The Pencil Box - Featured Artists - September 2018
September 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!
Beauty Among Thorns by Robin Manelis
20 x 16 inches
Strathmore Bristol Vellum 300 Series
I gain inspiration for my artwork by studying the natural world through my camera lens. Using my macro and zoom settings allows me to see the many incredible details I may otherwise miss. In this blooming Hedgehog cactus, notice how the sunlight turns the petals translucent and makes the thorns glow, and how the sharp thorns grow in interwoven clusters. See how the blooms contain dozens of unique and vibrant petals, how the center of each bloom is brimming with pollen filled stamen, and how these very delicate beauties exist in harmony among all those spiky thorns. It is these details and discoveries that I strive to share through my artwork.
About Robin:
Robin Manelis is a self taught colored pencil artist that specializes in botanicals. The challenge of drawing the endless colors, textures and shapes found in nature fascinates and inspires her. She spends hours visiting botanical gardens gathering inspiration for her artwork.
See more at: https://robinmanelis.com/
Humble Blessing by Karen Dimaio
12 x 9 inches
Stonehenge paper with various colored pencils including Prismacolor, Caran d'Ache and Faber-Castell
In 1609, the Virginia Company sent 9 ships to the Jamestown Settlement. In route they encountered a hurricane. Four made it to Jamestown, one to Bermuda and the others were lost at sea. Jamestown now had over 300 residents and very little food. The people were starving. One new resident, Joan Pierce was a healer and knew how to prepare acorns so they could be eaten. She spent the fall of 1609 gathering, preparing and storing acorns. By the Spring of 1610 there are only 60 people alive in Jamestown and 3 of those were women. One of whom was Joan. Joan Pierce was my 12th great grandmother. Joan’s husband William Pierce was also on the voyage. She thought he was lost as sea but he was on the ship that went to Bermuda. He makes it to Jamestown in the Spring of 1610. They are reunited and 2 years later my 11th great grandmother, Edith is born. Edith will marry Jeremiah Clemens. A rather famous American also descends from them, Mark Twain. So from the humble blessing of acorns greatest grew. My drawing is in a series of drawings I am doing to honor my ancestors.
About Karen:
Karen lives in Ocean City Maryland. In 2013, she went to a library book sale and saw a book on drawing with colored pencils. She had loved drawing as a child. Now as an empty-nester, who had a supply of Prismacolor colored pencils, thanks to homeschooling, she bought the book.
See more at: https://www.facebook.com/karenpdimaio/
Honeybee I by Christina Simon
25 x 25 cm
Paper: Fabriano Artistico HP 300gsm
Pencils: Faber-Castell Polychromos and Caran d'Ache Luminance; Conté à Paris stone pencil powder applied with a brush for the shadow.
Photo: Pixabay
I've always loved pollinators in general, but my bee obsession began last summer when, sitting in my garden, I watched them dancing from sunrise to sunset in my lavender bushes.
The steams and flowers bounced up and down following the movement of the bees. It was just so beautiful and perfect I felt I had to draw a bee.
And so I did. A bumblebee. And my love, respect and appreciation of these creatures just got bigger as while I was drawing I could see the perfection of their bodies and how beautiful they are. So I drew two more bumblebees
The serious decreasing of their population in so many countries around the globe made me feel the need to draw more of them not only because I love them but to raise awareness and funds by donating part of my profits from the sales of prints to help those who work for their preservation.
This one is the first of a series of three honeybees I'll draw.
The following quote expresses what and how I feel when I watch and draw them:
“The keeping of bees is like the direction of sunbeams.”
Henry David Thoreau
About Christina:
Christina graduated in Product Design and worked as Graphic Designer before working on Luxury Retail. A back injury made her rediscover her love for drawing and became a full-time colored pencil artist inspired by nature. Color and detail perfectionist, always in pursuit of excellence. Lives in the South of France.
See more at: https://www.facebook.com/christinasimon.artgraphics/
The Rescue by Julie Longdon
9 x 10.5 inches
Colored pencils on Mellotex paperto
The subject of The Rescue is Poppy my rescued Cocker Spaniel who spent the first 5 years of her life on a puppy farm producing litter after litter of puppies. Poppy was abused, un-socialized and very afraid when she came to me and her sadness can clearly be seen in her eyes. The reference image was taken 6 months after I had welcomed her into my life and her beautiful red coat is glowing but her eyes are still haunted by her past. I hope that when people see this image, and its title, it will send a powerful message.
About Julie:
Julie is a professional artist, living in Hampshire in the United Kingdom, who loves to paint and draw animals and pets in a variety of media. She has received many awards for her wildlife paintings and is regularly commissioned to produce portraits of much loved pets.
See more at: http://www.julielongdon.co.uk
These artworks were published in the September 2018 issue of COLOR Magazine.
FEATURED ARTWORKS FROM OUR FACEBOOK PARTNER GROUPS