June 2018 Showcase - Colored Pencil Artwork
The three artists featured in the June 2018 issue of COLOR Magazine Showcase submitted stories about their artwork for our blog. Read below about their inspiration for each of these interesting animal subjects.
Little Yellow Ladybug by Antoniette Preston
30 x 22 inches
Artist Derwent coloured pencil
Fabriano Artistico 300gsm watercolour paper
You are unique with strengths and challenges and beautiful in every way.
Little Yellow Ladybug is a portrait of my daughter at the age of her autism diagnosis. Her diagnosis has opened up a world of understanding for our family, as it almost went undetected. Brilliant at masking her confusion in social situations, she often escapes into her own little world of nature. While looking so vulnerable and precious, her little hands squeeze and they hold the secret of her autism that she hides from the world. The surrounding roses bloom, they are delicate like her... pure and innocent. The yellow ladybug symbolizes a support group she is a proud member of. They are a wonderful network, advocating acceptance and awareness for women and girls on the autism spectrum. It became my passion to break the stereotype of how autism is perceived and bring light to how autism in girls often goes undetected. I hope that my work will inspire and make a difference.
About Antoniette:
Antoniette Preston is an Australian artist and illustrator with a focus on portraiture. Self-taught, Antoniette prides herself on her ability to capture a likeness of her subject with close attention to detail. She is in constant demand for commissions and illustration work with portraits, animals, and flowers being her specialty.
See more at: https://www.facebook.com/antonietteprestonillustrations/
Best Friends by Rosalind Batty
11 x 7 inches
Drawn on Canson Multi Media 200gsm Paper, using Polychromos, Prismacolor and Pablo Pencils
This drawing was the winner of a Giveaway that I held on my art page over the Christmas period. The owner of the dogs sent the original photo in because her dogs had both passed over the rainbow bridge and she wanted to be in with a chance of getting the photo recreated into a coloured pencil drawing. The photo received the most likes over the period of the week of voting and won.
I love creating memorial pieces, as it holds a special place in peoples hearts and brings back lovely memories for the owners of pets that they have lost.
This drawing was a challenge for me as there's a lot of grass, much of it being in the foreground, and it involved me working on each blade of grass, one at a time. I think the thing that I enjoyed the most about it was the progression from the foreground to the background, and the change from the fine details in the grass, to the soft blending in the background.
About Rosalind:
Rosalind has drawn since she was a teenager, but until three years ago, only worked in graphite. She decided to start working in coloured pencil and got great results from them. Rosalind has now been published in books and magazines, and has held two solo art exhibitions in recent months.
See more at: www.facebook.com/northmayofineart
Look on the Bright Side by Cynthia Morris
15 x 22.5 inches
Colored Pencil on Museum Board
Family outings on Truman Lake generally find me with my camera in hand while everyone else has a fishing pole in theirs. On this particular outing I found myself “hooked” on my brother’s sunglasses rather than the nature that surrounded me. The red-rimmed glasses with their mirrored lenses were captivating to say the least. While the "right-in-his-face" photo shoot was quite comical, the end result was a great set of reference photos. The slightly distorted images within the lenses played perfectly against the realism of his facial features giving viewers something to reflect on. Pun intended. All in all, it was a fun day with family and was also a reminder that there is artistic inspiration everywhere if we continue to keep a watchful eye.
About Cynthia:
Cynthia is a professional artist and Signature Member of the Colored Pencil Society of America and Best of Missouri Hands. Her works hang in private collections throughout the United States and have been published in several books and magazines. She is represented by Art Impressions Gallery, Sedalia, MO & Riverport Market in Glasgow, MO.
See more at: http://cynthiacmorris.com/
These artworks were published in the June 2018 issue of COLOR Magazine.
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