! If you'd like to share your projects over on the Derwent Facebook page we'd love to see them! I’ll be back soon with another project.

Sarah x

www.sarahhurley.com

We came across Graham Bradshaw's work online and since then have been so impressed with his attention to detail and creativity in his drawings. We asked Graham to answer a few questions about his life and work:

Tell us a little about yourself.

I was born in Liverpool but we moved away when I was very young. I was raised in a small village called Chinnor in Oxfordshire. Chinnor sits right on the edge of the Chilterns & is a really nice place to grow up; home to all my childhood memories. I now live in Rugby, Warwickshire with my wife, three children & a loopy German Shepherd. I work full time as a Team Leader for a company called Cemex which has  long 12 hour shifts but lots of time off in between. I’ve always been very hands on & mechanically minded, fixing, designing & making things has always played a part in my line of work. My favourite subjects at school where always Art, Woodwork & Metalwork. Drawing is something I do in my spare time; usually late at night when all the kids are asleep. Sometimes I’ll be up until the early hours because that’s the only time I get to draw. I find drawing very relaxing & once the headphones are on, the pencils come out & the iPod’s set to shuffle I’ll drift off into my own world & lose myself for while.

How would you describe your work?

I feel that my work is very much like every other graphite portrait artist. This is something I’d like to break away from rather than continuously drawing portraits of celebs, people’s family members & animals.  Please don’t get me wrong as I do enjoy drawing these things but I’d like to start combining ideas and making my work different if that makes sense. The drawing ‘Lost in a dream’ was my first attempt at breaking away from the normal. Although surreal, the drawing still holds a realistic vibe. I think the best way to describe my work at the moment is ‘evolving’.

How did you start out as an artist?

I began drawing at a very early age. At first I drew cartoons that I’d send in to Phillip Schofield. Phillip was really cool! He showed two of my cartoons on his children’s show on CBBC & also read out my name twice. The first cartoon was Scooby Doo & the other was Count Duckula. I received a letter & badge from the BBC to say thanks for sending in the drawings. I was really chuffed about it & remember wearing my badge to school every day for weeks. It wasn’t until I was twelve that I discovered my ability to draw people. It sounds bad but I stole my brother’s Derwent pencils & FHM magazine to draw Sherilyn Fenn. It was kind of accidental really but that’s where it all started I guess.

How has your style evolved over the years?

From the age of 18 I gave up drawing for years. My parents always told me I had a wasted talent but you know what it’s like being young; all I wanted to do was hang out with my mates & party. I’d draw the odd picture from time to time but never really took it anywhere. In my twenties I spent a lot of my time learning how to play guitar. I got good on guitar but I always knew I’d never be as good at that as I was at drawing. In 2010 I decided to start drawing again & began sharing my work online. I’m constantly competing against myself with every piece I draw striving to make every drawing better than my last. Back in 2010 my work was soft & lacked depth.  Over the last two years my style has become a lot more detailed, accurate & realistic but most importantly it has depth. I now know the exact pencil grades that suit my style & the paper I need to use; back in 2010 I didn’t have a clue & was still experimenting.

Do you have your own studio? How have you made the space work for you & your creativity?

I don’t have a studio as such but I do have a room that I share with my German Shepherd who snores a lot. In the room I have a large angled art desk that has a massive canvas of New York City above it. I love New York, it fascinates me, unfortunately I’ve never been there but it’s always been on my ‘to do’ list.

What is your favourite piece of work and why?

That would have to be ‘Lost in a Dream’ simply because it’s the first time I’ve really let myself go creatively. The drawing is a concept rather than just copying from a photograph.

Who or what inspires your work?

I’m inspired by a lot of things but mainly my kids. They often ask if they can see my drawings & if I’m drawing one of them they get really excited. Music inspires me a lot & listening to my iPod while I draw is a MUST! I can’t draw without music. If I’m having a tough time with a drawing I’ll change tracks to get a more uplifting tune which drives me to keep going. Artists who inspire me are Hyper-Realism artists such as Paul Cadden. I’d like to become Hyper-Realistic in my drawings but what I don’t want to do is copy another artist’s style. Finding my own direction & having my own ideas is my main goal as an artist. 

What advice would you give to someone wanting to become an artist?

I’d tell them that there’s no such thing as one big break! The only reality in art is hard work. If you’re serious about becoming an artist then you’ll get your rewards, but if there ever comes a time when you stop enjoying what you do... give up! 

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

Wow that’s a tough question because there’re so many. The best feeling is completing a commission that the owner loves & gets emotional over.  Then there’s the sense of achievement when you’ve completed a piece, the moment when you stand away from the art board for a while & admire your work from a distance. I also love it when you’re in the process of drawing & you get that feeling that it’s going better than you expected. Posting your new piece on Facebook & sitting there refreshing the page to see how many people have liked it; sad I know but any artist who doesn’t admit to doing this is a liar.

