The Sennelier oil stick that came out of the tube like toothpaste that's been left uncappedI've been using Sennelier oil sticks for years. Usually reliable, a bit soft in warm weather but nothing you can't work around. The one I bought last week, a raw umber, came out of the tube with the consistency of toothpaste that's been left uncapped all night. Crumbly, dry, almost no oil feel at all. I had to break it up and mix it with stand oil just to get it to stick to the knife. I emailed the supplier. They said it's a known issue with a batch from the summer. No recall, but they'd replace it if I sent photos. Which I did, but I'm stuck on the fact that they knew and still shipped it. That's three tubes of paint I've had problems with this year across different brands and I'm starting to wonder if the supply chain issues everyone talked about in 2022 are still showing up now as rushed batches and bad checks. Anyway. The raw umber is fine now after the intervention. But I shouldn't have to doctor a Sennelier stick like it's cheap student grade. Anybody else hit a dud batch lately or is it just me.
oil sticksquality controlsennelier
Found a 12-year-old pencil mark on my work table and I refuse to sand it offI bought my drawing table second-hand in 2014 from a man in Rajajinagar who was closing his signboard shop. Teak, solid, one drawer that sticks in the monsoon. It has his pencil marks all over it. Layout lines, a few measurements, half a word I can't read. He clearly worked straight on the tabletop for years. I've had it cleaned, oiled, thought about sanding it smooth twice. Never done it. Those marks are the only reason I keep the table. Thing is, I've started leaving my own on it. Not deliberately. Just the small smudges where I test a nib, the outline of a 9x12 block traced so I stop placing it crooked. There's a coffee ring from last Tuesday that I'm pretending is a design decision. Anyway. Some mornings I sit down and see his lines under mine and it feels like working next to someone. Which is odd because I never met him and he was probably only tolerating me while I counted out the cash. I don't know what I'm asking. Maybe just curious if anyone else has a piece of furniture they bought used and can't quite bring themselves to properly own.
secondhandstudioworktable
