April 2022 Showcase - Colored Pencil Artwork

The three artists below, featured in the April 2022 issue of COLOR Magazine Showcase, share their beautiful artwork and the inspiration behind it here in our blog. 

On The Wind by Terry Mellway
13 x 10.75 inches
Colored pencil on Strathmore Bristol Vellum
(Photo from Pixabay)

"On the Wind" was sort of a tribute to my husband who, in his late teens, sailed in the Caribbean for a number of years. So whenever I see a sailing picture that I know he would like, I try to recreate it.

A gallery owner once told me that if you are making art, make art that tells a story. To me, this piece could tell any number of stories but the emotions that it evokes says freedom, feeling the spray and the wind, and being somewhere in the tropics. These are emotions that dreams are made of.

The other thing I truly enjoy about pieces like this, although some folks have said I'm "anal" about it, is all the details that go into it. The more detail, the more I love it. With very sharp pencils, I get in my zone and experience all the feelings I get from the image as it rises up from the paper. I try to take my time and enjoy the journey with each work.

About Terry Mellway:

Terry has been creating art for most of her life. While she works in a number of mediums including watercolor, acylics and oils, she has spent most of the last 15 years devoted to colored pencil alone. Her works have received numerous awards as well as having been published in magazines such as COLOR Magazine.

See more at: www.terrymellway.com

Hello Sunshine by Chantal Marcotte

16 x 22 inches
Pablo, Polychromos and Luminance on Fabriano Artistico
(Artist's own photo)

"Hello Sunshine" is special for me because after a very personally difficult year where I couldn't draw, and the time of coronavirus, I wanted to draw a colorful one, for beauty, dream, peace  and hope. It was therapeutic using these colors, beautiful salmon, pink, green, blue, as I usually work with gray and brown.

This is only my second drawing of feathers, and not the last, so funny doing birds in so many colors, I love it! It was new to for me to make a background, and scary, but I definitely will do it again in the future. I took the reference photo in a great zoo-sanctuary near my place in Quebec. I have many goods photos of flamingos, so there is surely another drawing of them in my future.

About Chantal Marcotte:

Chantal Marcotte grew up in Canada surrounded by animals. Animals and nature always fascinated her. She often has special inspiring moments when an animal looks at her intensely and directly in the eyes. This is this kind of communion that she wants to express in her drawings.

See more at: facebook.com/ArtByChantalMarcotte/

Every Child is an Artist, by Rosie Wallace

12 x 10 inches
Faber-Castell Polychromos and Caran d'Ache Luminance on Fabriano Artistico
(Artist's own photo)

This study was inspired by an old photo of my daughter, Amy, at the age of 5, perched on a stool in the garden one summer's day, daubed in paint and totally absorbed in her artwork. It brought to mind Picasso's words, "Every child is an artist." Children, unafraid of making a mess, are able to let their imagination run freely and to feel joy in whatever they are creating, unhindered by the "rules."

Recreating this special memory was an absolute joy. It was the first time I’d attempted to draw a human figure, as I previously believed this was something I was incapable of doing. The connection I felt with this piece was so strong, however, that it truly felt as though my heart took over and drew it for me!

Amy is 25 now and tells everyone she’s rubbish at drawing. Maybe one day she will let her heart get involved, and she will then once again consider herself an artist.

About Rosie Wallace:

Rosie Wallace is a self-taught artist from North Yorkshire who discovered her passion for colored pencils during the lockdown of 2020. Rosie particularly enjoys drawing wildlife and creates expressive studies that have character and attention to detail.

See more at: www.instagram.com/rosie_wallace_art/

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