The Pencil Box - Featured Artists - August 2020

The Pencil Box - Featured Artists - August 2020

Corresponding with the art gallery that is featured each month in Ann Kullberg's COLOR MagazineThe Pencil Box blog series will give artists a bit more space to share insight and inspiration about their colored pencil art. Make sure to check out FB group links at the bottom of this post. Call for entry is posted every month in participating Facebook groups - join in the fun and your artwork could be featured, too!


The Awakening by Carol Doran
30x40cm Pastelmat

I love Springtime, especially trees that are covered in blossom at that time of year. I grew up in North London and just about every street was lined with trees, mainly to soak up pollution, but also to add a little beauty to post-war London. Our street was lined with cherry trees. We even had a huge cherry tree in our garden which supplied us with buckets of cherries every year.
Since moving to Buckinghamshire I have missed the Cherry tree lined streets. But there is a Buddhist temple not far from us which is surrounded with cherry trees. It's alongside a lake and a beautiful place to visit. This year, due to Covid-19 restrictions and health issues, I was not allowed out for at least 12 weeks, so totally missed the cherry blossoms. So I thought I'd bring Spring to me and to all those who enjoy my work.

About Carol:

A self taught artist living in the UK, Carol began pursuing colored pencil art in 2013 at the age of 56. Her work is inspired by the beauty of the natural world, and she tries to reflect that in her subjects. She has exhibited both locally and nationally..

See more at: https://www.carolannart.co.uk



In His Hands by Lorri Dixon
11x14 inches, Pastelmat

“In His Hands” was created as a gift for my in-laws. I wanted to make a colored pencil artwork for my parent-in-laws because they're making me a colored pencil holder! With us being in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, having the world gently cradled in a pair of hands popped into my head. For the photo of my husband's hands, I had him wash with a strong soap so that more detail showed in the photo. He held a globe and different spheres as I played with lighting. I settled on a shot where the lighting was even, but had bright highlights on his thumbs. For the world, I looked at gobs of photos of North America and various globes/spheres to come up with a make-believe Earth. When creating the piece, I tried to create a bit of a vignette effect, using arm hair — and tried to direct the viewer to the center with the white highlights.

About Lorri:

Lorri has only created a dozen pieces of her own artwork so far, yet has been published in COLOR magazine's Pencil Box a few times now, has been juried into different international and national exhibits, and is a contributing artist in Ann Kullberg's DRAW Birds book.

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



All Together And Having A Ball by Cindy Mcclure
9x12 inches, Strathmore Toned Gray paper

I adore art that features reflective surfaces — glass, water, metal. While I primarily draw portraits, the desire to create decorative art is always present. I've attempted water, metal, and some glass over the past four years with varying degrees of success but ultimately I found details in inanimate objects and reflective surfaces overwhelming and I would often abandon the project in discouragement. I never stopped wanting to learn those techniques, however. Many personal and commission portraits later, I needed a change of subject and felt ready to try reflective surfaces once again. I am looking always for subjects to draw “someday”. Pre-Covid19 lockdown, I snapped a photo of this clustered group of Mason jars with old zinc lids. New techniques galore! Drawing it, I discovered I had a greater ease with details and renewed patience with tracking them within the reference photo. In addition, the process of drawing took on a different aspect. Less challenge, much more fun. I already had the title in mind, a play on words with the Ball brand name. Pairing it with our current state of social distancing, I felt like ALL TOGETHER HAVING A BALL was representative of how we all hope to see our lives after Covid-19.

About Cindy:

Cindy McClure is a self-taught portrait artist who enjoys learning new art styles.  She's created a body of Art Nouveau work featuring her granddaughters with plans to try other poster styles. She's been published in Ann Kullberg's COLOR magazine several times and manages a large on-line Colored Pencil group..

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



Bel Air Reflections by Dina Kowal
11x17 inches, Crescent matboard

Our small-town Jubilee Days festival hosts a car show, and I always find myself drawn to the details of each car entered. Classic cars are very sentimental to me — my Dad loved them all and had a ready recall of the make and model of every one he saw. I took quite a few photos at the event last year, with my two youngest boys standing by. Looking at this photo afterwards, I was fascinated the way the chrome distorted, bent and repeated the reflections of the boys — surprisingly, my reflection is not seen at all! My youngest son is wearing a red shirt with black sleeves, black shorts, and red shoes. The older one is wearing a black shirt and grey pants, and holding a white takeout container. How many reflections do you see? Most of my drawings are of animals, so this piece was a fun diversion from neutral colors and layers and layers of fur. Each section of the drawing had its own unique challenges. There were some unique textures, like the carpet in the trunk and the texture of the pavement. It was easiest to break down the reflections on the smooth surfaces into shapes and colors. Photo editing tip: take your original photo and either posterize it or reduce the number of colors in your editor — this gives you more of a topographical color map so you can see the ‘steps’ between shades rather than a continuous blend.

About Dina:

A self-taught artist, Dina has worked for 18 years as a brand ambassador, licensed illustrator and educator in the paper arts industry, recently expanding her work to include commissioned portraits as well as original colored pencil and mixed-media art. She lives with her husband and 4 children in rural Missouri.

See more at: https://www.dinakowal.com/


These artworks are published in the AUGUST 2020 issue of COLOR Magazine.

FEATURED ARTWORKS FROM OUR FACEBOOK PARTNER GROUPS

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