We've just launched the new Derwent XL Charcoal and XL Graphite range and what better way to celebrate than with an interview with Jenny Halstead, the artist from the XL Charcoal packaging! Jenny helped in the development of this product so we thought we'd ask her a few questions about her life and work as an artist.

Tell us a little about yourself and your background 
I studied art, then trained and specialised as a medical artist illustrating surgery and anatomy within teaching hospitals and also in books. Ten years ago I moved from this discipline back into the freedom of fine art.

What is your earliest memory of drawing?
Aged about 4 or 5, I can remember being allowed to draw in pencil on the tiled kitchen wall, which could then be wiped clean! 

What is your favourite piece of work and why?
Of my own work: the one I’m working on, as it would have the energy and excitement still in it. Otherwise: anything by Rembrandt, Singer Sergent, Lautrec and Cumings.

How would you describe your style?
Loose-ish with an under-pining of sound drawing.

Do you have any advice for those wishing to pursue a career in art?
If it is in your soul…go for it, love it and give it your all.

You have created a beautiful piece for our new XL Charcoal range; did you enjoy being part of the development process?

Most certainly, new materials often present new challenges, new ways to work.

Do you have some expert tips for those who are trying XL Charcoal for the first time?

Use it on different surfaces and with water to see what happens and how you can embrace it and make it work for you.

Many thanks to Jenny for answering our questions. Find out more about Jenny's work at: jennyhalstead.co.uk

To find out more about the Derwent XL Charcoal range, click here.

We interviewed Yvonne Crossley, owner of The Drawing Gallery and one of the judges of the Derwent Art Prize.

Tell us a little about yourself:

I was born in Yorkshire and studied painting at Goldsmith’s College School of Art. I’ve participated in many group and open exhibitions and held solo exhibitions in galleries across the UK including the Ikon Gallery - Birmingham, The Laing Gallery - Newcastle upon Tyne and Battersea Arts Centre - London.

I worked as a Professor and Vice Principal at Wimbledon School of Art until 2004 when I left to set up The Drawing Gallery in central London; the first gallery in the UK to focus entirely on contemporary drawing. The gallery has represented a significant number of international artists and some selected emerging British artists, all in respect of their drawing. Clients include international museums and galleries as well as corporate and private collectors. In 2006 I was one of the judges for The Jerwood Drawing Prize, in 2007 was a judge for The Hugh Casson Drawing Prize (Royal Academy Summer Exhibition), and in 2008 was on the selection panel for Re: Drawing, the third open biennial exhibition at Oriel Davies Gallery, Newtown. In 2013 I was a member on the selection panel of the Royal West of England Academy Open ‘Drawn’.

I'm married to Gary Crossley who is now a full-time writer since he left his post as Principal of Central School of Speech and Drama. We've lived in the Welsh borders for the past 6 years; we love the isolation and the space to let the dogs run free.

We have a daughter who having completed her PhD in Victorian Literature is now lecturing in both Leeds and Leicester University.

Are you looking forwards to judging the Derwent Art Prize?

I'm delighted to be one of the judges for the first Derwent Art Prize and look forward to contributing, with Stephen Farthing and Fisun Güner, towards establishing this event as one of the highlights of annual open art exhibitions in the UK. What is particularly important for this competition is that international entries are invited, so we will be seeing work from all over the world. 

What was the main drive for opening The Drawing Gallery?

I left my post as Vice Principal at Wimbledon School of Art with the clear intention of setting up The Drawing Gallery. I had been thinking for some time before I left about starting a gallery for contemporary art but it wasn't until I focussed upon drawing that the whole idea fell into place.

So why drawing? At Wimbledon I was part of an institution that valued the teaching and practice of drawing at all levels and drawing was something that was really important to me both as an educator and a practitioner. Additionally there were no galleries at all at that time that elected to focus upon the exhibiting and selling of contemporary drawing and I certainly wanted

my gallery to offer something different from the current norm - I also wanted to exhibit works that were affordable and accessible. The little space I found in Duke Street St James was perfect for the job, and later, when I moved into a much larger premises near Ludlow in Shropshire/Herefordshire it was really good to be able to expand. What made it a success was that, without exception, everyone who I invited to exhibit at The Drawing Gallery was keen to do so and the list of exhibitors made for a really vibrant and varied programme.

