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Primary school poetry.

It wasn't in a book. One of the girls in Grade Three, Suzanna Arrowsmith, performed Vespers by A. A. Milne in front of the class, but I thought it was over the top. Sanctimonious little critic I was. Suzanne wanted to be an actress. She had the looks.

The poetry was in a box; the names of the colours, each numbered, in a box of Derwent pencils. The 24-pencil set was a coloured landscape that spoke of dark valleys and lake-laced plains of vivid greens, and seas that swirled grey and blue.

Emerald Green was the land of our forefathers; Raw Umber was the earth beneath; Blue Grey was the sky above and Rose Pink was the blush in Colleen’s cheeks. Ivory Black (just one of Derwent's blacks) was the frozen road or your father’s drink; Madder Carmine was a red flash somewhere between those two notorious actresses, Scarlet and Crimson Lake.

Juniper Green was the colour of a sage leaf that flavoured mother’s stew. Jade Green, French Grey and Naples Yellow were the overseas holidays you had in the 1950s.

Venetian Red was a red-tinged shade of brown; Chinese White was always the longest pencil in the box, until I was given an exercise book made of black art paper. My favourite name was Ultramarine, a stormy sea of backlit deep blue. I travelled the world and had a thousand adventures with one box of Derwent coloured pencils.

My sister had the 72-pencil fold-out box set. She became a poet.


Comments

  1. just goes to show KH...had I owned some derwents my life may have changed forever.

    Always wanted them...never got them...the story of my life

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  2. White Dove, my older sister got the 72s, my brother the 12s and I the 24s. (Not sure about the other four children, or perhaps they received the cheaper Lakelands.) The result, graphed, probably tracked the Australian economy at the time.

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  3. Thanks for this KH.
    I always wanted Derwents but had to settle for the cheaper version when I was at school. The gorgeous emerald green was my favourite and I was envious every time my (much more affluent) friend used hers.
    Some years ago, a friend and I were talking about how good Derwents were and a few weeks later she surprised me with a set.

    Just opening the tin takes me back to school days

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  4. Indeed, Melbourne Girl. And then we could start talking about the smell of a brand new pack of Guitar or Craypas oil pastels ...

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