Lucky in His Little Jacket

This is my latest 8x10" colored pencil portrait of Lucky for a customer. It is created on Ampersand Pastelbord and varnished.

Recent Colored Pencil Pet Portraits

 This is a colored pencil commission I did for a customer who gave it as a gift. Size is 8x10" on Stonehenge Paper.

 Here is a colored pencil portrait of Spiff which is also 8x10". Above is the portrait and below is the reference photo I worked from. I cleaned him up and put him on a dark red/brown background. The surface is Ampersand Pastelbord. I had fun with all the different white variations in Spiff's fur.

This is Rosie a Cavapoo breed of dog. I loved how her fur was so curly, colorful and fun to draw. This portrait is also in colored pencil and worked on 8x10" Ampersand Pastelbord.

I varnishe and frame all of these 8x10" portraits in this brown floater frame, here is the example of Rosie framed.

New Pet Portraits

 Here are two colored pencil pet portraits I have recently completed, both are with a different technique. The top is of my friend's two cats Marco Polo and Bernini. I worked this on a textured gray Fabriano paper and I can't recall the name of it. I like the texture for the fur and background although my camera picked up more texture and the paper showing through than is actually in the portrait. This piece is approximately 8x10" and framed under glass.

This colored pencil portrait of Tuco was worked on 8x10" Ampersand Pastelbord, the color is Sand. This portrait has less texture, I smoothed out the bottom layers of colored pencil and the background with a soft brush and solvent. Tuco's finished portrait was varnished and framed in a brown floater frame (below).

Student Work

I'm proud of my colored pencil students from my Newport Art Museum class who put work in the student exhibit at the museum's Coleman Center. The three pieces in which I've posted are also from three different lessons. Cindy's piece on the top is from our lesson that was drawing a variety of autumn leaves on colored paper. We used Canson Mi Tientes paper in which to work on.

The middle piece by Donna is from another lesson where we drew all white objects. The students had a set of 48 Prismacolor pencils in which to work and the 48 set contains only one or two grays so we mixed colors in order to achieve the values and color changes we needed.

The bottom piece is by Helen, our assignment was to work with colored pencil and odorless mineral spirits (solvent) on 5x7" Ampersand Pastelbord. I chose a simple still life of a few cherries on a colored surface so they could focus on the technique as well as the composition. Helen chose a fun frame for this piece also.

Student Work and Inspiration

I am teaching a colored pencil drawing class at the Newport Art Museum, Newport, RI and I thought I would share our lesson on Friday.  My students are beginners to working in colored pencil although most have taken other art classes and open to trying new techniques with colored pencil. For this class, I had them work on 5x7" Ampersand Gray Pastelbords using colored pencil and odorless Gamsol solvent. They each have a set of 48 Prismacolor pencils and we work within the colors contained in the box. I chose cherries as a subject for them and let each person choose the background. They each began by deciding on their composition and then sketching it out. Next adding a layer of colored pencil and working in the solvent with a brush, afterward adding more layers of colored pencil to the wet solvent and later more when the area had dried.

On Saturday I went up to Boston with a friend to visit the Richard Schmid, Nancy Guzik and Kathey Anderson oil exhibit at the St Botolph Club and the Boston Fine Arts Expo. Besides being back in my old Copley Square neighborhood from my college days, I really enjoyed and was inspired by all the wonderful art at both events and the American Art Collector magazine I picked up on the way out. Although, there are mostly oils at the Fine Arts Expo, there were some pastels and watercolors but a very few drawings and no colored pencil. Much of the work was from the 19th and early 20th centuries, although some contemporary artists mixed in. Still inspiring but got me thinking how can professional colored pencil works become included?

Two Pet Portraits and an Award

These are two 8x10" commissioned pet portraits that I just finished, Bella is on the top and Ruby is below. Both are worked on Ampersand Pastelbord, Bella is on Sand Pastelbord and Ruby is on white Pastelbord tinted with brown tones of watercolor. Both pieces are worked in colored pencil. I have added odorless mineral spirits to the colored pencil to smooth out the texture in the background to compliment the fur textures of the dogs.

I am very excited because my colored pencil piece Seafoam has won the Frank C. Wright Medal of Honor Plus award in the American Artist Professional League's 86th Grand National Exhibition. I was honored to have been accepted to this wonderful exhibition shown at the Salmagundi Club in NYC, now I am doubly honored to have won this award. Seafoam is 16x18" colored pencil on rag illustration board.

