July 2024 Showcase - Colored Pencil Artwork
The three artists featured in the July 2024 issue of COLOR Magazine Showcase share the stories behind their beautiful artwork here in our blog.
Hydrangeas in the Morning Dew by Jessica Siegel
12 x 19 inches
Caran d’Ache Luminance and Prismacolor Premier colored pencils on Strathmore Series 400 Colored Pencil paper. (Photo by Ross Trexa. Used with permission.)
Hydrangeas are one of my favorite flowers, and they hold a special sentimental place in my heart they because they were my wedding flowers. With hydrangeas, each individual petal is often unique in color, and the reference photo of these hydrangeas displayed that unique beauty. The water droplets added to the beautiful colors of the petals while also bringing life to the flowers. Being someone who sees the beauty in detail, I enjoyed drawing the lighting and reflections brought on by the water droplets and the glowing warm sunlight onto the flowers. Hydrangea flowers are Mother Nature’s work of art, and I was trying to recreate the beauty I see in hydrangea flowers by drawing them.
About Jessica Siegel:
Jessica Siegel is a self-taught artist from Pennsylvania. Drawing has always been her favorite activity since her early childhood. Her favorite mediums are colored pencils and soft pastels, and she specializes in realistic and detailed drawings of subjects that range from animals to botanical to still life.
See more at facebook.com/people/Jessica-Siegel-Art/100089772714411/
Hey, You! by Susanne Fumelli
9.45 x 12 inches
Polychromos, Luminance, Pablos and Derwent Lightfast colored pencils on Dura-Lar drafting film. (Photo by Steve Tracy; used with permission.)
Hey You! is a portrait of a male Amur leopard. The Amur leopard is a leopard subspecies native to the Primorye region of southeastern Russia and northern China. It is listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List. In 2007, only an estimated 19 to 26 wild leopards existed. This photograph was taken in a zoo by Steve Tracy, a great photographer who specializes in big cats. I was fascinated by the incredible look in this cat’s eyes, the light in his fur, and his unusual pose.
I wanted to focus on those incredible eyes. For this reason, I drew the head very precisely and in detail while the rest is slightly blurred: a challenge with colored pencils.
I want to say thank you to Steve Tracy for giving me permission to use his wonderful photo for my paintings.
Susanne Fumelli:
Susanne was born in 1961 in Munich and lives in Italy. She is a dental technician and is involved in animal welfare. She has had several successful exhibitions in Germany, and has done commissioned works for several galleries in Germany and Austria for more than 20 years. She has done three series of collecting plates for the Bradford Exchange and has won several awards in competitions.
See more at facebook.com/sufuart3
Goldfinches by Norma-Lee Kripaitis
15 x 21 inches
Polychromos, Prismacolor Premier colored pencils on Strathmore 400 Series for dry media. (Artist’s photo.)
From childhood I roamed the fields and forests of our farm and grew up loving the plants and wildlife, always taking photos and drawing pictures. I watched the change of seasons and learned how the plants and animals lived according to the seasons. When the goldfinches arrived in midsummer to begin nesting, I would say that the wild canaries were back, for that is how I thought of them. They were always something I looked forward to seeing every year.
This drawing is from photos that I took in an old paddock behind my home. It was an overcast day in midsummer; the sunlight had broken through and lit up a small area of wildflowers while the rest of the area was in quiet shadow, and the little birds were there. It was a magical setting. To draw this, I first sketched it in Apple Green. It took two weeks to sketch. During the next five years there were times when I was overwhelmed with the many greens that were used for eight to 15 layers, and I would not draw for up to three months. But it was a picture that had to be drawn.
About Norma-Lee Kripaitis:
Norma-Lee lives in Greene County, New York and is a self-taught artist. While growing up she only drew with graphite pencils but learned a great deal about creating texture and working with shadow by using graphite. She started drawing with colored pencils 11 years ago and couldn’t be happier. She is a member of CPSA.
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