The Pencil Box - Featured Artists - December 2019
Corresponding with the art gallery that is featured each month in Ann Kullberg's COLOR Magazine, The 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!
Boone, IA Sacred Heart Catholic Church by Harrie Vonk
11 by 14 inches, Prismacolor on Master's Touch Drawing paper
A co-worker of mine asked me to do a drawing of the church for a charity auction. I only had a month to do it, so I actually took a week off from work. I decided to draw this 1 by 1 inch blocks at a time. That way I didn't have to sketch it out before starting the actual drawing. It's a tricky and tedious process, but it worked for me. I had my moments of frustration and at some point, even wanted to give up. I stuck to it and by the end of my week off I already had three quarter finished. In the final days I put in 1, 2 or 3 hours. I am very proud on how it turned out and had many great comments on the drawing. A local business ended up with the framed drawing.
About Harrie:
The Artist name is Harrie Vonk. He was born on August 21st, 1970 in the town of Heemskerk, The Netherlands. He immigrated to the United States in 2004, marrying his late wife Lori, which he met online. He started drawing with colored pencils in 2017 and is completely self taught..
Ensemble by Vivek Prabhu
12x18 inches, Polychromos on Canson 200 gsm paper
A beautiful Still life drawing/painting can make us look at ordinary everyday objects in our vicinity with a whole new meaning filled with life beyond the ordinary. The ‘Ensemble’ is the first one in a series of still life drawings in colored pencils. It is an arrangement of static objects in my studio with appropriate lighting. I chose the objects of different materials -- bamboo, copper, a red-painted metal with glass and a lemon to show how the light falling on it is reflected back, within a frame. The background for this drawing is an imaginary one, an aged wooden plank wall painted purple with round edged iron bolts on a wooden sill on a plastered wall and it was the trickiest part of the drawing. I have used Polychromos pencils; it is a pure color pencil art which does not even use any solvents..
About Vivek:
Vivek from Mysore, India has been into painting from an early age. After 22 years of different kinds of career, he picked up painting in 2011. He works mainly with acrylics, oils and gouache. He discovered colored pencils in 2018 and has expanded his work with this medium..
See more at: https://www.facebook.com/whisperingcolors
Another Man's Treasure by David Neace
18 x 20, Prismacolor and Verithin on Arches 140lb watercolor paper
I went on quest to find a junkyard near my home so that I could get some images for my art. I found one fairly close to my home and one sunny, summer day went to visit it. It turned out that the junkyard was located off a dirt drive/path about a quarter of a mile off a paved two lane road. The access road had heavy ruts from recent rains and I felt that I was entering Deliverance territory. I swear I could hear Banjo's playing in the background and that no one would ever find my body. Old, rusted campers with vines twisting through the empty windows silently watched me as I drove slowly down the rutted road. Once I finally made it to the end, the old man that owns the yard was sitting on an old metal lawn chair working on some metal auto part. It turns out he was very nice and he pointed me in the direction of the old buses. He warned me to watch out for snakes and other critters and with that happy thought, I wandered around and found these jewels sitting there waiting to be photographed. I knew that this would be a challenge to draw because of all the junk piled around the truck and trailer, but who doesn't like a challenge. I also found other buses and vans that I will use for more work. Overall it was an adventure for this old man to head to the back roads of Central Kentucky and find what treasures are hidden just out of sight. .
About David:
David was born and raised in Lexington Kentucky and has traveled the United States extensively. He has a passion for the visual arts and literature. He started his drawing at the knee of his father and has continued for over 60 years of self teaching to reach his current style.
See more at: https://www.davidneaceartist.com/
Still Life With Puppies by Susan Donze
7.”5x10", Prismas, Lyra Rembrandt and Polychromos on pastelmat
My little dogs live for comfort. They were so artfully arranged in repose on the crazy patterned quilt that I couldn't resist snapping the photo. I am especially glad I did, as the little girl on the right is no longer with us, but now I'm grateful to have the memories. This was my first effort with pastelmat and I found it to be very helpful with building layers and detail for the fur and the blanket contours. The design of the quilt, its contours and the dog fur have made this CP painting my most difficult but favorite challenge so far..
About Susan:
Happily retired with her family's support, Susan's goal is to make art full time. Thrilled to have joined the Colored Pencil Society of America in 2018, she is also proud to be a member of LA CA #214. She follows and gets inspiration from many FB/IG CP groups and friends..
These artworks are published in the DECEMBER 2019 issue of COLOR Magazine.
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