Nest and Butterflies

Here is my latest drawing in colored pencil. I am working on 12x16" gray Ampersand Pasteboard with straight colored pencil, no solvent or any other materials. I have a reference photo of this nest which is much less colorful and more intact. I chose to liven up the colors of the twigs and to draw the nest with twigs expanding and reaching to the borders of the surface so that it didn't look so intact. I really had fun with the shape and composition of this nest.

I'm happy with the little white butterfly (can you see it?) but still working on the blue butterfly. I feel as if it is a separate subject which is taking attention away from the nest not supporting the composition. I'm going to let the piece sit on my drawing table while I keep looking at it and thinking.

Colored Pencil on Ampersand Pastelbord

Here is my finished piece from the colored pencil and solvent on Pastelbord instructional video I produced for Ampersand. Here is a link to Ampersand's blog post on the two instructional videos. For this piece I worked on 8x10" Gray Pastelbord and not only do I like the textured surface for layering colored pencil but the Gray is my choice of color for many of my drawings. The cool blue/gray toned surface creates a under tone for a warmer colored drawing on top. I've taken art workshops in which instructors have suggested layering warm colors over cool colors, over warms over cools, or vice versa to create vibrant color and color harmonies.

After I chose the vibrant red pitcher to demo for Ampersand, I tried several pieces of fabric behind the pitcher to see what worked best for the background. I chose this one with the intricate leave patterns because I was attracted to the organic shapes  of the leaves contrasted with the round, smoothness  of the pitcher. I also like the contrast in the grays and blues of the leaves against the bright red and especially the movement of the background shapes which complete the composition.

I finished the piece by spraying it with two coats of Krylon UV Resistant Clear and then four coats of Krylon Kamar Varnish, letting each coat of the varnish dry at least 30 minutes before adding spraying again. This way I won't have to frame the piece under glass.

Ampersand Pastelbord & Accordion Star Book

Started practicing using Caran D'Arche Supracolor watercolor pencils and water on 5x7" white Ampersand Pastelbord as an underpainting for colored pencil. I started with a simple line drawing, then added the watercolor pencil dry. Next step, I wet the pencil with water and brush and dissolved the pencil flowing it around the surface as a wash. I'm experimenting a little with what colors I would use for my underpainting. I found that when I started working in regular colored pencil over the watercolor washes, I liked having darker background colors. I finished the piece with Prismacolor colored pencils, softening edges and colors. 

Here is my finished accordion style star book with finished cover pages and ribbons to tie it closed when not on display. I'm happy with the result and can't wait to find an exhibit to display it.

Providence Art Club Colored Pencil Class

My class at the Providence Art Club has been working in colored pencil and watercolor pencil. The third photo of the Bird of Paradise images was the previous class project. We used the reference photo and the students worked in watercolor pencil on white Ampersand Pastelbord. The other three photos are the current class project working with the yellow tulip reference photo. The surface is Ampersand Gessobord covered with a layer of blue Art Spectrum Colourfix primer. The students are putting down a layer of colored pencil and then adding solvent with a brush to melt the waxy pencil and move it around. Subsequent layers of pencil are added after the solvent and blended in. I suggested to my students that they start on one area of the drawing and get the feel for applying the solvent with the pencil before they move onto the whole piece.

Two Upcoming Classes at Beach Studios

Felicia and I are kicking off the year with two sessions of classes. Our Art Boot Camp focuses on 2-week sessions of drawing, watercolor, monotype prints and colored pencil. It's a good way to try out the different mediums and experiment with them. Students will be working from still life set ups and this boot camp includes materials so our students don't have to spend extra money on the supplies.

The second class is a two-morning colored pencil class in which we will be working on Ampersand Pastelbord using watercolor pencils and colored pencils. I have prepared the project and we will be working from a photo reference.

Any interest? Contact us, there are a few spaces left in both classes.

Thinking Spring!

This drawing is on 9x12" gray Ampersand Pastelbord. I really like working on the pastelbord, the surface takes the pencil so well. The textured surface gives me the ability to work darker colors and lay lighter colors on top.

Tulips on Pastelbord

I started working on a small drawing on gray 9x12 " Ampersand Pastelbord. I love the gray toned Pastelbord as a background, it is a cool almost blue-gray neutral in which warm colors on the surface contrast so well with. The reference photo is of three tulips lying on a silver dish, as for now all you can see are the tulips and some of the reflections.

I'm home from Florida and glad to be back although I am really going to miss the beautiful weather, we have snow predicted this afternoon. One good thing about New England weather is that I get more work accomplished when it is cold, rainy or snowy. In Florida, it is difficult to keep myself inside drawing when it is so beautiful outside. I missed my busy life also as well as my boys, my friends and colleagues. My husband says give me a week or so and I will be complaining again ......