Posting on Facebook isn’t just exciting but it’s also a very nervous time for an artist. The most rewarding part is all the amazing people & other artists I’ve met since sharing my work online. One of my most memorable moments was when my artwork was seen by a member of the film industry. I was invited to Pinewood studios for the day to visit sets for The Da Vinci Code & Children Of Men. The Da Vinci Code was amazing; I don’t want to ruin it for people but they couldn’t get permission to film inside the real Louvre in Paris so they recreated the entire gallery at Pinewood. There was still blood on the floor when I went in because they’d filmed the opening scene the morning I was there. I wasn’t supposed to see the set because I was actually on my way to meet Tom Hanks. Tom wasn’t available because he was filming on another stage at the time so the guy I was with asked if I’d like to see The Louvre instead. I never did get to meet Mr Hanks but that day still remains one of the best days of my life thanks to my artwork. There’s more but I’ll let you (Derwent) reveal that when you’re ready.

What are your top tips for budding pencil artists?

My main tip is to be patient; never rush and always believe in your ability. If you ever get tired or start to struggle leave it alone & come back to it later. You’ll always see your drawing from a different prospective when you’ve been away from it for a while. As for techniques I’ve found that a tortillion (smudge stick) works great for accurate detail & blending. I often get asked how I keep the paper so clean. Most artists already know this but for those of you just starting out, try using a blank piece of paper to mask out the areas where you place your hand during drawing, that way you won’t smudge your work.

Thanks so much to Graham for sharing his thoughts with us. Find out more about Graham and his work by visiting:

www.grahamb-artist.com

www.twitter.com/grahambartist

www.facebook.com/grahambartist

One of my favourite things about the Inktense product range is the vibrancy of colour and the versatility of it being permanent once it's dry so I can work back over and over until I’m happy. I can also use it on any surface!

I’d had a picture in my head for a very long time; it was based around a favourite quote of mine by Marilyn Monroe and I wanted to make it into a canvas to hang in my studio but I couldn’t find the right medium. I’m not a watercolour fan; paint seemed too heavy and then I thought of Inktense – just right! So I finally got around to making that canvas and I’m super happy with the result!

I used the Inktense blocks with a water spray bottle and my fingers (I’m a very messy artist!) to achieve the background effect, building up three layers to get the exact effect I wanted, letting the lighter colours shine through from underneath. I then used a mixture of Inktense blocks and pencils to draw in the details and highlights.

I finished it with a 3D glaze over the balloon and added the quote with an ink pen.

Thanks so much for looking, we’d love you to come and share your Inktense projects over on the Derwent Facebook page! I’ll be back soon with another project.

Sarah x

www.sarahhurley.com

This month, I’m giving you a sneaky peek into my illustration process. Most of my work is digital (although I hand draw everything first) but once a year my work goes off to be shown at the Bologna book fair and for that I like to show the full range of things that I can do, so there will be some digital, some collage / mixed media work and some hand drawn and painted work – you never know what people will be looking for! Here is the process of one of my Bologna illustrations using Derwent Coloursoft pencils (my faves!)

First I start with an idea. I love pictures with houses and ‘Home’ themed projects, so this year I thought I would do a whimsical house. I start to sketch some ideas in pencil; everything is a bit messy at this stage as I fight to get all of my ideas on paper before they drift off again! No-one usually ever sees this part so I feel free to be messy and make notes onto my picture, cross things out, draw over things – as long as I know what I mean, it’s OK!

Once I’m happy with a composition and ironed out any problems.Sometimes I discover I can’t draw what I want in my picture particularly well, so I’ll do a few studies of it from reference material until I’ve perfected it or I might need to practice the perspective and proportions of things until I’m happy.

I then draw it out very lightly onto my paper – I keep the strokes very light so they blend more easily, especially around light areas.

At this point I’ll start adding areas of colour, keeping everything very soft so I can still work over it and adding shading and highlights or even erase something if I think it doesn’t work. This is the hardest stage for me; the colours look quite flat and it can be disheartening because it doesn’t look like the picture in my head yet – at this point I want to abandon it and start over! But instead I usually put it away for an hour and come back to it with fresh eyes (and newly sharpened pencils!)

Once I’m happy with the colour balance I start adding shading. I love to blend lots of colours together; I still work lightly or the surface of the colouring can become shiny too quickly and it can be difficult to add more colour.

Finally, I use a pen to add details over the top. I occasionally use a black fine liner but mostly I use a grey or brown brush pen as you can get finer detail and the finish isn’t so harsh. It really depends on the piece – here I’ve used a grey brush pen to pick out the details such as blades of grass, birds' feet and eyes, leaves on the trees and other little bits and pieces – just make sure not to smudge the ink before it has time to dry!

Thanks so much for popping by to take a sneak peek into my illustration process and share my sketchbook secrets – I hope you’ll come and share yours over on the Derwent Facebook page; we’d love to take a look.

