Two Prize Winners & One Happy Artist!

I am really excited because two of my works of art have received recognition in art competitions in November! I've been staying home so much more this past year due to Covid as I know everyone else has been doing. No traveling and social distancing has given me much more time to focus on creating art in my studio. As I mentioned previously, I have been focusing on my collection of tea cups and setting them up in different ways in which to draw.

My colored pencil drawing A Fresh Start (left) was accepted into the Colored Pencil Society of America 28th Annual International Exhibition in the summer and in November it was also accepted into American Artist Professional League 92nd Grand National Exhibition. I was even more thrilled when I learned that it had also been awarded the Alma M. Preede Memorial Award for Graphics in the exhibit. 

There are some incredible works of art in the AAPL 92nd Exhibition in all different mediums. You can link and view the exhibit here. You can link to all of the award winners here.

This past week I learned that my colored pencil piece Hot Spots (right) was one of only 25 pieces accepted into the UArt 2020 on line Colored Pencil Competition. The contest is sponsored by UArt Sanded Paper Company and was open to any artist working with colored pencil on UArt sanded paper. You can view the 25 accepted entries here.

I send my congratulations to all other artists accepted into art competitions, working hard to create and exhibit!

Moving Along

I'm working on the background/foreground surface to create slight tone and shadow and tie the elements together. I am laying down Prismacolor Beige Sienna, Putty Beige and Clay Rose one at a time and burnishing them into the surface. I when I add the first layers of pencil on the surface, I prefer Polychromos pencils because I can burnish and blend them into the surface with a bristle brush or even my finger. Prismacolor pencils have a waxy consistency and are more difficult to burnish into the surface, but I just didn't. have the colors/light values I needed in Polychromos. I am also working my strokes horizontally along with the grain of the paper which also helps lay the pencil down smoother.

What I really like about the UArt sanded paper is that it will take lots of layers of pencil and burnishing and works really well for applying light colors over dark colors allowing under layers to show through.

I have also lightened the shadows even more when I added in the surface, I thought they were too dark. I continued to add Polychromos Sky Blue over the darker areas and Cinnamon and Burnt Ochre towards the edges. I am continuing to mold the ball with values and blend it into the composition trying to get the lighting correct as I am working from two different reference photos.

Sneakers in Progress

I'm continuing to work on this piece and added the ball as another element to the drawing. Next step is to tie the elements together with value and shadow. I have lightened the dark shadows around the sneakers with Polychromos Sky Blue #146 and burnished it with a bristle brush. I am working from a photo of the sneakers and shadows can look darker than in life. I used the same colors of Polychromos pencils on the ball as I used on the sneakers for continuity and composition. 

I still haven't used any white on the piece because I don't want it to smudge but I laid down a base color of Polychromos Cold Gray #1 on the top of the ball for value and will add some darker shadowing around the edges to show a rounding form. I am combining two different photos for this piece so it is a challenge to get values and shadows correct. 

In my last post I forgot to note the colors I used in the insides of the sneakers and they are the same ones I have used on the yellow stripe on the ball: Yellow Ochre 183, Dark Naples Ochre 184, Naples Yellow 185, Cream 102. I used Walnut Brown on the insides of the sneakers but not on the ball. 

More New Work

My candy apple piece that I added in my last post is sitting on an easel in progress and I just felt like beginning a second colored pencil piece, this one is on 800 grit UArt paper. This drawing is approximately 14x19". I am going to add another element to the drawing but am working on the sneakers to begin. For this piece I have been using only Faber Castell Polychromos colored pencils. These oil based pencils are a good base layer of the sanded paper as they are easily burnished into the surface with the use of a small bristle brush and layers of workable fixative.

Here is a list of the colors that I have used thus far: I began the sneaker laces, eyelets and soles with a variety of Cold Greys I - VI. For the black parts of the sneakers I used Cold Greys V, VI, Payne's Grey and Black. The red sneakers are worked in Caput Mortuum Violet, Dark Red, Deep Scarlet Red, Deep Red and Scarlet Red. For the shadows I chose Indanthrene Blue and Walnut Brown, with Burnt Ochre and Cinnamon for the lighter areas.

I haven't added any white yet as the pencils do smudge, I am also keeping the pencil in place with layers of workable fixative.

