The Pencil Box - Featured Artists - October 2020

The Pencil Box - Featured Artists - October 2020

Corresponding with the art gallery that is featured each month in Ann Kullberg's COLOR MagazineThe 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!


Wisdom by Karien Barnes
11.7 x 16.5 inches Canson Bristol paper

I am a fantasy illustrator and I am always looking for ideas to draw something mysterious. If you pick up a book about wizards, they always have magical books lying around full of magic spells. They also have a mortar and pestle for potion making to grind leaves and all kinds of things. The idea came to me that I want to show all these elements in my drawing. I must admit it was very tricky to draw the gold as I never did it before but at the end it came out beautifully and I am very proud of it.

About Karien Barnes:

Karien has always had a passion for fairy tales and all types of mystical beings. She also loves to sketch and combined this with her huge appetite for the mystery and fantasy of fairy tales. Inspired by authors such as Tolkien and JK Rowling, she took an interest in illustration.

See more at: www.karienbarnes.com



Trotters Inc. by Sarah Hubbard
8.5 x 11.75 inches Dark Grey Pastelmat Board

I started using colored pencils in March 2019 and have been a Bonny Snowdon pupil since July 2020. Bonny was drawing a piglet as one of her tutorials and on this occasion I didn't want to follow a tutorial exactly but wanted to choose my own image to draw. After trawling the free reference photo sites I came across the piglets image on Pixabay and new I had to have a go at drawing it. Their happy smiling faces drew me in, not to mention being able to use my colored pencils in such vibrant and beautiful pinks, purples and reds, which had me hooked immediately. This colored pencil drawing really gave me the self-confidence to take on my first commission and was a real boost to my self-confidence. Now, whenever I look at Trotters Inc. it makes me smile and I think to myself, wow, look what I drew.

About Sarah Hubbard:

Sarah Hubbard is 55 years old and lives in Berkshire with her partner and constant doggy companion, Jazz. She works full-time as a contractor for various local authorities and in her spare time enjoys creating art for herself and just recently has started doing commissions.

See more at: www.facebook.com/SarahsAnimalPortraits/



All is at Peace by Peggy Osborne
16x20, Stonehenge paper

I love doing super close up portraits, but I try to avoid backgrounds because it is always a struggle for me. When I saw this reference photo, I thought, I am going to give this a shot and try the background. I knew drawing the leopard without the background would not have the same effect. I loved the whole composition of the photo, the softness of the fur, the sharpness of the grass blades and the rough rocks. I was surprised that I actually loved working on this background and was super pleased with how it turned out. I think others were pleased also as it sold before it was even off the easel.

About Peggy Osborne:

As an accomplished self-taught artist Peggy Osborne specializes in creating beautiful realistic portraits of your pets in colored pencil and family members in graphite. Living in Canada with her husband and large menagerie of pets she balances her time between art and caring for her family.

See more at: https://petportraitsbypeggy.weebly.com/



Captain Jack by Micaela Walker
19 x 25 cm. Strathmore Bristol board 400 series.

I met Doug, the subject of this drawing, in Swanage on holiday in 2016 when I booked a sea fishing trip with him for my family. He had such a great personality and looked like a pirate, which made our fishing trip very memorable. The locals call him “Captain Jack” and with his beaded beard he looks the part. While on the fishing trip I explained that I was an artist and asked him if he would mind if I took some photographs of him. He was a great sport, posing for several photographs. I have created this pencil portrait from a photograph taken while out fishing with a lovely warm evening light. Doug's sea weathered tanned face has great character and his intense blue eyes were particularly striking. Since then, we have kept in touch and have remained good friends with him and his wife..

About Micaela Walker:

Micaela is a self-taught artist living in Edinburgh, Scotland, who is passionate about portraits. She has featuring on both the Sky Portrait Artist of the year (2017) and the Scottish Portrait Award (2018). Micaela started to use colored pencil as a medium in April of last year.

See more at: www.facebook.com/Micaelawalkerart


These artworks are published in the OCTOBER 2020 issue of COLOR Magazine.

FEATURED ARTWORKS FROM OUR FACEBOOK PARTNER GROUPS

Comments (1)

They are all absolutely gorgeous. I am so grateful to be apart of the color pencil world 🌎.

Cynthia DeKay - Aug 24, 2020

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