The Tranquility of Pencil

I don't often work in pencil anymore for finished sketches, but when I do, I'm reminded of how beautiful a medium it is. I get lost in the serenity of each stroke, the wispy sound it makes on the paper, the subtle scent it has. I love the pencil shavings that speckle my desk, and the way my fingers and side of my right hand will get smudged with the stuff. Such a simple tool, seemingly. I love the flexibility of pencil. I can change edges from hard to soft in an instant, or make them disappear completely, giving the eye a place to rest without the viewer realizing what I've done. I feel in control when I'm using pencil, a feeling that has taken years to achieve with watercolor, and I still have a ways to go to meet that goal, if I ever will (and if I don't, so what). I love the grace of pencil, the urgency of pencil, the timelessness of pencil, and it's gentle meditative quality.

I think I will be spending much more time drawing with this seemingly simply tool.