After little activity since last June, I sold three large prints from my Etsy store. So I decided to treat myself to a new toy. For years I have deliberated on whether to give Art Graf water-soluble graphite a try. I already have all the watercolors that I love and don’t really need more. But this is actually not watercolor, right? It’s highly pigmented cakes of colored graphite. Recently I found THIS REVIEW from Teoh Yi Chie of Parka Blogs — and it sold me.
First of all, I’m not really crazy about the cork tray packaging, but I expected that ahead of time. So I found this hinged plastic box to put the discs in. There is room for one more color I can add later (they are also sold individually); I attached each with a bit of Blu Tack to keep them from shifting. The lid opens flat so I can make mixes in the lid.
It’s hard to believe this is graphite — the color is very intense! Each color mixes mixes together well. I expected a certain graininess but there is none, unless you count those tiny particles floating in the water after cleaning brushes. I had to use more water than with watercolor to get the colors I was after in the tiny flower sketches. They also dry very fast, making it more challenging to a color wet-in-wet or when trying to wash out a hard edge. These work best for quick, bright pops of color added to an ink sketch.
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