I’ll be back soon!
Sarah x

www.sarahhurley.com

Our next featured artist is Alexis Marcou. Alexis graduated from the University of Plymouth & since then has illustrated for large brands such as Nike. We asked him to answer a few questions about his work and life as an illustrator:

What inspires you and your work?

One of the greatest sources of inspiration for me are photographers portfolios.

I am also inspired by creative blogs, movies and other artists work.

What are your goals as an artist?

To improve my techniques and create illustrations that hopefully will inspire others.

Which artists inspire you?

Many artists inspire me such as Richard Estes, Carine Grasset, Masamune Shirow and David Downton.

Do you have any top tips for drawing?

To be patient is of the greatest importance and to use the best instruments/materials for you. Also it is always good to practice a lot.

How and when did you start drawing?

I was very young when I started to drawing. I started out of curiousity.

How has your style changed over the years?

It evolved gradually into a more cubic and expressive style.

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

I think the most important thing I learned over the years is to appreciate other people's artwork more and to be my hardest critic.

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

The most rewarding aspect of being an artist I think is the positive feedback. The most enjoyable aspects are being able to work with a variety of people and work on new techniques which most of the time result in suprises.

You can find out more about Alexis on his website: www.alexismarcou.com

As part of our 180 year celebrations, we're inviting staff and friends of Derwent to provide memories of years gone by. Here, Sapna Philip from Australia writes about her first experience of Derwent pencils:

Dear Rebecca
‎
6 years ago my mother was diagnosed with epilepsy. Being so far away from me she was unfortunately misdiagnosed and treated with the wrong medication. She went through a life and death struggle. At this time my daughter aged 2 couldn't understand the tears that I kept wiping away to get through the struggle. To cheer her up I bought her Derwent Graphics just to spoil her. As a child my elder brother was considered the artist so in a way I wanted to give my daughter something I never had. One evening as she sat on the table drawing her little child pictures of circles or squiggles she said to me ... "Mumma these pencils are so much fun. Let's share them." So she handed me my very first Derwent and I drew. I never realised how much I could drift away. From then on I found an escape. Thank you Derwent. We love your pencils and the peace they bring. On a final note..... My mum is doing much better. :-)
 
Warm Wishes
Sapna

One of my favourite crafts is Scrapbooking; not only is it a chance to be creative but it’s a great way to preserve your family history, memories and photos – as well as reliving all the great times as you work on your pages!

Scrapbooking is most commonly done on 12”x12” acid free papers, although some people scrap on 8”11.5”, 8”x8” and 6”x6” as well as mini books – so there is lots of variety for anyone wanting to start out with this craft – if you are already a card maker or paper crafter you probably have most of the materials you need already!

Today I’m showing you how you can incorporate colouring pencils into your scrapbooking. Quite recently crafters have started experimenting more with different mediums on their pages and I wanted to show that your colouring pencils are not limited to just colouring in stamped images to use on your page, there are lots of other uses too. So here is my step-by step scrapbook page…

Supply List – Derwent Coloursoft Pencils, White 12”x12” cardstock, Kraft Cardstock, die cutting machine or punches, adhesive, piercing tool, embroidery thread and needle, black journaling pen, embellishments and a photograph.

First, I cut a piece of Kraft paper to 11” x 5.5”, then using my Cricut Expression (die cutting machine) I  cut some bunting, butterflies and flowers. I’m actually going to be colouring the negative shapes but I kept hold of the die cut butterflies to add to the layout (you could also use punches if you don’t have a die cutting machine.)

Using a piercing tool and ruler I made holes 0.5cm apart all around the Kraft paper and stitched round with 2 strands of coral embroidery thread.

I then rounded the corners using a corner rounder punch and adhered about an inch from the bottom of my white 12x12” sheet of cardstock, I also rounded two of the corners of my photo and adhered next to the die cut area.

Using my Coloursoft pencils I blended the colour carefully through the die cut areas (use a blending stump to get into the small areas) I kept the colours quite fresh, using only one or two colours in each area and blending as I went.

I then coloured in the die cut Kraft paper butterflies, also with Coloursoft pencils and stuck to my layout with glossy accents (by curling the wings up slightly first and sticking just the middle down it gives a great 3D effect to your layout which will also flatten down when you want to pop the layout in your album.)

Using a black journaling pen I doodled over the top of my colouring to add lots of details.  I also added some white gel pen and glitter to small areas to add highlights. One of the great things about Coloursoft pencils is you can draw back over the top of them with a black pen to add details etc…!)

A few finishing touches, embellishments and a journaling card to tell the story behind the picture and my layout was complete!

You could also try…

• Doodling onto your page
• Journaling in rainbow colours
• Stamping and colouring a repeat background to create your own patterned paper

Thanks so much for looking, I hope this inspires you to try colouring pencils in your scrapbooking projects – please do share you links here or on the Derwent Facebook page, we’d love to see them!

I’ll be back soon with more crafty projects!

Sarah x

www.sarahhurley.com