Years ago, about twenty five years, I bought several Karisma Graphite Aquarelle pencils in the Very Soft grade. They have a thick lead, leave a rich black mark, and produce a wonderful smear with a little moisture and a swipe of the thumb or fingertip across the paper. At some point, they went out of production and artists who had enjoyed using them have yet to discover an adequate substitute. And there isn't one. There are other water soluble pencils on the market, and some of them are really pretty good, but they are no more the same than Scarlett Johansson is the same as Marilyn Monroe. Beautiful, soft, smoky, sensuous and desirable, yes, but not the same.
Anyway, I've hoarded my last few stubs of this lovely drawing media and used them sparingly. Mostly I've just looked at them when I pick a soft pencil out of one of my pencil tins, wishing there were more. But they're no good if they don't get used. And it's very satisfying to use them roughly. Here is a morning toss, using a Karisma Aquarelle with Derwent watercolor pencils. A quickie before work with Marilyn and Scarlett together. I think I need a smoke.