Do you have a favourite piece of art that has been exhibited in your gallery?

It's impossible to select just one piece. What I can do is list some of the works we bought ourselves because we so wanted to have them in our home to see every day.

Stephen Farthing: 2 etchings - Crossing the Delaware. 

Stephen Farthing: drawing - A Plan of World Art no 4.

Alison Wilding: collage/drawing - Avian

Keir Smith: drawing -The Pump Room

Allan Jones: 12 wood prints - Alphabet

Lewis Chamberlain: painting - Things That Go

Edward Allington: 3 drawings - Tranche 1 - 3  

Nina Ogden: drawing - Rodeo Poodle

I've also got some wonderful small works by; Charlotte Hodes, Barry Martin, Stephen Cox, Rebecca Salter, Jason Brooks, Gordon Cheung, Peter Randall-Page,  Benjamin Senior, Anita Taylor, Sharon Beavan, Sarah Woodfine and Paul Thomas that have all been exhibited in my gallery, most of which are works on paper. 

What do you look for when choosing work for your gallery? (Twitter question from @ArtistRebeccaLS)

There are many artists whose work I  have consistently admired and so have been delighted to work with them to show new works - so in that sense I haven't chosen the work but the artist. I've always worked with artists for whom drawing has been a really significant part of their practice; sometimes as the major part of their work and sometimes as part of the journey. When looking at the work of new and up to that point unknown artists I'm looking for something that shows originality, the implication of meaning beyond simply the appearance of the work and a commitment to the piece in hand. There are of course other intriguing and irresistible elements; skill in handling materials, evidence of struggle, new ways of seeing, humour, narrative, subversion and more.

How do you feel about the way the internet has changed the art world? The internet has obviously opened doors to many artists who may never have had the chance to be discovered. Do you think this is a good thing? (Facebook question from Graham Bradshaw)

Given the limited number of conventional places for artists to exhibit and show their work -  the development of places to see much, much more of what is current practice on the internet is both exciting and welcome - if you're waiting for a gallery to show your work you could be waiting for ever; better to take the initiative and find your own 'spaces' to show - if this actually takes off for you it may be that galleries will follow...

Do you feel ithe Derwent Art Prize will have a positive impact on the perception of pencil art?

I'm anticipating that this Open Entry will do even more to improve the profile and significance of pencil as a drawing tool/medium.  The entry requirements, in terms of dimensions and scale, are quite open so hopefully we will have a very varied entry which will include both the traditional and the unconventional.

What tips would you give to anyone wanting to draw for a living or exhibit in a gallery?

The best place to start is at art school with hard work, persistence, some humility and a willingness to engage intellectually with the subject and its history.  Look at your place in the world and make it count. Don't rely only upon what you can do and what you are good at... more is required to stand out.  And when you do find your voice and produce some really good work - make sure you don't stick with it forever - take chances and change. Those artists who you consistently admire are always moving on.  

And to get yourself noticed, keep trying for all the appropriate open competitions, if you're successful things might well happen for you... but remember the competition for a place in the sun is enormous!

The Derwent Art Prize is open for entries until July 1st www.derwent-artprize.com

Today I'm sharing one of my scrapbooking pages! I had an idea I wanted to try and (after a couple of attempts) I'm pleased to say, this is one of those rare projects that came out exactly as I pictured it in my head! Here is the completed page...

In scrapbooking, inks and sprays are a huge trend right now and I wanted to achieve that look but with a massive impact, so what better to create a wow factor than with the Inktense Blocks! I started by cutting a piece of A3 watercolour paper to 12" x 12" (the most popular standard size in scrapbooking) I then misted the paper along the top edge with water and used 6 colours of blocks to scribble a strip of colour - each one slightly overlapping the next. I wasn't too careful at this point as I knew it was going to get runny, but there should be no harsh lines, the colour should be smooth and fairly even.

