The Pencil Box - Featured Artists - October 2018
October 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!
This Magic Moment by Sydney Croteau
11 x 14 inches
Caran d'Ache Luminance colored pencils on Arche's 140 lb. bright white hot press watercolor paper.
My goal in drawing animals is to harness more appreciation for wildlife. Many times people see images of animals and just scroll past them. By taking the time to capture each tiny detail, I not only capture the attention of the viewer but I also ensure that they give animals what they deserve: a much longer consideration and acknowledgement of their presence, or lack of presence in the case of an endangered species. Although red foxes are not endangered, they are among the many animals that are exploited for human gain every day and are negatively impacted by the presence of people. By drawing animals in a photo-realistic style, I imply that they deserve more than just a quick glance.
About Sydney Croteau:
Sydney Croteau is an artist located in the beautiful Inland Northwest. She has been drawing all her life, but began taking her art seriously eight years ago. Now, she strives to improve her artwork every day and and is working diligently to help herself become known as a professional artist.
See more at: https://sydneyrayecroteau.com
Evie by Trudy Harper
A5, Faber Castell Polychromos colour pencils, a little ‘Zest it’ to blend (background only) on dark grey Pastelmat with a few white gel pen highlights.
As an animal portrait artist I’ve spent a lot of time learning different ways to create fur, to capture the eyes and to get the character of the animal to leap from the page. So when it comes to drawing people I can honestly say I am a little rusty. I decided to have a go at drawing a person in colour pencil so that I could practice my techniques just in case I’m asked to do someones portrait in the future.
I found a couple of lovely reference photos of two of my nieces that I felt captured their spark. This portrait of Evie is based on a photograph I had taken of her at a family wedding a few years back. She was so happy spending time with family and her older cousins. Her daddy had brought her a beautiful shimmery blue dress back from a recent visit to Las Vagus, so she was feeling extra special. This photo was nothing but pure happiness and just perfect for me to have a go at drawing.
I had only recently found the joys in drawing with colour pencil on Pastelmat and thought it a great challenge to draw Evies portrait on. Well I fell in love with the process of drawing this portrait, I couldn’t put my pencils down. The way in which the colours blended so well on the Pastelmat paper and the desire to see the end result had me glued to the piece from start to finish. I was so pleased with the final drawing and extremely proud of how it turned out, that I thought I would enter it into The Pencil Box show real.
About Trudy Harper:
Trudy Harper is a self taught animal portrait artist based in Kent, UK. She enjoys photography, often taking her own reference photographs for her artwork. Trudy also runs a weekly Sunday Morning Sketch slot on her AbFab Art facebook page to encourage others to have a go at being creative.
See more at: http://www.abfabart.co.uk
Robert by Sarah Houston
8 x 10 inches
Prismacolors on Yupo translucent film
When working in rural, south central Oregon, I met Robert a few years ago. Standing there in the desert sunshine, and smoking a Camel, he was very willing to share some of his story and allow me to take a few photos for a future painting. Like a true pioneer, in earlier years Robert had moved from the mid-west to a small, remote desert town in Oregon called Christmas Valley. Robert lived simply on a small desert plot. He said he worked at "this and that", and his work-stained clothes were a testament to hard work and a hard life, but also an indomitable pioneer spirit.
About Sarah Houston:
With a fine art and drafting background, Sarah has worked as an illustrator and an artist for a video game company. She also worked in oils, acrylics and textile arts, and took up colored pencil less than two years ago.
King Louis by Claire Mills
8 x 10 inches
Dark Grey Pastelmat, Polychromos, Luminance, Titanium White with Touch Up Texture
This gorgeous Rag Doll cat was the subject of a recent pet portrait commission - gifted to the owners husband as a special birthday present. He is affectionately referred to as 'King' Louis - as he rules the household. According to the owner, he is difficult to photograph as he often has his eyes slightly shut in contentment or is scowling! Louis has the typical stunning blue eyes and wispy bib hairs associated with this breed of cat. It was a real challenge to capture the very fine hairs of his whiskers. I used Titanium White powder mixed in with Touch Up Texture (from the Brush and Pencil range) - applied with a size 0 rigger brush.
About Claire Mills:
Claire Mills is a colour pencil addict with a love of all things furry and four legged, especially dogs and cats. She lives in Worcestershire, UK with her partner and English Cocker Spaniel, Milly. Claire is a member of the UK Coloured Pencil Society.
See more at:
www.facebook.com/colourpencilportraits
These artworks were published in the October 2018 issue of COLOR Magazine.
FEATURED ARTWORKS FROM OUR FACEBOOK PARTNER GROUPS