The Pencil Box - Featured Artists - May 2018
May 2018 Featured Artists. 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 links at the bottom of this post for our Facebook group partners - join in the fun and your artwork could be featured, too!
Fresh from the Coop by Amanda Peltier
9 x 12 inches
UArt 400 sanded paper
My friend brought me over a carton of fresh eggs one day that she got from a local homestead farm. Loving all things farmhouse, after opening up the carton, I knew I had to draw them. I was taken back by the beauty of the eggs and the various colors that were on display, especially the bright blue egg that popped out from all the others. I happened to have a wire egg basket on my kitchen counter that usually holds apples or other produce, and I knew it would make the perfect compliment to the eggs. I composed the shot so that the viewer's perspective would be from above looking down on the eggs and so that the bright blue egg would be the first thing one's eyes would be drawn toward.
About Amanda:
Mandy Peltier was a portrait photographer before taking what was supposed to be a brief hiatus in 2015 to focus on bonding with her newly adopted son. During this time, Mandy tried colored pencils and it was love at first try and she has not looked back!
See more at: http://www.facebook.com/mandypeltierartist
The Musician by Surabhi Singh
9 x 12 inches
Canson mi teintes Pastel Paper
Derwent Colorsoft, Derwent Inktense and Prismacolor Premier Pencils
I wished my daughter understood India better than a crowded place with chaotic roads. She did finally.
I took her for sight seeing around Jaipur, my hometown in India. As we walked inside the Amber fort, I saw this man playing a traditional instrument. He belongs to a nomadic tribe who are fast giving up their traditional occupation as singers and entertainers. He depends on whatever meager income this could bring from tourists (if they noticed him at all).
Weary of carrying the past on his shoulders, he stands there, playing his music alone in vacant palaces, now without royal or popular patronage. I don't know how long he shall sustain, just waiting to be lost in the regular crowd, to give up his costume, playing instruments, the stories and the dramas.
He is just one among the so many precious pearls we gathered that day. The portrait seeks to immortalize his original image, the Musician at Amber Fort.
About Surabhi:
Surabhi is an artist from India, now living in Bangkok. She finds her inspiration to draw and paint from life, which includes people, animals and nature in general. She is passionate about highlighting the need to conserve life's all positive manifestations whether in its natural or cultural contexts.
See more at: http://www.facebook.com/surabhi1
Judgement by Carrie Alderfer
16 x 20 inches
Prismacolor premier colored pencils on Canson Mi-teintes pastel paper
This piece is part of a series I am working on that illustrates the demise of animals due to the expansion of human civilization. Each piece features an animal with "human touches" in the background, such as the subtle skyscrapers in this piece. The animal seems to be melting or disappearing into the background, because animals are running out of habitat and vanishing from our planet. This orangutan, however, is not backing down. He appears to be passing judgement on us, hence the title. I love how his pose demands your attention…and answers.
I took the reference photo at Zoo Atlanta and fell in love with the orangutan's posture and expression. I was honestly a little afraid to tackle this piece because of his incredible fur and hair. I wasn't sure I could do it justice. It took a lot of patience, but the final result is worth it. He’s fluffy and demanding and stares straight into your soul.
About Carrie:
Alderfer’s love of nature fuels her work and feeds her desire to express its beauty, wisdom, and relevance. Infused with color, movement, emotion and precious details that capture the spirit and essence of living things, her works emphasize our shared connections and experiences.
See more at: https://chromaddict.com
Intent by Amie Howard
10 x 12 inches
Polychromos and Luminance on Fabriano Artistico HP 140lb
I wanted to portray the character of the wolf to its fullest and really draw attention to the eyes. I feel that the composition draws your eye across the image to settle on the Wolfs eyes and makes you wonder what its gaze is fixed upon. I wanted to play with the emotion behind the wolf and really make the viewer connect.
This is my first drawing of this magnificent creature and I loved rendering all of the different textures of the fur. The way the light sits on the fur and brings out the colors really spoke to me and I just reveled in recreating that with my limited color palette.
About Amie:
Amie is a self taught artist specializing in colored pencil wildlife art and pet portraiture. She also likes to use Watercolor and Graphite for small, "freeing" studies.
See more at: http://www.facebook.com/Amiehowardart
These artworks were published in the May 2018 issue of COLOR Magazine.
FEATURED ARTWORKS FROM OUR FACEBOOK PARTNER GROUPS