Now here is the fun part! I held the paper vertically and sprayed along the top edge again with water allowing the colours to merge together and drip down the page - be careful not to overdo it at this point, you don't want the colours to get too runny! As soon as I was happy with it, I quickly laid the paper down and left it to dry. Now, here is where I got things wrong on my first two attempts: the first one, I sprayed too much water and it went very pale, not bright and zingy like I wanted. All was not lost though; I used that piece to matt my photo (you can see above). The second attempt, I tried to take a shortcut and dry it off with my heat gun but it made the colours duller and blew my drippy stripes everywhere, so on my third attempt I left to dry overnight and it looked perfect!

As a finishing touch I took some laser cut wooden embellishments (the alphabet, speech bubble and arrow) and misted them and coloured them with Inktense Blocks to match - I did use my heat gun to dry these off as I wanted to heat-set the colour. Make sure to hold them down while drying though or they blow everywhere! I finished my page off with a little bit of journaling around the edge and a stamped chevron stripe.

I hope you'll give Inktense Blocks a try! If you'd like to share your projects over on the Derwent Facebook page we'd love to see them! I’ll be back soon with another project.

Sarah x

www.sarahhurley.com

Having worked closely with Derwent on the development of the XL Graphite range, we thought we'd interview Ian for our blog!

Ian, tell us a little about yourself:

I grew up in a small village near Skipton in Yorkshire and then spent my formative years in Bradford where I studied art and graduated with a first class honours degree in 2000. I thoroughly enjoyed the experience and felt that the tutors encouraged the students to explore and develop their art practice in order to find their own voice and style. After graduating I moved down to Brighton where I continue to live and work exhibiting in galleries around the country.

What are your earliest memories of drawing?

Drawing has always been a hugely important part of my life but I suppose my earliest memory is of the time I couldn’t wait to try and capture the sights of Blackpool illuminations on paper after we’d been on a family trip. I think my parents may still have the drawing!

Which is your favourite piece of work?

My favourite piece of work is always the next one I’m about to produce. I always imagine I can improve on the last piece and this stems from either never being completely satisfied with the end results or that something happens in the drawing process opening up new possibilities for another piece. I suppose this is what motivates me and drives me on.

How would you describe your style?

As far as my style goes I think it ranges between the tight and realistic to the loose and expressive often blurring (literally!) or marrying these extremes together. I think contrasting elements can sit together and reinforce the strengths or sensitivities within each.

What advice would you give to someone wanting to be a professional artist?

Developing your own style and creating work that feels important to you rather than trying to emulate what appears fashionable or the new trend will make your work stand out and have integrity. This helps when pursuing a career in art as this can often feel like an uphill struggle, the various paths to follow never seem clear and the lack of response from galleries can often feel demoralising but I have found that persistence pays off. For me it made sense building a good relationship with a local gallery and being part of group shows before attempting any solo exhibitions; small steps rather than big leaps. This process built my confidence with regards to contacting other galleries. Here I have found that it’s best to keep it simple, a brief email with a link to your website is enough to give them a taste of your work and the more galleries you contact the more chance that one of them may find your work suitable. I also find that the act of working creates the inspiration, don’t sit around waiting for it, playing with materials, exploring ideas and having fun makes it all worth it!

Did you enjoy developing the XL Graphite range with Derwent?

I thoroughly enjoyed the process of testing the new XL Graphite range and found their versatility makes them an absolute joy to use. Trying them for the first time I would say experiment with the range of marks they can produce ranging from a sensitive fine line to bold broad strokes. Working back into the graphite with an eraser can create feathery painterly effects along with smudgy dense areas and I love the way in which the graphite can be manipulated and create textures in this way.

Thanks to Ian for the interview. Check out more of his work on his website!

Allyson Wright gives us some tips on using Inktense Pencils to draw hair...

