Pencil Revolution!

"Alphabet" by Dalton Ghetti

You can't stop looking at it, can you? A couple of weeks ago, while googling the artist that created this marvel (more about him in a minute), I happened upon a website that is tailor-made for pencil geeks like me: Pencil Revolution.  I left a comment, and soon received an email from its editor.  He mentioned that they used to regularly feature pencil artists, but hadn't done so in a while, and asked if I would allow them to post some of my drawings! Well, I was very humbled by the request because there are so many wonderful pencil artists out there (more about them in a minute). But then, it occurred to me that this is one of the wonderfully serendipitous things about blogging: you bump into some really intriguing people as you mosey around the blogosphere.  Take Illustration Friday, for example -  I know that exchanging comments does not make me bosom buddies with another artist, but there's a kinship that starts to grow when you appreciate one another's creative efforts.

It seems that I discover another wonderful colored pencil artist every day, but there are a few whose new posts I eagerly anticipate.  One is Paula Pertile.  Her posts feel a bit like you're chatting with a friend over coffee, and she draws like a dream - I could stare at her drawings of candy (the ribbon candy, the caramels, the chocolates...) for hours.  Another is Leslie Hawes. She "travels" around the world via Google Street View and creates the loveliest drawings of  these locations.  Is that a wonderful use of technology or what?

Now, back to the fabulous Dalton Ghetti.  I've been enthralled by his work ever since I read about him in TIME for Kids one day last spring when I was substitute teaching.  He carves miniature wonders in the graphite at the tip of a pencil. Unbelievable. This is a link to his work and bio that was provided in the Pencil Revolution post. In such a hi-tech world, Dalton Ghetti's unabashedly lo-tech art just makes me happy.

So, thank you, Pencil Revolution, for "inviting me in" when I stopped by. Anyone who says that the internet is impersonal certainly hasn't been strolling through the same neighborhoods that I have visited since I started blogging a short while ago.