bob-artist:

Do you use a lead pointer?

Do you cry whenever you sharpen your lead because you know how expensive that lead was?  Then dump that dust out and use it!

You now have free powdered graphite!  (If you don’t use a lead pointer, you can buy a solid graphite stick and take a hammer to it – yes, I’ve done this – or you can just go ahead and buy powdered graphite.)  You can use a dry brush to paint it on your pencil drawings for a soft, light blended effect.  Or…

Add a drop or two of water and mix until it dissolves.  Remember that softer lead will produce darker effects, so add more or less water depending on how dark or light you want to go.

You now have powdered graphite AND erasable paint!

Paint whatever the crap.

Lift that crap out with an eraser.  Darker graphite won’t come out completely, but you can soften, blend, and lighten it.  You can also smudge it with a finger or brush.

Then you can go in and detail it with the same pencil you cannibalized to make the graphite powder, and it’ll all blend together because it’s the same crap.

But painting with graphite is nice because you can block in large areas and detail on top of it.  And sometimes you just want to have a “brush” effect, which isn’t so quick and easy with a pointy pencil, or maybe you want to be free and loose the way only a brush can let you be.

There you go!  Graphite paintings from repurposed waste materials!