But what does that have to do with you?
For the past two years, CP Magazine has been expertly and beautifully designed each month by Garry Dimapilis...who happens to live in Manila.As dry media artists, we all know how important our choice of paper surface is - toothier papers will grab more color, but really eat up your pencils. Smoother papers tend to make a very even coverage harder to achieve, since every little stroke shows up.
But did you also know about the huge, huge difference printer paper can make when printing out a reference photo, or when printing one of our Digital Download Kits?
I spent Saturday morning judging the Drawing category of the Fine Art Exhibition of the Washington State Fair. I learned that our state fair is the 7th largest in the nation! 1.2 million attend, and about a quarter of a million see the Art Exhibition. Wow. That's a pretty big deal.
I also learned that...OMG...you better be careful about how you frame the work you enter into a show!
I'll start at the beginning.
Judging an art show is more than just choosing your favorites...I've given awards to pieces that I don't personally love and wouldn't much want hanging in my home - but I can still appreciate the skill, composition, technique and idea behind a work that is a cut above the others.
But I digress! I actually just wanted to talk about some of my favorites that didn't win awards. I have loads of favorites...but here are a handful:
Janice Norton's Rosemary in Winter
Mood, mood, mood. Janice's work always feels to me like it comes so directly from the heart that it almost feels like voyeurism to look at them. Of course, her lighting is gorgeous and her values are wonderful, and her drawing skills are excellent - but somehow her style is so emotionally laden that it feels like peeking into a gentle soul.
I never tire of looking through these pages, or showing it to others not familiar with colored pencil...just to watch their jaws drop! With my iPad I have shown the book to countless folks seated next to me on a flight...just for the sheer pleasure of watching their eyes widen and their sounds of disbelief. Oh, I do love seeing folks instantly change their minds about the "lowly" colored pencil!