I love drawing and painting with Inktense and not just for the wonderfully vibrant colour schemes that Inktense is known for, but to create more subtle colour schemes as well.  You can use Inktense instead of watercolours to produce paintings full of clarity and, unlike watercolour, Inktense is waterproof once it has been wet and then allowed to dry.

Today I am going to show you how I use Inktense pencils to draw hair.  I decided to show you hair for humans, but the same techniques could be used just as easily for animals.  I thought that doing hair for people would be better because people tend to have hair ‘styles’ as well as curly hair, and these would help me explain how you can use Inktense to draw and paint different colours and types of hair.

TIP:  Before you begin, don’t forget that when you are using water-soluble pencils the colour you see when you draw with them isn’t nearly as strong as it will be once the pencil marks have been wetted with a brush. This can make it a little difficult to gauge how much pencil to put down on the paper. It is the opposite of when you paint with watercolours. When you use watercolours (pans or tubes) in the traditional way, the colour you see when the paint is wet is always darker than it appears when the painting is fully dry. Because of this I always try out the colours I am going to use on a spare bit of paper first, so I know what each colour that I’m planning to use will look like wet as well as dry. This helps to avoid making your finished painting far brighter than you intended it to be.

In this first example you can see my quick drawing of a little girl with tousled curly long hair. I decided to do a drawing of this type of hair because long tousled curly hair is the type most people say they find difficult to do.  I’ve briefly shown her dress and face so you get the idea of the picture, but the hair is what we are focusing on today.

In the first image you can see stage one of the hair, where I have used Sicilian Yellow to put in the highlights.  

TIP:  Whenever you are drawing or painting hair you need to do two main things. 1. try to think of the whole head of hair in locks, rather than trying to show individual hairs and 2. make every pencil or brush stroke follow the contours of the shape of the locks of hair.

This means that if the hair is straight you would draw straight lines and if it is curly you draw lines to follow the contours of the locks of hair.  So, for curly hair, like in this example, look at the locks of hair and decide where the light should be hitting the curves. This is what I did in the first stage and I picked out the highlights, which is where the light hits the hair, in the lightest colour.

I then used the other colours I had chosen to use for her blonde hair which were - Tan, Amber, Saddle Brown and Willow, to show the low lights and the mid tones.  I also used a little Dusky Purple for shadows in the hair.  This might seem like a lot of different colours to use for hair, but when light falls on hair it has such a lot of colours in it, and the light bouncing off shiny hair also reflects colours from the subject’s surroundings as well.

In stage two the image shows the little girl’s hair with all these colours in it.

In stage three you can see that I have used a small brush and a small amount of water to wet the strands of hair and this gives a smoother look and a painterly effect.

I thought you might like to see which Inktense colours I would suggest for different colours of hair, so in the next three images you can see auburn, brunette and blonde swatches with part of the sketch dry and part of it having been wet carefully with a small brush and a little water.

For the auburn hair swatch I used: Baked Earth, Dark Chocolate, Sepia Ink, Mid Vermillion and Dusky Purple.

For the brunette hair swatch I used: Payne’s Grey, Charcoal Grey, Sepia Ink, Dark Chocolate, Bark and Dusky Purple.

For the blonde hair swatch I used: Sicilian Yellow, Tan, Amber, Saddle Brown, Willow and Dusky Purple.

TIP:  When you use a brush to wet hair it is important to try to avoid using too much water or too large a brush, because if you wet the drawing too much all the colours will run in together and you will lose the shape and the variation in the hair.

The last examples here are from a painting I did of a Japanese Geisha called ‘Lucky Charms’. In the first image you can see my starting drawing which I did in pencil.  Next I used a combination of Sepia Ink, Payne’s Grey, Ink Black, Indian Ink and Deep Indigo for her jet black hair, as you can see in the next image.  Finally I wet the hair with a small brush and a small amount of water, and I finished the face (Geishas wear traditional white face make-up with red touches and red lips), her costume and I painted the lucky charms that she was wearing in her hair.  I think you can see from the finished painting that I have shaped her hair by making the pencil marks follow the shape of her style and I have used lighter colours to show the shine where sunlight hits her head.