I am working from dark to light, adding the darkest colors first and layering lighter colors on top. The sanded surface makes this an easier method to use, almost like one would work in pastels. Stay tuned for more progress on this piece and the candy apples.

On My Drawing Table

I'm starting new work in colored pencil and a new series of nostalgia. It feels good to be drawing in colored pencil again for the new year. My inspiration comes from a photo I took of a grouping of wrapped candy apples. I chose to use an older Ferris wheel in the background, thus nostalgia!

 This first piece that I am creating on a piece of standard Crescent Watercolour Board which is a textured 100% rag paper mounted on board. I had this piece in my supplies and that's why I decided to use it. I'm looking at the pricing on line and I don't think I paid that much several years ago when I purchased the board.

I worked this piece with a variety of Prismacolor Premier, Caran d'Ache Luminance, Faber Castell Polychromos and Derwent Coloursoft pencils layering the different types of pencils over one another. This rag paper surface is soft so the Polychromos work well under and over the other pencils particularly the Prismacolor which are softer and more crumbly. The Luminance also layer nicely over the Prismacolors as do the Coloursoft. In this piece I am really experimenting with different pencils applied over one another.

My reference photo of the candy apples was dark and I had to work with lightening up the apples to give the piece some depth. The surface of the board is tough thankfully. I erased colored pencil, put pencil back on and erased again trying to make the two concepts of candy apples and Ferris wheel work together. I am still not finished, still working and reworking the background into the piece.

New Year New Works

I'll begin by posting two of the colored pencil pet portraits I worked on for clients during the holiday season. The top portrait is 8x8" worked with Prismacolor and Faber Castell Polychromos on gray Fabriano paper. The Golden Retriever is 8x10" worked on UArt 800 grit sanded paper also with Prismacolor and Polychromos pencils.

Both clients were very pleased and I was too. These were two beautiful dogs to draw and I enjoyed it Now onto my own new work for the new year!

One more Pet Portrait

This is my latest pet portrait of Logan. It's 8x8" on Bisque Canson Mi Teintes paper. The tone of the paper compliments the fur in the dog. I used both Prismacolor and Faber Castell Polychromos colored pencils to work on the portrait. Logan in progress and my reference photos are beneath the finished drawing. 

Commission Work

I have been working on this colored pencil drawing of a bouquet of roses for a customer. She sent me photos of the roses and I chose the reference photo (top) which was the best to work from. I added three more roses to fill out the composition and make it more interesting. The middle photo is the drawing in progress. I worked this on Honeysuckle (?) Canson Mi Tientes paper, size of drawing is 7.5x10.5" The Mi Tientes paper is quite textured so I used the harder Faber Castell Polychromos pencils on top of Prismacolor Pencils to burnish or fill in space. 

The bottom is the finished piece, loosely drew the bottom area to blend and abstract the stems and leaves allowing the roses to be the focal points. 

Pet Portrait of Arnold

This is a pet portrait I just finished for a customer of a beloved dog, Arnold. This portrait is 8x10" and I worked on UArt 800 grit paper. I started out using Faber Castell Polychromos pencils because they aren't waxy and can be burnished/blended into the surface of the paper with a brush. The UArt paper is very textured so I like using the Polychromos pencils especially for the first layer because they become powdery and will blend right into the surface for me. After I have a good layer of color on the surface, I will continue using the Polychromos and Prismacolor pencils to layer color on the piece and render the fur and features. To finish, I sprayed a fixative over the piece and framed it under glass.

Looking Through the Window: Layers of Time

I have finally finished this piece that has been on my drawing table for months now.  I started writing about it in a previous blog post last December 2013. The drawing is approximately 20x30" and worked on UArt 800 grit sanded paper. As I mentioned in the previous blog, I started the first layer of color with Caran d'Arche Supracolor and Derwent Intense watercolor pencils over which I added Faber-Castell Polychromos and Prismacolor colored pencils. The watercolor pencils allowed me to achieve an even tone of color, covering the ridges in the paper before I added layers of wax and oil based colored pencil.

I worked from a photograph I took in the medieval town Koszeg, Hungary. I was attracted to the patina like finish on the window frame including the rusty hinges. I was also intrigued by the layers of space showing through the window and the open window behind as well as the cracked window panes and colors and shadows of reflections in the glass. I expanded upon my photo by exaggerating the colors as well as tints and reflections in the glass panes. When I first saw this broken window in Koszeg, I knew immediately it would be a drawing. I titled this piece Layers of Time.

