Caution:Artist at Play-Artwork by Shana Rowe Jackson

   I recently bought myself a set of the Faber-Castell Pitt Graphite Matt  pencils. Having tried other matte graphite (and carbon) pencils, such as the Staedtler Mars Lumograph Black and the Blackwing Matte Pencils , I was eager to try these to see how they differed!       What an interesting pencil! I was pleasantly surprised that these didn't feel like a carbon pencil like the other two pencil brands that I have tried. Usually when a company claims that something is a matte graphite there is typically a lot of added carbon, giving the pencil more of a charcoal like feel. These didn't seem to have that same feeling.       That being said, they did feel different than regular graphite. They did not feel as smooth or slick. This is not a good or bad thing, just an observation. They also had some odd crumbs that were difficult to remove without an eraser, but they were not too much of a hindrance overall. They were darker and less shiny than regular graphite and did not need as

   My art supply obsession struck again! I just couldn't resist trying these. I actually first saw the Faber-Castell Albrecht Durer Watercolor Markers online a few years ago and had them on my wish list ever since. A few months ago I treated myself to the set of 20 and just got the chance to finally sit down and try them!    I absolutely love Faber-Castell's other products, their Polychromos are one of my go-to colored pencils and their Pitt Artist Pens are one of the only markers I will use in fine art. They make fantastic watercolor pencils, also under the Albrecht Durer name. A fun thing about Faber-Castell is that all their color lines match, which means if you love a color in one of their lines you can get it in all their other supplies too! So, I was super excited to see that they also offered watercolor markers and was eager to try them.    The only thing is, I had next to no experience with watercolor markers as a medium. I decided I would take what I know from w

Comparing Colored Pencil Lightfast Ratings (4 popular lines)             I am comparing the lightfast ratings of four popular colored pencil lines, and the results are quite surprising!           I will be comparing the lightfast ratings as well as pricing on Faber-Castell Polychromos, Prismacolor Premier, Caran d'Ache Pablos, and Derwent Coloursoft colored pencils. The purpose of this exercise is to compare the general lightfast ratings of the complete lines of four of the most popular brands of colored pencil. I am not including lightfast information on each individual color of these lines. This is merely an overview to gauge what lines are worth investing in and what lines are not.           I am basing my comparison on my own calculations done from information on lightfast ratings from each company (when applicable) combined with lightfast information set out by the Colored Pencil Society of America. If you would like to see the Colored Pencil Society’s co