Saint Nicholas

A reflection of something greater

I have done a great many jobs over the last 40 years, paid and unpaid, but the most enjoyable has been playing Santa. True or not, the stories of Saint Nicholas, which inspired the modern version, are inspirational and the story of a man putting others first. It’s not gard to see how he went from Bishop to Christian Saint.

Standing in for Santa I have always tried to stay true to the heart of the Saint behind it. No naughty and nice list for a start. It is interesting and fun being part of a 1700 year old story. You have to live the part and when you do it becomes a creative act.

This is a short story I did about my time as the man in the red suit.

The quotes are things the children said to me when they visited me in my sleigh.

Merry Christmas

Pete

School was the next major stop for my pencil experience as we learnt to write with them and chew their ends. 7 years old and starting to teach myself to draw would be the next memory and learning that there were good pencils and bad pencils. Bad pencils had a waxiness to the graphite that caused a poor quality line and often broke constantly when sharpening. Good pencils sharpened easily, broke infrequently and held a decent point.

I draw largely for my mental health. Creativity keeps me balanced and not making art is usually a sign that mentally or emotionally I’m in a bad way. For that reason I’ve never been fussy about the materials I use. If it was affordable and fit for purpose that was good enough for me. To be honest, I’d draw with half a brick on the pavement or a lump of burnt wood on a wall quite happily. There is little that can match that warm, organic feel of a wooden pencil though. That sweep of carbon across paper, moving from thick to thin and back to thin lines as you move from point to side. The varying tone of line depending on how had you press. It’s a kind of magic.

As time has passed I’ve come to appreciate a certain degree of quality in the tools I use and I’ve upgraded when the situation allowed. I always figured a pencil was a pencil though. Finding the right art materials requires a certain amount of research and trial and I discovered that there is a superstar of the pencil world, the Blackwing 602 Palamino. Where a decent quality Derwent Graphic pencil will cost you about £1.70, a Blackwing 602 Palamino will set you back around £3.50 to £4.00 a time. During a period of about 10 years when production was stopped they were selling for around £30 each on Ebay.

There is a mystique that attaches to certain brands like Moleskine, not always deserved. The suggestion that using a particular brand will make you a better artist. Of course only practice makes you a better artist but makers of paints and pencils and brushes don’t want you to know that. However, quality tools will make a difference in how the finished work looks. Blackwing 602 Palamino pencils are like my equivalent of the red Ferrari. A midlife crisis pencil. I'm looking at them because in my head they will fill that same purpose as the red Ferrari. But people I know who use them swear by them and I can’t help but feel my lovely wife would prefer me to purchase the Ferrari of pencils for £4 rather than antual Ferrari for £145,000.

Addendum. Encouraged by my eldest I spent £16 on four top class pencils, including two different Blackwings, so I can take them for a test drive. I'll report back next time.