Demo at Francesca Anderson Gallery

On Sunday March 18, I gave a hands-on demo and drawing class at Francesca Anderson Fine Art Gallery in Lexington, MA in conjunction with our 19 on Paper exhibit at the Gallery. Eight participants from the area signed up and came to learn more about colored pencil.

I began by talking about materials: I began with the different brands of colored pencils and their qualities when used individually or together. Next I talked about different methods of erasing, pencil sharpeners, colorless blenders and other means of blending and burnishing. We moved on to talk about various surfaces; paper sanded and boards. As students began to understand the medium and how it can be applied on different surfaces, we then talked about combining different mediums and using other materials such as solvent with colored pencil.

For the second hour I invited the students to try different pencils on some different samples of surfaces I had brought with me. I had brought small items they could draw such as my pears, shells and small ceramic bottles. One lady showed us her colored pencil sketchbook and the more abstract drawings that she likes to create.

It was a fun and rewarding day for me as an instructor, I enjoy introducing the medium to new people and encouraging them to try it. Francesca Anderson has a fantastic gallery with many talented artists and beautiful works of art. I encourage anyone in the area to visit the gallery, enjoy the art and definitely be inspired.