My friend Dave is a prolific and generous gift giver. He is one of those folks that prefer to give a gift rather than receive one. Christmas is his second favorite time of the year, UW Husky football season still takes the top spot I believe. Dave has a knack for remembering the things that a person is interested in and tailors gifts accordingly, most often for me it is books on topics of interest.

We spent the second to the last day of our December trip to the US last year with Dave and Rosanne, and of course they had Christmas gifts. There was a book or two of course, but then I opened the best gift of all – a box of Blackwing Natural Pencils, a whole dozen of them.

When I sent a photo to my friend Tim his reply was immediate, “Somebody loves you.” Blackwings are special pencils, Dave had no idea. Dave said the description at Amazon said they were the best pencils, but he figured that was just marketing, I assured him that it was no hype at all.

Returning to France I ordered a Blackwing sharpener, it even holds the shavings while producing the long narrow point that Blackwings are famous for, and a point protector, making the pencil easy to cary. Here is my Blackwing setup.

Blackwings have quite a history. The Eberhard Faber Pencil company made the first Blackwing 602 with its wonderfully smooth lead and distinctive rectangular eraser in 1934. Artists, writers and musicians were their target market, and it was widely accepted.

It is said that John Steinbeck would sharpen 24 pencils at the beginning of a writing session, using each one in turn. Truman Capote kept boxes of Blackwings in his nightstand. Bambi and Thumper were sketched out by anamator Ollie Johnston with his Blackwing.

In 1994 the machine that produced the unique eraser and ferrule broke down, so the remaining stock was sold out and the pencils were discontinued in 1984. Scarcity created a demand for the pencils, and resulted in a cult like following. A limited supply, along with the pencil’s image as the tool of the creative, drove up prices, some selling for $40 or more. Thankfully in 2010 the Blackwing company revived the pencils, adding more styles, and actually improving the quality.

So thank you Dave and Rosanne, you gave a gift that keeps on giving, I am rarely without a Blackwing in my pocket these days, to write down a thought, or for a quick sketch.

Here are some sketches and such from the week.

First off artwork for a mural and notecards we will be printing, so you may be getting a card someday with this design on it.

Here are some evening sketches.

Yesterday was le mercredi des Cendres, Ash Wednesday. A good time for a bit of reflection.

On of the joys of being an artist is the tools we use, some become like old friends, some are just a delight to use. Thank you Dave and Rosanne for a great gift.

I hope as spring is arriving you are all getting out and about a bit, and of course I hope you capture the moments with a sketch or two.