Beach Stones and Water are Finally Finished

I finally finished this piece and I'm almost reluctant to say that it has taken me two months to complete. I started the piece in January just before my father went into the hospital with the flu and fluid in his lungs. He stayed for a week and then went into a nursing home where he has been since but will be coming home next week. I've been running back and forth first to the hospital and then to the nursing home almost daily. Now I am setting up the 24-hour care he will need when he comes home. He didn't want to have to go to the nursing home and now he doesn't want to pay for care thus, we've been arguing that this has to happen. What do you do when a parent becomes like a child and is totally dependent on you? It's overwhelming. I had been involved in his care previously but now it's become physically and emotionally draining. However, I have worked to get him back to walking, in better spirits and at a point where he can come home with care. Unfortunately, my art took the back seat for the last two months. I taught some classes and tried to get some work done but emotionally it was difficult. Besides this piece, I have also started a large piece on mylar and am going to be handmaking a book with small drawings. I'm excited about both projects and really need to start working on a regular basis, when I get away from my art I feel somewhat lost and very irritable!

Just to review, this drawing is 18x24" on Rtistx 300 Board. I used Prismacolor, Lyra Rembrandt and Faber Polychromos pencils. I wrote details on how I worked the rocks in this previous post. My next step was to continue upward and put in suggestions of more rocks and the sea foam encroaching the rocks. I decided to leave the top left predominantly white, I wanted to keep it somewhat abstract with just suggestions of rocks underneath the flowing water. This piece will be one of the entries I submit to the CPSA national exhibition but I have to title it first. Right now it's untitled and I'm in the though process.

Working on the Beach Stones

I'm continuing my work on the beach stones drawing which is 18x24" on Rtistx board. I've finished the foreground stones, which took me a few weeks because I found I could only concentrate for a few hours at a time because of all the elements and detail. I've been using Polychromos, Prismacolor and Lyra Rembrandt pencils for the rocks. Let me tell you why and what my technique is. The Rtistx board is a sanded surface and I find the Polychromos work best for the first layer of color. After I apply the color, I burnish it with a bristle brush to even out the tone. Polychromos aren't as waxy as other brands so they tend to rub into the paper almost as a pastel stick would. Next I apply layers of Prismacolor and Lyra Rembrandt. The Lyras have an oil base so they don't crumble as much as the Prismacolors. However, I also have to choose my pencils according to the colors I need for the rocks. Because I'm working from the bottom upwards and leaning on my drawing, I will put a piece of clean paper under my arm so I won't smudge the drawing I've already done. I also spray with workable fixative between layers of colored pencil to keep the pencil from lifting or smudging on the board.

After I've applied the color, there are still some areas I want to look smooth but sometimes doesn't because of the sanded board surface. If the rocks look too textured, I hit the surface with a soft brush and some odorless mineral spirits which dissolves the pencil pigment so it moves like paint. I brush it lightly so I get the effect of watercolor paint. One of the brushes I like to use is a Mongolian Sable 1/4" flat from Dynasty Brush Company.

My next step is to continue working towards the top of the drawing where the waves and white foam are encroaching on the stones. The easy part about the top is that much of the board will be left white to show the lightness of the foam.

Beach Stones

I've started working on a new large colored pencil piece, it is going to be a vertical 18x24" and I'm working it on Rtistx 300 board. I chose that surface because I wanted to work on a white board in which I could use solvent and also varnish at the end. I like the Rtistx because it can stand up to both. For this piece I am using a mixture of Prismacolor and Polychromos pencils and my stiff bristle brushes to burnish the pencil pigment into the paper.

The picture at the top is of just the bottom of the beginning of my drawing. The photo beneath is the reference photo for the bottom area. I am using three reference photos of the scene for the entire 18x24 drawing, the middle reference photo will be of smaller, more distant rocks and the top of the photo will be mostly the waves and foam washing over the rocks. I couldn't find one photo of the scene that I liked so I am going to combine at least the three and work the water into the rocks using some of my imagination.

I began drawing the rocks with three Prismacolor pencils: Indigo Blue, Warm Grey 50% and Warm Grey 70% working in the darks with indigo and parts of the other rocks with the grays. I'm working this way to hopefully simplify the drawing before adding all of the other colors. It has already taken me many hours to get this far so I think this drawing is going to take me a while. Stay tuned for upcoming posts on this drawing.

