Pencils4Tea 24 September 2026

Glad I'm getting back into the groove of attending Pencils4Tea, although the routine will be broken in October. Still, every practise counts. 

Pencils4Tea 17 September 2026

Continuing my exploration with Lyra watersoluble graphite chunky pencils. Took me a little while to warm up. Should have done a few self-portrait warmups before starting!

 

At the hairdresser's

Experimenting with Lyra watersoluble graphite sticks at the hairdressers. Loving how rich they are, even just the 2B! Strong darks done with 9B! I'm in an exploring-darks kind of mood.

Pencils4Tea 10 September 2026

I go through phases in my head - full energy, low, flat. I guess everyone does. Sometimes, I can't face the blank page, even for something as enjoyable as @Pencils4Tea. I don't recommend buying more art supplies to fight artist's block, but I got two Lyra watersoluble graphite chunky crayons. I had lusted after them (2B & 9B) for a long time. Took a little while to warm up, but then I had a great time. Love how dark they go when you add a bit of water. Added a little bit of ArtGraf in a tin when I wanted a darker tone.

 

Pencils4Tea 6 August 2026

It was weeks since I had logged in to the Pencils4Tea Zoom. I was a bit nervous. Yes, I have been drawing a lot, but portraits is a different matter. In my head anyway.

 

At the hairdresser's

I used lots of mixed media in Toulouse, but now I'm interested in delving more into mostly watercolour. I used my orange palette from Roman Szmal, filled with various colours I have assembled from the last few symposiums. Love how these watercolours behave. Added a touch of Inktense pencils too. 45 minutes for my hair colour to cook. A hairdresser who loves art. Plenty of time for experimentation! At Eddie Doyle's, Blackrock.

Pencils4Tea 25 June 2026

Tried a different brand of watercolours for this Pencils4Tea. I have a set of portrait colours from Kremer. They're an interesting texture, quite grainy, completely different from what I'm used to. Used a few extra colours from an old set. Graphite pencil over the watercolour. And Stabilo Woody for lips. In Stillman & Birn and Seawhite of Brighton A4 sketchbooks.