December 2024 Showcase - Colored Pencil Artwork
The three artists featured in the December 2024 issue of COLOR Magazine Showcase share the stories behind their beautiful artwork here in our blog.
Girl In Kimono by Colleen Butler
11.7 x 16.5 inches
Prismacolor, Polychromos, Derwent Drawing colored pencils, and Pan Pastel on Grafix .005" drafting film. (Photo by Susan Roghair, used with permission.)
I’ve been primarily a wildlife artist and pet portraitist for many years. My work is inspired by the unique and wonderful native flora and fauna here in Australia. My love for the vast variety of species and particularly the colors of our magnificent birdlife, ignites my creative flare, and I find myself lost in a whirl of colors and details for hours.
A couple of years ago, I decided to challenge and enhance my skills by delving into drawing the human form. While I have previously dabbled in a couple of portraits using graphite, I was never brave enough to tackle the complexities of human skin tone using colored pencils. Despite watching many tutorials and attending classes specifically for these pencils, I remained hesitant until I saw this image. It struck me immediately as the perfect way to slowly build my skills with confidence: the hint of beautiful soft skin without the intricacies of an entire face. The amazing floral design of her kimono, mixed with the shine and shadows in her hair, allowed me to pair my practice with my finesse for details.
This piece is one I am most proud of, and I give many thanks to photographer Susan Roghair, for permission to use her reference photo.
About Colleen Butler:
Colleen found her love for drawing as a young girl. She believes embracing colored pencils 10 years ago was the start of her professional art career. Now retired, she immerses herself entirely in her art, pouring detail and depth into every piece. Colleen is an award winning, regional art awards finalist and featured artist with an online gallery.
See more at facebook.com/CJButlerArt/
First Swim by Susan Wehrman
8 x 10 inches
Caran d'Ache Luminance, Caran d'Ache Pablo, Derwent Coloursoft, Derwent Inktense, Derwent Lightfast, Faber-Castell Polychromos, Holbein, Prismacolor Premier colored pencils on Pastelmat. (Artist’s own photo.)
While we were on a family vacation at Table Rock Lake we decided to introduce our puppy to the water. This piece is based on a photo of one of my golden retrievers when she was just four months old and, as the title suggests, it was her first swim. She was just the size of a few handfuls at that time (standing about mid-shin to me). As I waded into the shallow water with her, you can see the apprehension in her eyes. Once she got the hang of it, she enjoyed herself. This piece was also featured as a step-by-step tutorial in the August edition of CP Magic, and I have worked it a second time on the lid of a wooden chest to donate to the Golden Retriever Foundation’s auction this fall to raise money to further their research in understanding diseases and genetic disorders that afflict all dogs and golden retrievers in particular.
About Susan Wehrmen:
Susan did not set out to become an artist, but her passion for art began early on. As a child, her greatest excitement came from visits to the local hobby shop for paint-by-number kits; she would spend many marathon weekends working on these cardboard canvases. This is what inspired her current love of colored pencils.
Water Baby by Lorraine Bollinger
10.25 x 16 inches
Polychromos colored pencils on drafting film. (Artist’s own photo.)
As a baby, my granddaughter, Layla, was always happiest in the water. When she was fussy, we’d find the nearest body of water, even if it was just the bathtub. This snapshot of her playing in the splash pad is evidence of that. I cherish the time I was able to spend with her and her brother as babies and it doesn’t hurt that they’re wonderful and inspiring models for my work. I have collected so many moments of their lives that I have yet to immortalize in a painting or drawing.
This drawing is a first for me in several ways. I have been challenging myself for the past couple of years more intensely than ever to become better at drawing portraits: working on different surfaces and taking workshops from talented teachers to add new techniques to my bag of tricks. This is my first completed work on drafting film (I must confess I am enamored by it). The background, above the water, was mostly drawn on the back to give a sense of dimensionality. I also had rarely drawn water, especially water that’s cascading and somewhat transparent, as it is here. The whole process was more satisfying than I thought it would be.
As artists, we are sometimes challenged with making choices regarding the composition of a piece that we are planning. In this case, I needed to eliminate the background almost entirely as it was a confusion of people, umbrellas, buildings, chairs and towels lying about, which didn’t do anything for the mood I was trying to create.The only original element is the palm tree on the right.
Light is key to the success of many of my pieces. It describes shapes and establishes a time and place, plus bringing life to a subject. I felt this drawing was a bit challenging because it is backlit. The challenge was to adjust the values of her tanned skin without being too dark or too light. However, it did make the water more interesting.
About Lorraine Bollinger:
There have been very few periods in Lorraine’s life when she wasn’t making art. No matter what’s happening in the world outside her studio, she finds inspiration and happiness creating and sharing art. She has a BA in graphic design and illustration, has taught publicly and privately, has helped start art groups, and has a full calendar of commissions.
See more at www.lorrainebollinger.com/shop-art
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