For the love of Coloured Pencil
I have a passion for coloured pencil.
Ever since school (which is when we all first use them) I’ve never given up on these humble sticks of wood and pigment! They are now becoming recognised as a proper artist medium, and I am very pleased about that!
In July this year, I was thrilled to discover that four of my pure coloured pencil artworks were accepted into the 20th Anniversary Gala of the UK Coloured Pencil Society.
I joined this amazing society 16 years ago, and am proud to say that I am now a Gold Signature member, which means I have had work accepted over 10 times since joining. The society is fully supportive of artists creating work in coloured pencil and holds twice yearly shows, in galleries and also online.
This September the society held it’s 20th annual Open Exhibition at The Bargehouse, OXO Tower right on the River Thames in London. An amazing industrial space that can hold a lot of art!
I arrived in the morning to hand in my work, and then helped register, hang and label the hundreds of beautiful pieces for the show along with the amazing UKCPS Committee. It was so, so nice to see all my cp friends after the last two, isolating years.
The Private View was to be held the following evening, which again was a lot of fun. It was then I got to see the glossy full colour catalogue of all the art which was displayed. I was utterly thrilled to find my drawing ‘Bright Shapes of the City’ on the front cover!
At the Private View, so many UKCPS members were there along with winner of Sky Arts Portrait Artist of the Year 2020, Curtis Holder, who had two pieces hanging.
The day after the Private View, I held a Coloured Pencil workshop called ‘Finding Abstraction’. I had 7 ‘students’ all familiar with my style of artwork. All wanting to find their imaginative side! It was a wonderful day, and the students created some colourful and different type of art. The main rule was that there was no right or wrong, just enjoyment.
I love being part of the coloured pencil family. It’s growing quickly!
