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

My name is Leah Lister and I have been with Cumberland Pencil Company for 14 years. I am now The Marketing Manager, but when I first started I was employed as Marketing Co-ordinator. The role involved bringing the factory closer to the people at head office based in Aylesbury. Back then there weren't any emails and so I spent many an hour on the M6 and M40 going backwards and forwards to Aylesbury.

It seems strange now but we could devote a whole year to bringing just one product to launch, my first was the Derwent Sketching Collection tins. We used our designers based in Aylesbury and I spent quite a while trying to find an artist, we now have a database, we really didn't then. Proofs would be sent through the post, I would mark up the mistakes and send them back. Now we introduce over 15 new products every year, have our own in house designers and of course everything is done on the computer, I can receive up to 100 emails a day sometimes even more!

The passion for pencils is in my blood, I love my job, and it has evolved dramatically over the years. But the great thing about it, is that even though many of the processes have changed becoming faster and better, we still produce the same high quality artists pencils that we can all be proud of. During my time here, we have brought many new and exciting products to market, including Aquatone, Graphitint, Tinted Charcoal, Inktense, Coloursoft, Metallic, Onyx and of course the imaginative new Artbar this year. I have also overseen three brand re-vamps for Derwent, the introduction of accessories and substrates, the launch of the Academy Range and all the new social media including our highly thought of website, blog. Facebook and Twitter pages.  I have also seen a change in distribution where by in the UK we now sell directly to our retailers, there was a time when we used a distributor, so because of that we need to provide lots of support to make sure people know about Derwent. We organise and attend several exhibitions every year, ensure we have informative literature and great hints and tips amongst many other things.

After so long in my job, you might think things could become stale, but they don't. It is so exciting and there is always something new, there is never a dull day and I just love pencils and the creative work that artists do with them.  Of course none of this would be possible without the help of my excellent team and I am so proud of them all.

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

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!

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

Cartoonist Colin Shelbourn guest blogs about how he uses Derwent Studio 33 pencils to create his fantastic illustrations.

The Derwent Studio 33 pencil; it’s slim, perfectly formed and the secret weapon in a cartoonist’s armoury.

When drawing for newspapers, the deadlines are tight. In the case of a front page cartoon it can be as little as three hours. This includes reading the headlines, sketching at least four ideas, discussing them with the editor and then drawing the finished artwork. As part of this process, the Studio 33 is indispensable.

It’s the best blue pencil in the world and it has magical properties.

When scanned in black and white, blue lines disappear. They simply don’t register, which means I can sketch the final artwork with in blue pencil and go straight to ink without the need to erase any lines. This saves a huge wodge of time plus it avoids wrecking the paper surface and subsequently creating a splodgy inky mess.

The printed result is a finely-crafted cartoon of elegance and tranquility; the frantic, blue pencil scribbling beneath the surface is hidden from view.

But the magic of the Studio 33 doesn’t end there. It extends into the wild, where it prevents conflict, altercation and unseemly behaviour.

Drawing in trains, cafés and at live events is tremendous fun but carries a risk: I’m a cartoonist so when I sketch someone, the results may not be flattering. An ink or 4B pencil cartoon can be spotted from several yards away but the magic blue pencil is invisible. This gives me plenty of time to spot an incoming victim and turn the page before they arrive. Oh look, I wasn’t drawing them at all, it was my shopping list.

Colin Shelbourn is a professional cartoonist. He can be found extolling the virtues of the Derwent Studio 33 pencil to anyone who will listen, but usually at workshops or in the pages of his new book, Drawing Cartoons (Crowood Press). www.shelbourn.com

© Colin Shelbourn

We'll be interviewing members of the Derwent team over the next few months to learn about the different roles within the company. Here, we interviewed Angela Eland our Quality Technician.

How long have you worked at The Cumberland Pencil Co?

I have worked at the Cumberland Pencil Co for 11 ½ years. I started working in the Pencil Museum in 2000 and moved to the Laboratory in 2006.

Can you give us a brief description of your job?

My title is Quality Technician. I test all the raw materials that are used to make a pencil, for example checking the colour pigments to make sure the shade is perfect or testing the cedar wood for moisture, appearance and size. I test every batch of pencil strips for shade texture and breaking strain before they are put into the wood casing. The different waxes that we prepare the pencil strips in have to be tested for melting point, setting point and frothing. All the pencils we make are tested for lightfastness in a machine that replicates 1,000s of hours of Florida sunshine. All materials are tested for toxicity on an atomic absorption spectrometer.

What do you love most about your job?

I love all aspects of my job as it is so varied; each day brings something different. I work with a team of six, Barbara (Technical Manager) Alan (Assistant Technical Manager) Ian (R&D) Adam (R&D) and Judith (Specifications Coordinator); they are all wonderful to work with and it is a joy to come to work.

What do you enjoy doing in your spare time?

In my spare time I make silver jewellery which I make for friends and sell in galleries around the Lake District. I also like to keep fit by jogging and cycling.

Here at Derwent, we're always impressed by quirky drawings. Karen Middleton creates beautiful, ethereal drawings that inspire people.

What do you think? For more information, why not visit: www.karenmiddletonillustration.co.uk or www.pencilportraitart.mosaicglobe.com