Many
artists have been frustrated
by the fugitive nature of coloured
pencils, and are welcoming with
open arms the recent advances
in technology that have led
to new lightfast pencils.
One of the most interesting
introductions is the Museum
Box, a set of lightfast colour
pencils from Caran d'Ache. The
leads have no traditional wooden
casing, but come with three
retractable leadholders. The
colours can be applied wet or
dry, and because there is no
casing, even the very last fragment
of pigment can be used. The
range of 18 coloursis superb
and they are soft , easily soluble
and have absolutely no grittiness
to spoil the flow of colour.
The leadholders are based on
the world's first all-metal
clutch pencil - the famous Caran
d'Ache Fixpencil from 1929 -
and, as you would expect from
a design classic, they are easy
to use and robust. The set also
contains a tube of white gouache
for highlighting, graphite leads,
a petit-gris brush, an eraser,
a small mixing pan, a glass
tube for carrying spare leads
and a leaflet with technical
advice. The leadholders even
have their own integrated sharpeners.
The Museum Box retails at £95
in VAT.
A report by Tracey Murkett reproduced
with kind permission of Artist
& Illustrators magazine. www.aimag.co.uk
