Julie T. Chapman - ArtBlog

A quick note on good stuff y’all may or may not know about.

If you ever had the chance to experience the secret-formula Ritmo charcoal pencils, you know how creamy and gorgeously black they were. Ritmo stopped making these several (3? 5?) years ago, and it’s rumored that Disney immediately went out and scoured the world to buy up whatever was left.

Since then, General Pencil Company has managed to come up with its own formula that’s damn close. I’ve bought several packages of these things, called “Primo” (and even labeled with lettering that is no doubt intentionally reminiscent of “Ritmo”) and I LOVE ‘em. They’re sold only in a 4-pack, with B, HB, 3B, and a white pencil and an eraser. Doesn’t matter - all 3 of the charcoals are insanely black and wonderful. In fact, I’ve done a totally scientific side-by-side comparison* with my few remaining Ritmo pencils, and I actually like the Primos better. (*I used a Primo, then a Ritmo).

Also cool: the eraser in the pack - a weird black thing with “Factis” printed on it - is the ONLY eraser I’ve ever found that can actually remove Conte, and take off very soft black charcoal as well (with some smearing).

Enjoy.

P.S. Off to an agility trial, so no posts until sometime next week.

…are due to Suzanne Ellis, who just won the Grand Prize in the 2007 Paint America Top 100. Suzanne attended one of my summer workshops a few years ago, and her winning painting was of (drumroll, please!) Daisy the badger - one of Triple D’s animal models! Check it out at www.paintamerica.org. Suzanne also had a piece juried into the Mini Top 50.

Waytago girl!!

P.S. Also in the category of “Cool Stuff”, an article about Andrew Denman on createbetterpaintings.com is very worthwhile (he’s listed at the top left of the page). I’ve shared exhibition space with Andrew at Birds in Art and at Western Visions; he is an extremely nice guy with a beautiful, original interpretation of the world. His technique is unusual and the article does a good job of covering it.