February 2015 – Volume 182

RAISE YOUR ODDSArt Competition Advice

BEAUTIFUL FURIN 10 STEPSLisa Ann Watkins

Artist Profile:

ALAN WOOLLETT

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FEBRUARY 2015T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S

03 FROM MY DESKa note from the editor

04 STEP BY STEPthe diversity of watercolor pencils

07 TIPSandrea carter, visually inclined

08 PROFILEalan woollett

11 ART TECHhow to: easy critiquing lines

12 GRAB BAGart competition advice

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CPAL CORNERagnieszka przyborowski

SHOWCASEcolored pencil art gallery

Editor-In-Chief Ann KullbergDesigner Garry Dimapilis

Copy Editor Susan CottmanContributors Lisa Ann Watkins, Alan Woollett,

Katherine Tyrrell, Bob Ebdon, Debra Rexroat, and Victoria Shewbrook

For Subscription, Purchase and Advertising Informationwww.annkullberg.comann@annkullberg.comPrinter MagCloud

© 2015 annkullberg.com

31313 31 Ave SW Federal Way, WA 98023-7855

Cover Art Angel with Broken Wing27" x 18" by Alan Woollett

Alan is featured in the Artist Profile.

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CRITIQUEvictoria shewbrook

Q&Ayou asked, ann answered!

February – the month for sweethearts and crocuses. It’s my birthday month and it always seems we get a break of sunshine in Seattle in February, giving us hope spring will come. So I’m fond of this short little month. If you’re in need of a little winter hope, you’re welcome to download the high-resolution image of this crocus photo at www.annkullberg.com/pages/crocuses.

It’s time to be thinking about your entry for the 16th Annual Member Show. Deadline is May 27. Lots of information here: annkullberg.com/pages/member-show-info.

Gemma Gylling’s long-awaited CP Cats book is so close to becoming available. Being privy to the images and manuscript, I can tell you unequivocally that this is going to be a bestseller. Gemma’s art is amazing and her instruction is clear, friendly and accessible. We’re all on pins and needles waiting for final drafts, proofs and production. We’ll notify you the moment we’re ready for orders!

Ann Kullbergannkullberg.com

F RO M M Y D E S K

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HORSES & CATS

Visit www.annkullberg.com

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STEP 1 STEP 3STEP 2

The photo – I took approximately 50 photos of this dog both at rest, at work and also interacting with others. Sometimes I take a couple of hundred of my subject in the hope that half a dozen stand out. In this case there was one head pose that outshone the others. I then had the benefit of the other pictures to use as support reference for his chest fur and coloration if needed. I usually edit the photo by adjusting the contrast enough to exaggerate the lights and darks and we are good to go.

I tend to put the first bout of foundation colors down quite quickly, going with my initial feel for the underlying layers of the fur. Sometimes I can use more than 60 different colors in the first half of a single pet portrait, but at this stage I envisage this one to take slightly less. Dark Indigo, Indanthrene Blue, Red Violet, Sanguine, Burnt Ochre, Black and Light Grey 1 go down in a few minutes.

Choice of materials – although I do venture into pastel work, to date I have only ever used the Albrecht Durer pencils. At first I only used them dry, but now I combine them both dry and wet. Undecided at this point as to whether or not a background is needed, I settle for Pastelmat as a support (a firm favorite for fur) and in an anthracite shade. The Pastelmat takes all the abuse I can throw at it with up to 20 layers of pencil, layers of water with no buckling and even scraping off the color with a knife. I then transfer the cropped image to the support sketching in with a Warm Grey 1 pencil.

My feet have not touched the ground and my pencils have not stopped whirring in the past 18 months and I have finally been able to combine my creativity with my passion for animal welfare. I just have the 20 years of not picking up a pencil to make up for now!

When I was asked to submit a step-by-step I tried to think of what I get asked the most, this being, Just exactly how do you create the texture of fur using pencils, and where do you see so many colors in one animal? Whilst out with my camera searching for

a model I was initially looking for a black, Spaniel-type dog, but then I saw this Australian Shepherd and I immediately felt both a connection with his character and a desire to depict his beautiful coloration and texture in pencils.

