The Pencil Box - Featured Artists - January 2020
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!
Grandma’s Iris by Paula Williams
9x12 inches, Strathmore drawing paper
I was very close to my grandma and her favorite flowers were Iris. Although I have created many portraits in the last few years, I wanted to compose something more special to memorialize her. I began growing Iris in my own garden but this year they didn’t bloom. I prefer to take my own reference photos but without a bloom I had to look elsewhere. Winter is very long here in western New York. So I decided to create a pencil drawing for my home so that every time I look at it I would see her and remember all the wonderful memories I have of her.
About Paula:
Paula has always wanted to be an illustrator, perhaps because her grandfather was also an artist. She had the opportunity to attend Rochester Institute of Technology and graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 1996. She was always drawn to colored pencil and her love of detail.
See more at: https://www.facebook.com/artist1958/
Winter's Prickly Gift by Becky Eileen Eller
5x7 inches, Ampersand Aquabord
I really like the idea of framing my drawings without glass, so I’ve been experimenting with different surfaces. I chose this “Christmas Cholla” because the fruits that turn bright red every winter make it one of my favorite cacti and it seemed like a wonderful subject for using gold leaf. Since I enjoy working on watercolor paper I decided an Ampersand Aquabord just might be the perfect surface. I could not have been more wrong! I wasn’t able to get anywhere near the amount of layering needed to accomplish the look I was after but I was determined to finish this piece. I remembered that I had some transparent pastel ground, so after a few coats of fixative, I applied the pastel ground over the partially completed drawing. This allowed me to layer as needed to achieve the rich shiny reds of the berries. In the process, however, due to the roughness of the pastel ground, I ended up with little specks of red all over my already completed background. To fix this, I used a technique that’s worked for me before. I carefully applied a layer of white watercolor ground to just the background areas, then used watercolor to create the wispy, cloudy sky. The watercolor ground turned out to be a blessing in disguise because it added a wonderful texture that enhanced the cloudy sky effect. My last step was to apply the gold leaf and wah-lah! A completed piece that after much trial and error looks better than I imagined at the start! I learned a valuable lesson of perseverance with this drawing. While I don’t plan to draw on the Aquabord again with non-watersoluble CP’s, I learned to not give up easily and mastered some new techniques that will absolutely be useful in future drawings!
About Becky:
Becky Eileen is an artist and amateur photographer living in the Texas Hill Country. She has always had a love for nature, the desert, the southwest, and wildlife. She is especially enthralled with cacti and succulents both of which are often depicted in her realistic drawings.
See more at: https://becky-eileen-eller.pixels.com
Harley the Yorkshire Terrier by Denise Yapp
A4 on Polydraw 075
Animals (especially dogs) have always been a passion of mine. Recently I have been following a dog rescue in Romania (Sadie's Stray Dog Rescue) who save poor, sick, abandoned and unwanted dogs and puppies and find them loving homes in UK and abroad. I am passionate about this cause and wanted to think of a way in which I could raise much needed funds. I approached them with the idea of donating aa free commission illustration for this Xmas, being in the form of a raffle. One of the ladies in Admin contacted me asking if I could do a commission of her little, cute Yorkshire Terrier. I accepted and hopefully now followers will see it and be willing to spend a little more in the raffle for such a worthy cause.
About Denise:
Always had a passion for drawing but followed the Graphic Design path which led to the next path of Botanical Illustration, falling in love with the plants and taking it up as a new career. Recently, the artistic void took over once again leading me back to my beloved pencils.
See more at: https://www.facebook.com/drawingsbydenise
Little Princess by Susan Brinkmann
30x40cm, Winsor & Newton smooth surface heavyweight paper
This is a picture of my niece Vera at the age of six. I was fascinated by the light on her face, the delicate skin tones and her open, innocent expression. The contrasting colors and textures in her dress made the image even more interesting for me. I wasn't sure whether I should add a background, but decided not to in the end as I felt it wouldn't add anything to the portrait, possibly even distract from the essence. I have drawn many portraits of Vera (now almost nineteen years old) through the years, and will probably continue to do so.
About Susan:
British artist Susan Brinkmann lives in the Netherlands. She specializes in realistic drawing and now receives international portrait commissions. Her work has been exhibited in various countries, and has been published in international art magazines and books.
See more at: http://www.facebook.com/SusanBrinkmannArt
These artworks are published in the JANUARY 2020 issue of COLOR Magazine.
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Comments (1)
I need some help with my new drawing a sailboat & lighthouse
William Hoey - Nov 18, 2019