My Drawing of Bandit

I enjoyed working on the Ampersand Pastelbord (size 8x10"), the surface takes the layers of pencil so easily and quickly. As I mentioned in the last post, I really like the ability to layer light colors over dark. There are so many colors and values in the fur that I like having the ability to keep going back and adding to what I've already drawn. I am using all Prismacolor pencils for this piece and decided on a blue/gray background to compliment the warm tones of Bandit's fur.

Portrait of My Dog and Hurricane Photos

For the longest time my family has been asking me to draw a portrait of our beloved Yorkshire Terrier, Bandit. Seeing that Bandit is the spoiled baby of the family I have oodles of photos of him but not a single photo has inspired me to draw him, I keep pondering. However, earlier this summer, I took a close up head shot of Bandit with his fur blowing in the wind and decided I would start a small 8x10" portrait and just have some fun with it. The surface I'm using is Ampersand Pastelbord.
I've included some photos I took immediately following "Tropical Storm" Irene which was thankfully downgraded from a hurricane 1 category. We lost power for 26 hours between Sunday and Monday but there are still many areas in our town and nearby towns that still don't have power and may not have it until after this weekend. The above photo is a tree that fell into a field at the end of our street. The funny part is that this big heavy tree is merely resting on the stone wall which is still completely intact.
This is the dock a little way down the street from us. As the hurricane passed, the danger became the dangerously high "moon" tide and what damage it would cause. Water is almost to the top of the dock and usually about 5 or 6 feet of supports show, the water has also covered the beach and come up into the grassy area. Incidentally, movie scenes were filmed on this dock back in May, its titled "Moonrise Kingdom" and actors include Bill Murray and Bruce Willis. I saw all the traffic and security and had no idea at the time that Bruce Willis was right down the street.

These two photos are of Sandy Point Beach on the Sakonnet River. We rarely see waves, Sandy Point is a very calm, sheltered beach so this was exciting to see. Again, due to the high tides, the sand on the beach is completely covered. I like the atmosphere, the deep grays and the strength of the waves in both of these photos. Future colored pencil piece? Maybe!

Working on Pastelbord

Here is the piece finished. All of the white in the background and between the stripes is the white pastelbord surface. The most difficult part of doing this drawing was the pencil dust flaking all over the area of the pastelbord that I wanted to keep white. As we know, working on a sanded surface creates lots of pencil dust. I solved the problem by dabbing with a kneaded eraser and removing all (or most) of the unwanted color in the white areas. Its really helpful to photograph the piece and look at it on the computer because you can see flaws or areas that could be changed. I just noticed the sticks like faint in value/color compared to the rest of the piece.

Candy Apples & Salmagundi Club Exhibition

I'm burning the midnight oil tonight, even the dog is looking at me as if to say "can we go to bed now?" I had a tiring day with helping my elderly dad and needed to unwind when I got home. Mostly frustrating with my dad because he doesn't want assistance to help him walk and my heart skipped a beat each he slipped on ice today and refused my hand. So here I am unwinding, trying to portray luscious red apples on Pastelbord. This is a portion of my drawing that would fit on my scanner bed. The scanner has darkened the top white area so its not quite accurate. Yesterday I was having trouble achieving the smooth, shiny texture of the apples. Today I added solvent to the colored pencil and them more colored pencil on top of the solvent. I was very pleased with the ease in which the solvent dissolves the first layer of pencil without streaks and in some areas I didn't even need to add any more pencil. I still don't know what I'm going to do about all the red flecks all over my white Pastelbord but I have to finish the drawing before I have to worry about that.

Below are my two colored pencil pieces "Golden Glow" and "Cherries on China" which have been accepted into Special President's Exhibitions; Photography and Graphics Exhibition at the Salmagundi Club. The exhibit runs January 10 - February 11, 2011 and I am honored to have two pieces of my work selected for the exhibition by the president herself, Claudia Seymour.

Happy New Year everyone and thank you for following or visiting my blog! I really appreciate the support & encouragement!

Candy Apples on Pastelboard

I'm spending some time working on some new candy apple pieces because my others have sold, which is a good thing. More money for art supplies : ) This piece is for Bristol Art Gallery and will be used in the gallery's advertisement in American Art Collector magazine. For the surface, I am trying Ampersand Pastelbord for the first time. I chose white pastelbord because much of the background is going to stay white. Here are my observations; the pastelbord takes many layers but Prismacolor pencil flakes easily. My white background has red flecks all over it so I may have to add white acrylic paint at the end. The surface is rough and I'm having a bit of trouble getting very smooth pencil to portray the shiny red candy. So I will need to add either harder type of pencils on top layer or use solvent with the Prismacolors so they go on like paint.