The Diversity of Watercolor Pencils

‘Aussie’ by Lisa Ann Watkins

After graduating in fashion and textile design in 1992 I went on to spend some time in the costume and bridal wear industry before losing my creative spirit and falling back into a series of office jobs. In August 2012, my husband pushed me to get a hobby so I treated myself to a full set of Faber-Castell Albrecht Durer watercolor pencils. After winning a couple of colored pencil competitions (beginner level!), I started to get asked for commission pieces and so at the start of 2013, with the support of my husband I took the gamble and set up my pet portrait and wildlife art business Animal Art by LAW.

S T E P B Y S T E P

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STEP 6

STEP 4 STEP 5 STEP 7

Now I can start to build the dry layers to create the fur texture. Using the same colors as Step 3 plus a Dark Sepia for some mid-tones, I begin to work in the direction of the fur, always keeping in mind the contour of the ear and the bone structure that is supporting the skin underneath. I know that there will be at least a couple more workings over these areas so they are not worked to completion at this point.

The eyes are not only the window to the soul but they can also portray a mood, a moment or a glimpse into the character, especially in a pet portrait. I usually try to get them in at the initial stage, and this sets the feel for the rest of the composition. This is the first blue type of dog I have portrayed so even for me the eyes took on a slightly different approach to the usual method. As well as drawing what you see and the correct color placement you have to remember the curvature and formation of the eyeball. This is something that follows through when drawing the fur, too; you always have to keep in mind the skeletal structure underneath. I often use artistic license with the highlight placement too, as often there are reflections or a flash may have been used in the reference photo. Dark Indigo, Indanthrene Blue, Bluish Turquoise, Cobalt Turquoise, Sky Blue, Dark Flesh and White are used here.

Still working quickly, I sink back all of the initial colors using water and a size 5 medium bristle brush. This softens some of the color and intensifies the contrast, thereby giving me my foundation underlayer.

Repeating Step 6 across the top of the head, you can begin to feel the animal coming to life now. I work from color to dark to light at this stage and will then repeat the process in the next layers. I also keep on hand a Yasutomo Niji water brush, which is simply a fine brush with an internal barrel to hold the water. It makes me feel less nervous than having a pot of water next to my watercolor pencils; plus, you can control the application. I use it sporadically to increase the contrast in specific areas such as under the left ear, under the eyelids, etc.

S T E P B Y S T E P

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S T E P B Y S T E P

FINAL STEP

STEP 10

Again, keep repeating the process until you have blocked in all of the remaining fur. The neck and the chest area are longer, softer hairs, the chin and muzzle are a little stubbly and the ears are soft and fluffy.

STEP 8

Once I can feel the animal growing in dimension my initial nerves settle, and I begin to relax and just enjoy the rest of the creating. There is always a pressure, especially when working on commissions, to make the picture perfect for the client. I can worry about the portrait development sometimes up to around 80% completion before I relax a little. This is good pressure though as it means you don’t just lapse into drawing regular fur. You stay focused on this very animal. As I know now how much I need to do to bring the fur to completion, I give the subject his mouth and tongue. There are lots of different textures of wet skin here — some rough, others smooth and some reflective. Don’t forget that bone structure, though! I will use water here again to form an underpainting, and then use the pencils straight onto the wet surface to blend colors together: Dark Indigo, Dark Flesh, Light Flesh, Rose Carmine, Sky Blue, Black, Ivory and White.

STEP 9

Back to repeating Step 6 but around the muzzle following the dark to light and then back to dark again. Keep focusing on the different textures of the fur as you go.

I now rework the whole portrait from top to bottom using a couple of methods. I zoom in to each area of the reference on my tablet and work the detail. But then every few minutes I will zoom out and flick my eyes between the screen and the drawing. It is something that I was taught — it’s called spot the difference. You can also squint at the piece to see if you have created enough contrast. I added a couple more colors at this point, too – Mortuum Violet and Nougat to soften

around the top of the head. I usually leave the portrait to one side for a couple of days then and come back to it if anything obvious needs tweaking. This tweaking usually might only take a few minutes, but in this case I didn’t feel he needed it.

Each piece I undertake is a learning curve for me. I hope one day to try other types of colored pencil, but at the moment there isn’t enough time in the day!

www.facebook.com/AnimalArtbyLAWwww.animalartbylaw.co.uk

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T I P S

I have completed my first colored pencil portrait from your Portrait In-Depth kit. It certainly was a new experience and an adventure for me. I had fun doing this kit and feel that it was a totally worthwhile diversion from my usual flower pictures that I love drawing. I feel more comfortable that I can tackle more portraits.