Working with Dynasty Brush Company

In the above photo I'm using a Dynasty Brush Mongolian Sable flat brush to add odorless mineral spirits to my colored pencil so I can move it around like paint. This is a commission piece I am working on for a customer, it is 6x24" on 2" cradled Ampersand Gessobord coated with Terra Cotta tinted Colourfix Primer which gives it a nice texture to work on.

For another totally different method of working with colored pencil, I'm using Dynasty Brush Deerfoot IPC (ink, pastel, charcoal). This rounded brush has a flat angled end (like a deer foot) which is perfect for burnishing my colored pencil work and pushing the pencil into the grooves of the paper. I'm using UArt 800 grit sanded paper with Faber Castell Polychromos pencils. The Polychromos are less waxy than other brands and lend themselves to being applied to the sanded paper in a similar method to working with pastel.

I may have mentioned previously that Dynasty Brush Company has offered me an opportunity to experiment with several of their different types of brushes and has featured me, my artwork and recent accomplishments in this blog entry on their website, the link to my article is here. I'm really honored to be chosen to be able to try the various Dynasty brushes in my colored pencil work, and also a little bit with oils and watercolors. I am always trying new methods and materials when working with colored pencil in which to work quicker, as we all know that colored pencil can be timely and require much patience. I also look for ways in which to smooth my colored pencil work when using a very textured surface which I often do.

Fragments of Time

I have just finished this colored pencil drawing which is done on UArt paper and is 29x24". I start with Polychromos pencils which can blend really nicely into the sanded paper with a stiff brush then I add Prismacolor pencils on top. They don't blend as well because they have a more waxy consistency.

I've been working larger lately and just having fun being creative with the larger format. After working on Uplifted, Keepers of Mystery, and The Woman in the Window, I have been enjoying working on the old crumbling walls surrounding my subjects. Something about the passing of time and seeing the old beneath and mixed with the present is attracting my attention. Perhaps it is because I have been somewhat emotional lately assisting my elderly father who is declining rather quickly and is difficult to observe but no regrets that I can be of help to him. So maybe this is why I am incorporating history into my works.

My reference photos for this drawing came from a trip I took to Tuscany with eight other artists. We rented a villa and travelled around the area. This scene is from Siena, as we were walking down a narrow street an elderly woman poked her head out the window for a moment. I quickly snapped some photos before she noticed and ducked back inside. I was also intrigued by the other elements in the photo, the round window, the shrine to the madonna and the wires and pipes running along the facade.

This piece is also going to be included in my exhibit at the Providence Art Club, Providence, RI which opens this Sunday, October 21 from 2-4 p.m.

End of Summer

While sitting on Surfside Beach in Nantucket with friends right after Labor Day two years ago, I took several photos of this scene. It's taken me that amount of time to finally dig out my reference photos, review them and decide on a composition. It's fitting for the time of year and my reflections on summer so I came up with this simple horizontal scene. Just a quiet, end of summer afternoon, two guys on the right looking out at the water and possibly reflecting on the day or on the season. In the middle, the girl holding the surfboard is photographed by her boyfriend with the waves in the background. It's a quiet, tranquil scene. Reminds me of happy days spent at the beach.

This drawing is 9x24" on UArt sanded paper. Same colored pencil techniques as I explained in my Edge of a Dream post.

The Edge of a Dream

The Edge of a Dream is what I've titled my latest colored pencil drawing. I may  have mentioned in previous posts that I love walking on the beach any time of year and taking photos of the surf, the waves breaking on the beach and the clouds. I've worked several drawings of beach scenes from my photos but never incorporated any other subject into the scene.

Subsequently, earlier in the summer my husband and I were invited to a fashion show fundraiser in which we were lucky enough to be seated directly next to the runway. As the models sauntered past I whipped out my little camera and started snapping away, my thoughts of incorporating these tall wiry women and their interesting costumes in some of my artwork. This young woman was exceptionally tall and exceptionally thin and I had been pondering what type of interesting scene I could drop her into. After much thought I pulled out some of my more dramatic beach photos and decided to create a scene in which she is walking along the beach, stormy clouds and colorful waves behind, her skirt flowing in the sand. My intent is to give the the figure and the scene a dream like quality, as I was working I would put myself into the scene, perhaps she is me.

