The Pencil Box - Featured Artists - May 2024

Canyon Creek - November Ice by Clare Hobson
11x14 inches, colored pencil on Opus Watermedia Cold Press

Cold November days allow water to transition from liquid to solids. I grabbed my camera and went out to a local creek to get some images of water and snow. There are several drawing surfacing in my mind from that day but the first to show itself on paper is this sunlit crystal of ice hanging off a random fallen branch. I love the contrast of snow, rocks and flowing water. In choosing this subject, I initially imagined it to be one of the “easier” ones to start with. Well gee, this ended up absorbing close to 50 hours of actual drawing and maybe, another 40 looking at it and visualizing what needed to happen before going back in to add more.

Clare Hobson:

Clare's art work displays a fascination for nature Through her media, she reveals to us the serenity of a quiet wooded area, or the enduring solitude of an old historic barn. Clare prefers using colored pencils as she finds the pencils cleaner to use and the opportunities for details are limitless.

Facebook: Clare.Hobson.Artist



Matching Outfits by Nathalie Beck
12x16 inches, colored pencil on Canson Mi-Teintes

I took the reference photo for this piece several years ago. I was at the local zoo (back when that existed), here in Las Vegas, NV, and I saw this little boy bending down to feed the handsome peacock. I noticed the colors of the boy’s clothing being very similar to the colors of the beautiful bird. I saw a connection between the two, a trust. I hurried to capture that with my camera and I thought artwork right away. I couldn’t wait to draw this. As I always do, I put it in a special file to draw. However, for some reason, that reference photo got lost on my devices, and it took a long time, several years until I finally found it again. I started the drawing from it right away. The inspiration and the memory the interaction between the small human child and the peacock were as strong and vivid as the day I was there and saw them together. I wanted to create a drawing where I focus on the bond between human and animal (an animal that is not the standard house pet). I hope I was able to convey that. With Matching Outfits, I hope to inspire parents to let children meet animals.

Nathalie Beck:

Nathalie Beck was born in Norway, and started drawing at the age of three. Her background is in sculpture, colored pencil, and oil painting. As a teenager, she moved to the United States, where she still lives. She studied with renown artists, and she holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree.



Tucker by Roxie Weesner
8x10 inches, colored pencil on Pastelmat

Tucker was abused badly when someone poured a chemical down his back and then left to die. He was taken to a shelter and nursed back to health. A good friend of Sue Wayland tried to adopt Tucker but her other dog did not get along with him. She was forced to take him back to the shelter. Teresa begged someone to adopt him and Sue saw her friend's post and fell in love with him. Sue said she would adopt if she could find a way to get him from Alabama to Maine. Teresa drove two days to get him to her and Sue adopted him immediately! She had never wanted a pet until she saw Tucker. Sue believes with all her heart that her deceased son had EVERYTHING to do with this. Tucker has all the love he can handle now and he filled a huge hole in her heart. If Sue had not adopted Tucker, he would be dead right now.

Roxie Weesner:

Roxie Weesner is a cartoonist and recently started learning realistic drawings of animals from Bonny Snowdon Academy. She now considers herself a Pet Portrait artist. Roxie lives in Georgia with her husband, Larry, and her son James.



Tongue's out! By Stacey Barge
12x16 inches, colored pencil on Arches Hot Press

Giraffes are a favourite animal of mine. Whenever I visit our local zoo, they are one of the first animals I go to. I love their personalities and I hope that I can go on an African Safari one day to see them in their habitat. The picture I drew is of a Northern Giraffe, there are less than 6000 of these animals left in the wild. It is believed that their tongues are black to protect it from sunburn as their tongue is their main way to eat, grasping leaves with their tongue. I hope that my art can bring attention to the giraffe and their plight.

Stacey Barge:

Stacey is an artist based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. She creates hand-drawn pet portraits and portraits of loved ones from pictures. She also loves to draw wildlife when time presents itself. Stacey is also a vet tech, she loves animals and their people.

Facebook: Stacey Barge Art