The Pencil Box - Featured Artists - May 2025

Poke by Beverly Cort
30cm x 40cm, colored pencil on Pastelmat
Dominic Mulholland (Tiger Photo Ref)

I love drawing people and animals, and at the moment I’m drawing a series of images involving children and animals, but with a twist. I love the putting them both in improbable situations. I’m lucky to have five lively grandchildren who are great to call on for reference material. This drawing is of my grandson Jake who is eight years old. He is a real character, and I loved the cheeky nature of his pose. When I saw Dominic's tiger photograph, I thought together with Jake it would make a great composition especially as they both have their tongues out. Of course I’d never put Jake in front of a big cat in real life, but I think the lesson to take away is, 'don't poke the tiger!'

BEVERLY CORT:

Beverly has always been able to draw. After a Degree in Fine Art, she spent 20 years in Graphic Design. 10 years ago after making a change she is now lucky enough to have a purpose built studio at home where she works on private commissions for clients as well as drawing for herself.

Facebook: pencil.room

Mother's care by Ria Fouché
30x40 cm., colored pencil on Pastelmat

I have a particular love for wildlife art, and especially love to portray wildlife in action. I had been looking for a giraffe photo that did these gentle giants justice. I also wanted to do a fun colourful work. This action work showed love, compassion, interaction and had wonderful bright and lively colours. I loved it for portraying the Mothers care, but also the young one's typical reaction of "no, Mom!"
This was a delightful piece to do, and as always you learn a lot about your subject whilst working on them. Typically you use a lot of blue, that appears as white on realistic wildlife shadowing, and this piece did not disappoint.

RIA FOUCHÉ:

Ria Fouché is a 53-year-old South African lady who has loved art all her life. She has worked with many different art mediums over the years and found her perfect match in pencil work. She loves the fine detail and photorealistic colors you can achieve. Pencil work taught her a lot of patience.

Facebook: Selah Art and Designs

Can I Play Too? by Rochelle Colgan
11x9 inches, colored pencil on Pastelmat

I love using my drawings to capture precious moments in life, like this one of my son sitting on our driveway. It was an evening that included some street hockey, basketball, golf, skipping and some goofy pictures of the kids. I'm not sure if he was watching his older siblings at the time, waiting for his turn, or if he was just having a rest. I guess the details don't really matter, because it still reminds me of the times we spent playing outside when the kids were young. There was never a shortage of things to do, and we spent a lot of time out there! We were very lucky to have other children on our block for them to play with, which also meant some socializing with other parents for me. Such fun and memorable times!

ROCHELLE COLGAN:

Rochelle Colgan is from Stony Plain, Alberta, Canada. She has loved drawing since she was a child and spent many hours watching her mom, artist Wendy Risdale, work on her paintings. Rochelle has experience in pastels and graphite, drawing both animals and people. Her focus is now coloured pencil.

Facebook: Rochelle Colgan Fine Art

Krispie Kool by Susan Donze
12”x12", colored pencil on Canson Velvet
Photo ref: Danie Donze Carver

This is my granddaughter Ivy, with the "I've seen it all" attitude of a very cool 4-year-old. She is obviously the oldest, and in her POV, the wisest. We are pretty certain a law degree is in her future based on her already formidable ability to state her case, coupled with devastating charm. Drawing children is both a pleasure and a challenge. I learn more and more about my grandkids by drawing them, recreating moments in their lives. I hope to be around for a long time to capture many more such moments.

 SUSAN DONZE:

Susan Donze began her art career early, pulling carpet fibers to make dolls while put in a corner for some misdeed. She is largely self-taught, but being inspired by many fabulous artists and opportunities in the colored pencil community has made all the difference in her work.

Facebook: Susan Rorick Donze