March 2022 Showcase - Colored Pencil Artwork
The three artists below, featured in the March 2022 issue of COLOR Magazine Showcase, share their beautiful artwork and the inspiration behind it here in our blog.
Tula by Aimee Croteau
10 x 8 inches
Airbrush and colored pencil on Fabriano Artistico paper
(Photo by Lettia McBride; used with permission)
This artwork was a pet portrait commission by my massage therapist, Tia, of her beautiful service dog, Tula. It is special for two reasons: one, it was my first time ever rendering grass with colored pencil, and two, it was (and still is) incredibly meaningful to Tia.
Tula is a Border Collie and Corgi mix who loves to play fetch, especially on the beach. She helps my massage therapist get through daily life living with PTSD by being able to detect when her cortisol levels have risen. When Tula detects high cortisol, she will lay on top of Tia and help prevent a panic attack.
Tia wanted to commission me for a portrait to commemorate Tula as an indispensable best friend who is a major source of support and comfort in her life, and I could not have been happier to help bring that sentiment to fruition.
About Aimee Croteau:
Aimee Croteau is an artist located in the beautiful Inland Northwest. She graduated from Eastern Washington University in June of 2021 with a bachelor’s in Fine Art. Her favorite medium is colored pencil, but she has recently been exploring digital illustration and plans to begin practicing gouache painting in the coming months.
See more at: www.aimeecroteau.art
The Beauty of Decay by Sean Johnson
16 x 20 inches
Colored pencil on watercolor paper
(Artist's own photo)
"The Beauty of Decay" was inspired by the juxtaposition between the radiant North Carolina terrain and the patina of abandoned manmade objects. I constantly scan my surroundings for reference material, and stumbled upon this location while on a fishing trip with my son. The late afternoon sun warmed the cold brick of the buildings and illuminated the rusty truck, breathing new life into this dilapidated space.
Little did I know, the most challenging aspect of creating this piece would be portraying the brick accurately from my grainy camera-phone reference photo. Because the bricks are geometric and precise, I spent quite a bit of time with a ruler and steady hand to painstakingly recreate the pattern on the building. The rear window of the truck distorted the true lines of the brick and the reflection of the pole, which presented even more obstacles for me to depict the accuracy of the image.
About Sean Johnson:
Sean Johnson is a professional artist who enjoys creating art with colored pencil and watercolor. His works has been featured in galleries, books, magazines, and promotional materials. His current work is featured at the Charlotte Art League, located in Charlotte, NC. Sean is an active member of the CPSA and the Charlotte Art League.
See more at: www.seanjohnsonart.com/
Floral Embankment, by Graham Brace
23.5 x 17.5 inches
Colored pencil and gouache on mount board
(Artist's own photo)
This location in the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park in West Wales is typical of the coastal footpath in early summer when the displays of wildflowers are spectacular along its entire 168-mile length. Apart from the thrift shown growing here on a stone embankment, a profusion of bluebells, white sea campion and foxgloves all combine to to enrich the soul of the coast path walker.
The Pembrokeshire Coast is one of the finest stretches of rugged coastline in the United Kingdom and provides me with endless inspiration. Aside from the wider views depicted in this picture I love to draw more confined subjects, in particular natural features like rock forms, pebbles and wave action.
About Graham Brace:
Graham Brace is professional landscape and seascape artist living and working in the heart of the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park in West Wales, UK. He works in a mixture of media but predominantly in colored pencil.
See more at: www.grahambrace.com
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