Koi in Colored Pencil

The current piece I'm working on is a second long vertical drawing of koi. Bristol Art Gallery sold the first rather quickly and requested another. I'm putting together the composition from koi photos I took during a trip to Napa Valley, CA a few years ago. The koi at one particular winery were so colorful and plentiful, I took about 50 photos to work from. The surface I'm working on is Ampersand 2" cradled Gessobord with Raw Siena colored Art Spectrum Colourfix Pastel Primer (surface color shows around the koi). I've worked the koi fish almost to completion and next I'm going to add the water surrounding them and then I'll re-evaluate the composition and maybe add more colors or dimension to the fish and work them into their surroundings.

American Art Collector - March Issue

I'm plugging along with more candy apple pieces so I won't post them until they are finished and framed because it's my usual process. So rather, I'm including the pages from the next issue of American Art Collector. Through the Bristol Art Gallery, I am included in the feature editorial of Florals and Botanicals on pages 100 and 104. Page 104 shows my colored pencil piece "Calla Lilies" which was inspired by a trip to Kew Gardens in London a few years ago. American Art Collector is a great magazine highlighting different artwork from all over the USA. I enjoy seeing subjects and mediums other artists choose and happy to see other colored pencil artists featured. Its nice to see colored pencil gaining recognition in galleries and art magazines.

I'm in Florida right now and entered three small colored pencil pieces that I worked on board and varnished into a community art exhibit here. I can't tell you how many favorable comments I received and how many people said, "that's colored pencil?!" I really enjoy introducing viewers to different processes and new ways of seeing art.

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.

New Gallery Exhibiting My Work

My colored pencil work is being shown in a newly opened art gallery in Bristol, RI located at 423 Hope Street, named Bristol Art Gallery. I took some pictures of the gallery windows at night because I love the way the gallery is lit up and so easy to view as you drive by. You can see some of my work to the left of the flag in the top photo just under the nude. The owner, Nancy, has assembled some talented artists in different mediums. Several artists are local and several more are from different parts of the country or Canada. It is always fun to see new and different artists and artwork showcased.