That title is more a declaration to myself than to anyone else. Here’s why.
I started out to write this with a set belief or idea in my head and then I did a little research.
My original idea was to write about the pencil portrait I posted on the socials over the weekend and about working in pencil and how it seemed that pencil isn’t really considered a fine art medium. I was going to ask the question of how many artistic masterpieces in pencil you see or even know of. Before I published that I thought I should answer that for myself and so I went to the internet and found that I have been living with quite a misconception about pencil art. And now I have to reevaluate what I think and believe. I think that’s a good thing, by the way. Because one of the things I realized as I was drawing that portrait is how much I enjoy working in pencil.
I think I’ve said it before, the pencil is my magic wand. I started out working in pencil. And for that matter, my fist “real” artworks were pencil portraits. How good those early portraits were is certainly up for debate. Even so, that’s where I started. And for me the pencil is more than just a tool. It is and extension of my hand and eye. Again, it is my magic wand.
Unfortunately, my misconception has had me working in nearly everything but pencil, except for some sketches, for the last few years. What is or was, my misconception? That Art, “real” art, isn’t made with pencil, because pencil art is somehow inferior. “Real Art” has to be in color and it has to be paint or pastel, unless of course it’s sculpture or photography. Even ink drawings were borderline in this evaluation. The question then becomes, where did this come from?
I would say that this idea came from a lack of exposure, and a lack of curiosity. Most of the fine art wall art I’ve seen praised and lauded, that wasn’t photography, has been paintings of one medium or another. That’s the exposure side. On the curiosity side? I never thought to question if pencil was used as anything more than a tool to jot down artistic ideas or make references for grander works. But when I did go to look for more information about works of art in pencil I found pieces by Albrecht Durer, Leonardo Da Vinci, Raphael, Luca Signorelli, Orest Kiprensky, William Blake, Edgar Degas, Ilya Repin, and Vincent van Gogh, to list a few. And yes, some are studies for grander works, and yet recognized in their own right as masterful pieces of art.
A personal note here. I like some of van Gogh’s pencil drawings better than some of his more famous paintings. But maybe that is a topic for another post. After I do a little more research.
I honestly didn’t expect to find historical or “classical” artworks in pencil that were considered notable, of relevance, or even masterful for anything other than being sketches or studies for more significant and larger paintings. And even those, for some reason I expected to be in charcoal. And that comes down to not really having a good grasp of the history of the modern pencil. Which is really ironic given that many years ago I actually worked for the pencil manufacturing company Dixon Ticonderoga. Yeah, that famous No. 2 pencil. Also a story for another time.
Now that I have this new information, what happens. Is it going to change how I look at much of the art that I have created over the years? Yes. Is it going to impact my art going forward? Probably. Is it going to change the direction and focus of my art? Possibly.
Here’s the thing. Yes, I love working in pencil and I am so comfortable with it that it would be easy to say I’m just going to do pencil art from now on. I’ve had similar “revelations” lately about other things and you know, I’m just not going to make that declaration. I’ve done that before and then felt trapped and promptly changed my mind and focus. For now, I’m going to create artwork using whatever medium feels right at the time and go from there. I think I will try to enjoy the freedom to work in pencil if I choose, with the idea that it really is a fine art medium and there is nothing inferior about art made with pencil.
And yes, I should realize this because there are amazing modern artists doing work in the hyper-realistic field who create the most astounding pieces of art that look like black and white photographs and they use pencil. I don’t consider their work any less impressive than the masters of old. It’s amazing how our misconceptions can impact our value of our work. It certainly has mine. I think I will be evaluating and valuing my art, especially my pencil art, a bit differently now.
Maybe in a future post I will discuss some of what I like about working in pencil. I might even dig up a little history to go with it.