I had a lot of fun doing these sketches and drawings to show you how I use Inktense for hair of various types and colours. I hope you will have lots of fun having a go at using Inktense pencils for your own paintings of people and animals.

Allyson Wright

http://allysonwright.co.uk

Six members of Team Derwent took part in the Workington to Keswick challenge a couple of weeks ago! Lisa Hawkrigg (Accounts), Judy Marsland (HR), Jason Birbeck (Purchasing), Phyllis Meckin (Manufacturing), Anthony Robinson (IT) and his wife Lesley battled against wind and rain to take part in the walk. Here, Lisa tells us her account:

"The weather conditions were terrible but the organisers, having already postponed it once due to snow, really couldn’t postpone it again. So on Sunday morning at 7.30am our small but happy band set out in the torrential, often horizontal rain and gale force winds to walk the 32 miles to Keswick. The conditions were so bad that 109 people who had pre entered did not even bother turning up on the day!

We were soaked to the skin by the time we passed the factory and going over Fangs Brow the rain felt like needles on the side of our faces. We had to wade through knee deep flooding at Lorton (or scale fences and walls to get round it!) to get to the check point.  Unfortunately, Phyllis and Lesley had to retire due to injury at Buttermere, but they both did amazingly well to get that far (19 miles).  The rest of us then had to struggle up Honister through 60 mile an hour head winds but at least the rain had stopped at this point.

The last few miles to Keswick seemed to go on for ever and we were all hurting but we finally made it to the finish line in just over 10 hours."

I asked a few members of the team about their own experiences...

Anthony, what were the best and worst things about the walk?
The best thing about the walk was, even though the weather was hideous, we were all able to still laugh about the situation we were in...most of the time!

The worst thing was the weather... and that horrible bit of road flooded by glacial water we had to walk through just before the second checkpoint.

Judy, what drove you on to complete the walk?
Staring hard at the back of Lisa's heels and the thought of hot pies at the end!

Jason, do you feel like the preparation you did for the walk helped on the day? If so, in what way?
The preparation for the walk was invaluable. Getting back out and doing regular practice walks at the weekends was the only way to go. Just getting used to walking longer distances on tarmac was a big thing in itself. Nothing, however, really prepares you for 65mph winds and driving rain!

Phyllis, can you give me a few words about your experiences during the last few years of doing the W2K walk?
I usually like to start preparing for the walk at least 3 months beforehand. I try to walk every day but this year, with other commitments, it was difficult. This year was a big low; I was so disappointed I couldn’t carry on past Buttermere.

I did the walk one year on my own it was supposed to have been with someone else but she dropped out. It was pleasant because as you went along everyone spoke and passed the time of day and as everyone walked at different speeds it passed the time away.

As I was walking along Borrowdale I met a lad from Seaton so we walked into Keswick together and when we got towards town we started running up the main street; it was funny because people started clapping as we went past.

Well done to the team!

Janine Kilroe is a photographer with a unique style; taking monochrome photos, she then colours them using Derwent Inktense and Watercolour pencils. We asked Janine a few questions about her work and life as a fine art photographer.

What inspires you and your work?

The world around me; landscapes, nature and the shapes, lines and forms you see in the views.

Which artist inspires you?

There are many but the ones who have influenced me at the beginning of my career and to this day are photographers: Ansel Adams, Edward Weston and Bill Brandt. I have recently been exploring wood block printing and linocut and have discovered the wonderful work of Agnes Miller Parker, Angie Lewin and Mark Hearld.

How and when did you start colouring your photographs and your linocut prints?

I started experimenting in 2011. I wanted to take my images up to another level to release them from the constraints of the frame and the photograph itself.

What have you learned about yourself & your work over the years?

That my work is evolving and growing. That I enjoy new challenges and exploring new artistic avenues within my art.

What are the most enjoyable and rewarding aspects of your work?

Seeing an idea come together; the process of creating and making it happen. Also, the reactions and feedback from my clients, the public and fellow artists.

Which is your favourite piece of work and why?

