The Pencil Box - Featured Artists - March 2021
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!
Clooney by Hannah Nash
10 x 9 inches, white Clairefontaine Pastelmat board
Clooney, Crankross Caboodle, is a yellow Labrador who belongs to a close lifelong friend of mine. He is now an elderly boy, but this portrait shows him as a young puppy and focuses on his beautiful dark soulful eyes. My friend commissioned me to draw Clooney for her mother as he is her devoted companion. The family have special memories of the adventures they had when Clooney was a youngster. I especially loved using the Luminance colours for this drawing as it helped me achieve the soft pale coat colours which contrast with the deep, rich tones of his eyes.
About Hannah Nash:
Hannah discovered coloured pencil art in early 2020 and became hooked. Her focus is drawing animals and starting a fledgling commissions business with the inspiration and support of Bonny Snowdon Fine Art. Hannah lives in the English Buckinghamshire countryside with her young family, horses and dogs.
See more at: https://www.hannahnashart.com/
Farmhouse Alarm Clock by Rochelle Oberholser
8 1/2 x 11" Dura Lar drafting film
This is only the fourth painting I’ve done on drafting film, and I learn new things from every project. Figuring out an effective way to do the background for this work may turn out to be the most valuable lesson ever. What’s even more meaningful for me, however, was the astounding and thoughtful gesture from the colored pencil artist/photographer, Shirleen Long. I had raved over the photo she had posted on Facebook, and sometime later, when she had decided not to draw it herself, she remembered my comment and sent it to me to use as I pleased. That’s why I’m proud to share this enormous honor with her. Thanks, Shirleen!
About Rochelle Oberholser:
Rochelle Oberholser is a self-taught colored pencil artist who grabbed her first Prismacolor pencil in April of 2013. What began as a post-retirement hobby has become a full time obsession, one which continues to give her enormous pleasure and just enough frustration to keep it all challenging.
Out of Blue by Joanne Molloy
15" x 12", Pastelmat
Often referred to as the clowns of the dog world, Boxer dogs are a passion for artist Joanne Molloy as she is a lifelong Boxer Mum herself. That said, she says she enjoys drawing all breeds and describes drawing fur texture as a jigsaw. But for her there is something about Boxers and Humphrey is, in fact, the eighteenth Boxer dog she's drawn.
Handsome Humphrey was caught in a rare moment looking very noble in her client's reference photo which lent itself to a dark background due to the amount of shade captured against his almost luminous white fur.
Joanne, who particularly loves drawing the muscle tone of short haired dogs and horses says she felt as if she was sculpting rather than drawing as she carved the definition of Humphrey's strong muscular form literally out of the blue Pastelmat.
The real Humphrey is owned by Carol Holbrook, founder of the UK rescue charity Animal Friends of Turkey (AFOT), who commissioned the portrait for her husband Mike. AFOT rescued Joanne's gorgeous Boxer boy Ruzgar last year, and he joined her and her husband Mark in August 2020. Since then Joanne has used her art to help fund raise for this UK registered charity committed to rescuing dogs and cats with little or no future in Turkey and finding them loving forever homes in the UK. Joanne has raffled pet portrait giveaways, created their 2021 Calendar and drew a range of Christmas cards, one which featured her beloved Ruzgar. She is soon to launch a further range of cards and notelets all featuring the lucky dogs which are now AFOT success stories.
Meanwhile, Humphrey's portrait will adorn Carol and Mike's lounge wall, regally overseeing the real Humphrey's typical Boxer dog antics and mischief.
About Joanne Molloy:
UK artist Joanne Molloy says be it landscape or portrait, she aims to capture the spirit of the subject to give a lifetime of memories. Her clients say she does just that in her pet portraits through the eyes and to her this is the greatest compliment she can receive.
See more at: https://www.facebook.com/jmfloraandfaunaart
Empty by Micheal Niswonger
11x14 inches, Strathmore Mixed Media
Empty is part of a “Never Stop” series, highlighting the beauty of purpose despite exterior flaws. It sends a message to Never Stop, whether Broken, Empty, Alone or Tired, that despite your point in life preservation of goals can be achieved. It's a reminder to myself, after putting a passion to the side for 20 years, its never too late to find your purpose. A few buses have been sitting in a field next to a local small town store for several years. Covered in graffiti, broken windows, parts removed, tall grass growing around them, cars passing them every day to see. What some see as an eyesore, I saw as a story, art, history, so I asked the store owner if I could take some pictures of them for my artwork. Her eyes lit up, she said of course, she has kept them around because she thought they were beautiful...I tend to agree. This series is my first original artwork, and a way to kick off a renewed passion, a reminder to Never Stop.
About Micheal Niswonger:
Micheal Niswonger is a self-taught colored pencil artist. He has had an interest in art his entire life. His wife introduced him to adult coloring books a little over a year ago, sparking his art passion. After coloring for nearly a year, he decided to expand into original artwork.
These artworks are published in the MARCH 2021 issue of COLOR Magazine.
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Comments (1)
nice doggy, I like the detail in the nose
wkjsejjg - Jan 13, 2021