As in my past several drawings, I am using the UArt sanded paper with Polychromos and Prismacolor pencils. The Polychromos pencils blend and sink into the paper when burnished with a bristle brush. The Prismacolors blend also but not quite as well because they are much more waxy. The paper is very textured with distinct horizontal lines and I find that burnishing vertically and horizontally helps blend out those lines. The sanded paper eats up brushes in no time so I purchase cheap, flat bristle brushes and cut the brush hairs to about 1/4" so they will be stiffer and better for burnishing. I enjoy working on the UArt because it takes the colors so quickly, I can achieve deeper values and brighter colors on this sanded surface.

On another note, I am going to be leaving Spring Bull Gallery in Newport, RI at the end of August. I have been at the gallery since 2005 and enjoyed it so much. Spring Bull Gallery is a cooperative gallery  in which the members share in the expenses and duties. I have really enjoyed my past seven years at the gallery and I love the family of artists in the gallery with me. Leaving the gallery is bittersweet, I am sad to go, however new opportunities await and are in the works. Customers are welcome to contact me and see my work at my studio in Middletown, RI.

The Woman in the Window

Time is slipping by all too quickly and I've been spending a lot of time on this drawing while getting a bit anxious as I look at the calendar and realize I only have two months left to prepare for my exhibit at the Providence Art Club. October will be here too soon and I still find myself with several more drawing ideas that I hope to complete.

For this drawing, I chose the photo reference from the seemingly hundreds of photos I took while in Budapest in May. A few of us had just finished coffee one mid afternoon and were walking down a narrow street when a woman walked into a cafe directly in front of us and sat down in the window. The sunlight was falling over the building tops and down at a sideways slant and illuminated her so perfectly. The amazing play of light and dark but also the sense of intimacy of the figure had us photographers were clamoring all over each other to get the perfect shot. And thank goodness this woman didn't turn around, she would have thought we were all nuts jumping over each other pointing cameras in her direction.

Now I have been working on this approximately 24x24" drawing over the past few weeks trying to capture what I saw on the street in Budapest. I've taken out irrelevant details and played up the contrast of lights and darks keeping the surrounding window and broken wall but hoping they won't detract. The surface is UArt 800 grit archival sanded paper which is very textured, lots of texture is still showing through the dark areas. I like this paper because of it's gritty surface, it takes pencil color quickly but the textured lines in the paper can be challenging. I find Polychromos pencils work best and are easily blended or burnished with a bristle brush to smooth out the drawing. But I also like to add Prismacolor pencils which are more distinct and waxy and Prismacolor Verithin which have harder points to fill in small areas.

(My camera has distorted some of the straight lines in this picture of my drawing, the woodwork and trim around the window and wall aren't warped as they appear.)

On My Drawing Table

I am working on this very complicated drawing of a group of hungry koi fish, the drawing is on Stonehenge drawing paper and is approximately 14x20". The reference photos I am working from are from a trip I took to Napa Valley several years ago. The Domaine Chandon Winery we visited had some of the largest and most colorful fish I had ever seen. As I leaned over the pond to take photos, they all surfaced at once. In the photo, my shadow covers all of the fish so I am working from imagination and artistic license to bring the fish out of the shadows and into the light. The most challenging part of this composition is working on the water. In my photo the water is lime and olive greens, not colors I find complementary for the fish thus I'm changing colors to darker blue/greens.

I'm also having fun because I am using the Icarus heated drawing board to blend and layer my colors. Using only colored pencils, I start with a color on the cool side, add a second layer of color on the heated side, back on the cool side I burnish with a brush, then back to the heated side to add more layers of color if needed. Our New England weather has begun warming up this week but in previous weeks, the Icarus board has served a double purpose, it also keeps my hands & arms warm on those cold, damp days!!! Some days I want to just lay on top of it and warm up ;-) I'm not sure that Ester who lives in Southern California realizes that her board can also serve to keep cold New England artists warm!

This colored pencil drawing still needs work. I asked my students for comments and they gave me some good suggestions. I asked my husband for his comments and he said "well ... it's abstract ... " Anyway, I'm having fun with it but have been working on this piece since March 1st and eager to finish and move on to the next project.