Adonis

Adonis

A3 (12x16 inches)

Coloured pencil and Pan Pastels on black Mat Board

This artwork was done just for fun because I am enjoying experimenting with coloured pencils on black mat board and am loving some of the effects that can be achieved. Only problem is that I find the darker backgrounds much harder to scan, particularly when you have to stitch scans together as I had to in this case. I am going to take a week off from art now as we have family arriving at the end of the week, so cleaning and tidying is on the agenda and hopefully catching up on some internet correspondence. I wonder if many of you find as I do, that once caught up doing art, (apart from all the other things that call on our time), there is very little time left over for browsing all the beautiful artworks that everyone else has been creating. It's nice to take stock and have a breather every now and then and just appreciate the beauty and creativity of other people's work and I also find that it spurs me on and inspires me to improve and be more creative myself. So looking forward to catching up on all of that this week! :)

A Couple of Commissions - Archie & Maisie

Maisie

8x10 inches

Graphite and Coloured Pencil on Bristol Board

Archie

8x10 inches

Graphite and Coloured Pencil on Bristol Board

For a while I thought I would readvertise the graphite portraits I used to offer as they are definitely the portraits I get asked to do most often. I see so many other artists doing amazing portraits using the graphite, but for me it is a struggle. I miss the strong contrasts that I find so easy to achieve with CP's. No matter how dark I go with the graphite, or even when I try charcoal, or some of some of the other mediums that complement graphite, I'm never a hundred percent happy with the result. These two lovely little dogs were wonderful to draw, and their 'Mum' seems very happy with her portraits, but for me it helped to clarify that I need to work with the mediums I like the best, and that is coloured pencils.

Grandpa Elliott

Grandpa Elliott

A3

Coloured pencils on mat board

The reference photo for this portrait was taken 17 years ago by my brother, when he and his wife were on their honeymoon in New Orleans, when Grandpa Elliott was a little known busker on the streets. Now, because of utube, he has become a legendary and much sought after street entertainer. Please take the time to browse some of the many videos on utube featuring this charming and endearing character and I'm sure you'll come away with a smile on your face and feel better about the world!!! :)

CP Treasures

No artwork to post today, as I have been working on quite a detailed commission over the last week, which is actually for a wedding present, and so I can't reveal anything at this stage. For those of you who love coloured pencils as I do, please take the time to check out the latest CP Treasures book. I feel extremely honoured to have been included amongst the 70 coloured pencil artists from around the world who have had their work featured in this book. I can't wait to receive my own copy so I can pore over and admire all the coloured pencil artworks and to read about the very talented artists who have created them.

Let's Count Kisses Preview Books Out!

I received my copies of the preview books for Let's Count Kisses this week and am really thrilled with the way Hachette have compiled the books. It will be available in hard or paperback and features flaps on many of the pages. This book is targeting the 0-2 year age group and is meant to be an interactive bed time book for parents and grandparents to share with their little ones. The book is due to be published and available in retail outlets from the 8th May :)

Acceptance to the CPSA Explore This 8 Exhibition

I was delighted to discover this week that my piece 'What About Me' was accepted into the Colored Pencil Society of America's Explore This! 8 on-line exhibition http://cpsa.org/coloredpencilartists/ET8Show/index.htm. If you get the opportunity to take a look, there are some wonderful artworks, all done with coloured pencils and it is inspiring to see what some artists are achieving with this very exciting medium. The exhibition will run for the next 12 months, so there is plenty of time to check it out! :)

Joy

Joy

8x11 inches

Coloured Pencils and solvent on Pastelmat

I entitled this artwork Joy for two reasons - the look of sheer glee on the face of my little neice Bailey and the absolute joy I had working on this portrait, I am definitely a fan of working with the Zest-it on the Pastelmat. It enabled me to get a lovely smooth canvas of skin in a relatively short time frame, and also smoothed out the texture of the Pastelmat, allowing me to add nice crisp details where they were needed. The only aspect I struggled with, was waiting for the paper to dry between applications of solvent before doing more pencil work - patience is not one of my virtues, but I think it did pay off in the end! :)