May 2018 Showcase - Colored Pencil Artwork
Three artists featured in the May 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.
Tranquility by Jeannette Sirois
16" x 20"
Stonehenge
Luminance, Pablos, Polychromos
Copyright Free Reference Image
I live and work by the Pacific Ocean, on a small island off the coast of British Columbia. My studio window has a view of the ocean and everyday I am able to walk to the beaches and explore the shoreline. This image reminds me of those walks: beaches full of stones, bright blue water and splashing waves on the shore.
The image is part of a series called Shoreline that I am working on in my fun time as studies about the ocean and the peace it can bring to our lives. These works give me the opportunity to momentarily move away from my large-scale portraits, and continue to build up my skills not only with the medium, color pencil, but with drawing a variety of visual subject.
The rocks are full of intricate textures and details combined the frothy seawater creates new and fun challenges. This work gave me the opportunity to hone my skills, work on a subject that is both fun and dear to me and at the same time make money as they are a popular subject that many people are interested in purchasing.
About Jeannette:
Jeannette Sirois has been working with colored pencils as a professional artist since 2013. In that time she has created body of works that focus on the connection we have with each other and the environment we live in. She often combines color pencil with various media such as graphite, charcoal and chalk pastel.
See more at: www.jeannettesirois.com
Red-Haired Girl by Ekaterina Putyatina
9 x 12 inches
Colored pencils: Prismacolor Premier, Faber Castell Polychromos
Paper: Canson (Bristol), 22.9 x 30.5 cm
Reference Photo from Daria Chacheva
I always like to draw portraits of people with freckles. It seems to me that this feature makes them attractive. In this portrait I wanted to convey confidence and calmness in the eyes of the girl. The hair in the foreground is more clearly drawn, and in the background they are blurred. To remove the blurred effect, I needed a lot of time.
I worked on this portrait for about fifty hours.This was the final work for my solo exhibition in summer.
Ekaterina Putyatina graduated art school at the age of 14. Before entering the institute, she took private lessons for a couple of years in the direction of graphics. In 2013 she graduated from the institute in the direction of design.
See more at: https://www.facebook.com/ArtistPutyatinaEkaterina/
Efflorescence by Sonja Oldenburg
22 x 28 inches
Colored Pencil on Fabriano Artistico Watercolor Paper
I created this colored pencil drawing using a photo I took of a jaguar at the Milwaukee County Zoo. I surrounded the jaguar with several bright and beautiful flowers I've photographed over the years. The animal's bold and contrasting patterns and the clusters of flowers seemed like they would make a lovely combination. I wanted this piece to be vibrant, cluttered and energetic. I improvised from the original reference photos to make the flowers more dynamic and vivid in different areas of the piece. I pushed the saturation in every area and to help achieve this. I used Prismacolor colored pencils and Artstix along with Polychromos colored pencils. Mineral Spirits were used to blend the pencil.
About Sonja:
Sonja Oldenburg is from Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Botanical illustration, Art Nouveau and intricate motifs inspire her work. She enjoys a lush and cluttered aesthetic, full of energy and detail in every corner of the canvas.
These artworks were published in the May 2018 issue of COLOR Magazine.
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