To be honest I don’t really have a favourite as each piece was created because I felt it was a good image and deserved printing. I suppose ‘Flock of Herdwicks Langdale Valley’ is one of my favourites. It captures all that I love about The Lakes, the mountains, valleys and the Herdwick sheep. They all seem to have a special little character about them. It was a lucky piece of timing - I heard the sheep being rounded up by the shepherd who was on a trike with his sheep dogs but couldn’t see them because they were being herded from a lower hill. I knew I only had a short time to get my camera in place, frame it and get focused etc. I only wanted to capture the sheep in my shot and that is what I managed to achieve.

What would be your advice for someone starting out in this area of work?

Try and spend time with a master in your field. Study as many different artists as you can; go and visit art galleries. Do a course to get a feel for the subject. Start off small and don’t narrow your options. Think out of the box, be open and flexible in your approach and most importantly stay true to yourself.

Do you have a studio?

Yes I have a studio at home.

Are you a member of any societies, if so do they help with your work?

I am a member of West OxArts who help me with exhibitions and marketing my work.

What type of music, if any, do you listen to while working?

Music is very important to me and depending on my mood and sometimes the type of work I am doing, I like to listen to an eclectic range of music while working. From classical: Vaughn Williams, Elgar and Mozart, to: Jamiroquai. R &B, funk and the wonderful British Sea Power.

What’s your favourite drawing accessory?

At the moment I am really enjoying using the Grate ‘n’ Shake; it has enabled me to produce my various colour washes. I like the fact it comes with a screw lid so I can take my mixed washes on location to use. It is so handy and economical as the washes are used again or mixed with Inktense Blocks to create another vibrant colour wash.

Janine will be exhibiting at the Pencil Museum, Keswick from Saturday the 27th of April until the 11th of June. She will be artist in residence for the first two days (Saturday 27th & Sunday 28th April); available for any questions and of course demonstrating her techniques using Derwent Inktense and Watercolour pencils.

WIN A SIGNED ORIGINAL PRINT: Enter Janine's contest to win a hand coloured image. Just click here to enter!

HAND COLOURED ART: http://www.janinekilroe.com

PHOTOGRAPHY ART: http://www.janinekilroe.photoshelter.com

FACEBOOK: http://www.facebook.com/janf64

BLOG: http://www.janinekilroe.wordpress.com

We interviewed Stephen Farthing RA, who is one of the judges of the Derwent Art Prize. Stephen is a world renowned artist and writer, exhibiting in London, New York and Japan. For more information, visit www.stephenfarthing.com

Can you tell us a little about your first memories of drawing?

I can remember when I was about four and a half years old, during my first weeks as a student at St Michael's Primary School, South London, finding it easier to draw an image of a cat than write the letters C.A.T.  beneath the image.

Who are your influences as an artist?

It depends if you are talking people or paintings? If it's painting, about five years ago I edited a book called 1001 Paintings You Should See Before You Die -  every one of those paintings has in some way or another influenced me; at the top of the list however there would be Velázquez's Las Meninas, Picasso's Guernica, Manet's Dejeuner Sur L'Herbe and Jackson Pollock's Blue Poles. If it's people there probably was only one major influence; my professor at the Royal College of Art, Peter de Francia - interestingly even though I own some of his drawings and think they are very good, it was what he said that influenced me as an artist, not what he did.

Do you have a favourite piece of work from your collection?

I own a charcoal drawing by a French modernist artist, Jean Helion - it was drawn in 1950; it pictures a man reading a news paper. What's good about the image is that he is at rest, the drawing however, is made as if it's charged with energy and life. 

What advice would you give to someone wanting to be a professional artist?

Go to university & study any subject but art. It really doesn't matter what you study; the sciences, literature, pure mathematics, music, theatre ... so long as you are prepared to engage with the subject and get to know it well. Whilst you are studying for your first degree, draw every day - keep a visual journal, take photographs, write and gather together visual information that interests you. Visit art galleries and museums. Then when you graduate, apply to a postgraduate fine art course in a capital city. To become an artist you need to know stuff, then after that you need to know people; on a post grad art course in a good city you should meet the people.

