September 2017 Showcase - Colored Pencil Artwork

The three artists featured in the September 2017 issue of COLOR Magazine  Showcase submitted stories about their artwork for our blog. Read below about their inspiration for each of these interesting subjects.

Sadie
by Natell Ann Webb
14" x 9.5"
Own photo reference
Derwent Artist, Polychromos, Prismacolor & Signo Gel Pen on 110gsm Cartridge

This piece has a has very special place in my heart. Sadie was a much loved family member for nearly 14 years. Gentle natured, loving, and a great soccer player, she loved life and lived it to the full. The reference picture was taken just a a couple of weeks prior to her passing. She was such a beautiful soul and I think this picture captures that perfectly.

An Illustrator and Graphic Designer by trade, Natell worked in Advertising and Television for over 15 years. After taking a break from Advertising to raise her family, Natell continued to paint and sew in her spare time, but has only recently returned to her love of illustration and colored pencils.

See more at http://www.tanglewebbstudio.com.au.

Nature's Child
by Barbara Dahlstedt
13” x 8”
Prismacolor and Neocolor II, on Fawn Stonehenge.
Own Reference Photos

The interesting thing about this portrait is that I created it from two different photos. I took a picture of a young lady at the Renaissance Festival during Spring Break. I loved her costume and pose, but her face wasn't quite what I was looking for. So, just before school ended this year, I took a photo of one of my students in the very same pose. It was the perfect fit! Although my Photoshop skills could be better, I was able to cut and paste the images together to make it work.This piece is my donation for the Colored Pencil Society of America's Art Auction at the 2017 convention in Rockville, Maryland.

About Barbara

Barbara Dahlstedt has been a high school art teacher in Glendale, Arizona, for 25 years. She joined the Colored Pencil Society of America five years ago and is currently co-president of the Phoenix Chapter of the CPSA.

See more from at http://www.DahlstedtArt.com.

Ethereal
by Nirupama Nathan
6” x 9.25”
Caran d'Ache Luminance on Canson Ingres
Copyright free, Creative Commons, or Public Domain

The objects portrayed in Ethereal make a perfect blend of art, culture and heritage in terms of meditative thoughts, peace and imagery in the daily routine of an average Indian.

This ordinary portraiture of common things at home combined to offer an atmosphere, at once, of something surreal and divine. The very theme provided an extreme challenge to my desire to put across an aura of the present, past and the future. The items included in the artwork, namely the incense, the smoke, the ornate metal pots virtually represent Prayer in an Indian household at stipulated times of the day. These are representative of metaphysics that guide and govern India’s religious or mythical beliefs on a mass basis.

Ethereal also presented a wonderful opportunity to work on new elements and the nuances of shade and colour. From rendering shine to the hard surfaces on the pots to the rising of soft smoke from a burning incense, this piece brought together a combination of diametrically opposite states of matter.

About Nirupama

Nirupama is a scientist-turned-artist from Mumbai, India. Her artworks aim to capture beauty, intricacy and emotion and derive inspiration from the world around her. She is a self-taught artist and her works heavily focus on detailed photo-realism, intricate illustrations and human portraits. Her other interests include photography, cooking and teaching.

See more at https://www.facebook.com/NirupamaNathanArt/.

These artworks were published in the September 2017 issue of COLOR Magazine.

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