Pencil Art

Pencil drawing

The common pencil (the word comes from the Latin "peniculus", meaning "brush") used by draftsmen around the world is the fastest and smoothest medium for painting, as it makes quick sketches or ready-made drawing cans. 

The pencil mark varies depending on the hardness of the graphite tip on the shaft. The harder the guides (and the sharper the edges), the smoother the lines will be. Pencils are a dry environment, unlike pens which use liquids.

Famous artists who make pencil drawings

Solid dots with crisp, clear, and thin lines are perfect for 18th century neoclassical and romantic designs. 

One of the masters of pencil sketching was Jean-Auguste Ingres (1780-1867), whose works included "Portrait of Madame Guillaume Guillon Letier" (pencil drawing, now at the Fogg Art Museum, Harvard University); 

John Constable, British landscape artist who washed Stour Trees and Water with pencil and squid (Victoria and Albert Museum, London); Pablo Picasso, whose work includes Still Life with Glass, Apple, Deck of Cards, and Pack of Tobacco (now in the Winston Art, Michigan collection). 

Two exquisite pencil art pieces at the Tate Gallery in London are: Alice Maynel by John Singer Sargent and Thomas Hardy by William Strang. An example of a more contemporary use of pencils can be seen at the National Collection of Self-Portraits of Ireland at the University of Limerick. 

See for example the regular pencil portraits of Irish artists Patrick Scott, Sarah Percer, Walter Osborne and Patrick Leonard; Jim Allen's crayon portrait; pencil and watercolor portraits of Jack B. Yates and Stephen McKenna.

How Today Pencil is Manufactured?

The pencil is a form of carbon called graphite: it comes from the Greek word "graph", which means "to write". During pencil making, natural graphite is reduced to powder, mixed with clay, and then molded into a paste. 

This graphite paste is then compressed and extruded into long thin sticks which are then burned. The finished tin was then poured with wax so that it could be pulled out smoothly and wrapped in cedar sticks.

History of the Pencil

In Greek art, draftsmen and artists used metal pencils (often made of lead) to draw on papyrus. During the Renaissance, pens were used in conjunction with various metal alloys to create exquisite Renaissance paintings in Italy and Germany.

The trainee artist actually uses a blank pen to practice painting by making indentations that can be moved easily on a tablet. This fine pencil tool can be seen as the forerunner of today's graphite pencils.

A pencil covered in graphite in a wooden stand was first mentioned in 1565 by the Swiss-German scientist and naturalist Konrad Gessner. However, modern pencils appeared much later after the discovery of the unusual pure graphite at Boroughdale in the Lake District of England.

Despite the success of German and American pencil manufacturers, France's Nicolas-Jacques Conde is credited with the invention of the modern pencil in the 18th century when the method of combining graphite with clay was invented. Today the leader in the manufacture and manufacture of pens is the pen and article company Dixon Ticonderoga, Faber-Castell, Sanford.

Pencil Grades

Today most pens are classified or classified according to the European system, using a spectrum from "H" (hardness) to "B" (black). Regular pens are rated for HB, while the hardest is 9H and the softest is 9B. In simple terms, various grades are achieved by changing the ratio of graphite to clay during manufacture. The more clay you use, the harder the pencil will be.