What are you most looking forward to when judging the Derwent Art Prize?

The very slim possibility of finding a drawing that is not only genuinely surprising but also beautifully drawn. Of finding a drawing where the blank paper is just as important as the marks made. 

Many thanks to Stephen for his time. To enter the Derwent Art Prize, visit: www.derwent-artprize.com

We asked Nicolien Beerens to tell us more about miniature portraiture and how she started creating small scale drawings.

In the 16th century, the craft of miniature art used to be a special style of art. While we can now easily take passport photos that we could carry with us, portraits were often painted on small scale as pendants and jewellery centuries ago.

Nicholas Hilliard, my biggest inspiration, was an acknowledged English painter and goldsmith who regularly painted small portraits for royals and famous individuals back in the day. Queen Elizabeth the 1^st and Shakespeare were among his subjects whom he portrayed. It is simply amazing how much detail he could add to a painted portrait which were usually no bigger than 50mm to 80mm!

I am deeply interested in the arts from the old masters from the Renaissance era. With pencil and paper I try to recreate a similar way of sketching and drawing. It is funny how I discovered that miniature painting used to be a special craft between the 16^th and 18^th century, after I had drawn my first set of miniature drawings.

My first experiment was a double portrait of 2 characters from the TV-Show Supernatural. Each portrait was as large as a British penny (approximated 20mm tall) and 15mm wide.

Surprisingly enough, it took me far longer to finish them than I had expected in the first place.

It should not be forgotten that each millimeter in a 2cm tall miniature portrait should be compared to 1.5centimeters on an A4 sized portrait. Every detail in a miniature drawing, appears 15x bigger in a regular sized portrait!

This also means that when the proportions of a mini drawing is 1mm off, it should be comparable to a large mistake (as big as a thumbnail) in a regular sized drawing.

To give a more visual example to the accuracy of a mini sized drawing, I take photos of my miniature drawings with either small attributions (i.e. coins, pencils) or my hand.

It takes quite a lot of art supplies to draw on small scale. Basic materials usually are:

- 0.3mm 2H, HB, 2B mechanical pencils (details)

- 0.5mm H mechanical pencil (sketching)

- regular H graphite pencil (colouring)

- tortillion (blending)

- magnifying glass (accuracy)

Lastly I would like to show to progress of my latest mini drawing. This was drawn from a scene from the film Skyfall. Enjoy!

More of my work can be found at:

http://www.cataclysm-x.deviantart.com/

https://twitter.com/nelicion

https://www.facebook.com/NicBeerensArt

We often hear of artists creating pieces of work for charity; it's a great way of raising money for a special cause. Here, we speak to Mike Campion who is hoping to raise money for Harold's Cross Hospice, among other causes. He tells us about how he started drawing and how he came to draw for charity.

How did I get to where I am today? Well let’s just say there is a story behind the pencil. As a child in primary school I had a bit of a name for drawing karate men or ska symbols. I was forever being handed copy books to 'decorate'. My teacher at the time noticed this and suggested my parents encourage art in my life. They did and it became a lifelong hobby. It is one that has served me well during times of darkness. Art always lifts the spirits. 

In my adult life I took a break for about six years but returned to drawing as it is a great passion for me. At first I used standard pencils but was soon to discover the joy of watersoluble pencils. With my new discovery the level of my ability grew with each project I took on. This gained me notice from a follower on twitter who had a plan. 

The guy in question is involved in rugby and a number of charities. The plan was simple. Contact some prominent Irish international rugby players about a drawing, get them to sign it and auction the drawing off online. The rugby players in question were Dominic Ryan, Jamie Heaslip and Jonathan Sexton. With some luck it'll earn some much needed funds for two well deserving charities – Harold's Cross Hospice, SOSAD and Clane Rugby. My fingers are crossed. 

For bids or general contact I can be reached at 

michaelcampion@monochromeart.ie

Twitter. @Charcoal_soul

Facebook. Monochromeireland 

YouTube video for the charity drawing.