Art Stuff I Love: The Shorty

I was reading up on how to do looser, more artistic paintings and someone commented saying that you really need to loosen up on the initial sketch.  A few days later and I still found that comment resonating with me and I started playing around with ways to jazz my sketches up.

I cannot say if this will work for you, but it worked for me: I started holding my sketching pencil like a paint brush and I got sketches that felt looser and more energetic to me.  Yeah, it took some practice and it took another pencil.

You see, a normal pencil just sort of rolls around in my hand when I use a brush grip.  I can cinch up on it, but my hand would be a lot happier with a thicker bodied pencil.  And that is when I found the graphite dispensing tool of perfection.  Behold - THE SHORTY!

The Worther Shorty is basically a hexagonal (i.e. zero roll) fat bodied lead holder made with German precision. The lead is 3.5mm thick 7b lead that is excellent for sketching.  As you work, it somehow basically self-sharpens through use.

Why would you want one?  The lead never breaks. The lead never needs sharpening.  The lead lasts a long, long time.  The pencil is roll resistant, light-weight, it has a thickness that I enjoy.  For me, putting a Shorty in my hand instantly reminds me to shift to a brush grip and this is the only pencil-style tool that I sketch with now.

If you are thinking about buying one and are in North America, I have seen The Shorty at ASW Express, Jerry's Artarama, and ebay has lots of barrel colors, some carrying pouches, and even a way to turn the Shorty into a ballpoint pen.  If you are interested in the pencil from a collecting perspective, Lead Holder has a nice entry on The Shorty - the metal ones look nice!



Renzo Piano, world renowed Italian architect, working with a Shorty