watercolour tubes

Holbein watercolour tubes, bought yesterday, along with some older ones that belonged to my father.... on the fifth anniversary of his passing.

pencils

 

Boxes of pencils, bought at a community flea market. Acquiring packets of them by the dozen gives these ubiquitous drawing instruments a whole new sense of respect. I am not sure whether the red-blue, dual colour pencils are common outside of Japan, but encountering them in an unlikely place was a bit of a treat. The regular lead pencils, apparently intended for Japanese "calligraphic" writing exercises has a nice thick lead, and at 5B, probably great for softly layering tones or drawing dynamically on larger sheets while retaining a good sense of control.

winter shoes

I wanted to draw all the shoes at the school... but realized I forgot my faithful fountain pen (actually, I was not faithful to IT). I was therefore forced to draw with thick Sharpies, which were all I had in my bag... You can't dawdle and linger with your line; Sharpies really force you to make some quick decisions, and you can't focus on details. Otherwise, you end up with permanent marker spots 3 sheets deep. I felt a bit handcuffed and a little high from the smell... the results: a little clumsier than I would have liked, but the discomfort of a challenge is always a good thing.