Here are some things I learned in this process:

1. Patience. There’s no hurrying when it comes to laying down the colors for skin tones. Slow and careful are more effective. Also, for a person who is used to doing more burnishing in her work, it was a challenge for me to forego that and focus more on using a lighter touch.

2. Discipline. Following the steps laid out in the kit was key to getting the tones and values right.

3. Artist gum is my best friend, as was the eraser shield. Working with Rose Beige and Clay Rose was a challenge as these colors tended to lay down unwanted globs of color. I had to watch my pencil pressure carefully.

4. It’s OK to include my objectivity and perspective in my drawing. After all, the idea is to create a work of art that is not just a copy of someone else’s art, but a piece that is uniquely mine.

5. Walk away from the work for a while, then go back and see what needs to be tweaked. I found this to be important. I would get frustrated trying to correct and tweak and correct and tweak and end up with something I was less than happy with. By getting away from the drawing for a bit, I found that ideas would pop into my mind as to just what was needed to fix something that didn’t seem quite right.

6. On the other hand, don’t get obsessive about tweaking. And when you feel you are done, that’s most likely the best time to call it a wrap. I have a tendency to want to keep on adding and tweaking and sometimes that can backfire. I probably could have added more layers, but I didn’t want to end up overdoing it. I came to a point where I felt I had achieved what I wanted to and laid down my pencils and applied fixative to avoid the temptation to do more and more.

Anyway, I hope you like my first effort and welcome any comments you wish to make that will add to my education.

AndreaCarter

Visually InclinedLet’s face it; we artists are visual people and seeing something is what motivates us all. With that in mind, I have two video recommendations for you this month!

First: Cynthia Knox (author of our new CP Horses book) has a fabulous new video workshop on Craftsy. Learn to build eye-catching depth with value shifts between shadows, midtones and highlights. Make your drawing look more like a painting with burnishing techniques and create expressive painterly effects with blending techniques. Be sure to check it out!

www.craftsy.com/class/vivid-flowers-in-colored-pencil/4904

Second: Colored pencil artists are mostly natural-born sitters! One of my New Year’s resolutions this year was to walk more, but it’s too rainy to enjoy walking outside in the Pacific Northwest in winter, and I get bored out of my skull on the treadmill. Then I found something awesome: Walking videos. I love to travel but don’t have time or funds to get to all the places I’d love to see, so when I stumbled on www.vitadvds.com I got excited. I downloaded the Rome

Walking Tour and fell in love. I will absolutely be buying more walking videos (also available as DVDs). I look forward to walking through Egypt, Istanbul and Italy on my treadmill soon. All their videos have sample clips. Getting off my fanny has never been so enticing!

North Carolina couple Wayne and Kathi Jacobs produce these perfect walking videos.

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Alan Woollett

I began to enjoy drawing a lot more as a schoolboy and would often be asked to draw pop stars and film stars by friends and later work colleagues. After many years in a variety of jobs, I returned to art college to study graphic design and illustration.

As a design student I learned composition skills, how to build up an idea using thumbnail sketches and how to incorporate elements to hopefully create good art! I guess it’s possible that people may look at my work and not

By learning to use watercolor my mind was opened to the use of color – something I had avoided as a graphite artist. I painted birds in watercolor for a few years and began to introduce colored pencil into my work to speed up the addition of fine details. This was laborious with a size O paintbrush, and colored pencils seemed the answer to my prayers.

Over time I was using colored pencils more and more until I eventually completed two works in colored pencils which sold straight away. This was the point where I decided to try and complete my color pictures in colored pencil. And so far, so good! The techniques I use with colored pencils are similar to those one would use with watercolor.

I usually create an under drawing of the picture’s elements using a key color within. I work from light to dark, building up layers to achieve form and depth – using the paper to create highlights. I use Faber Castell Polychromos pencils, as they work well with my techniques. I have tried several other brands but always come back to these. I think another reason I favor that brand is that they work well with the paper I use – Fabriano Artistico Smooth HP extra white 300gsm. It’s not too smooth or rough, so it works well

realize how much thinking and preparation have gone into it.

After leaving college, with a head packed full of creative possibilities, I was fortunate enough to learn watercolor painting from a local artist who taught me the methods and steps involved. These lessons invariably included painting a dead bird or a part of one. Looking back now it was obviously this period that reignited my interest in birds.

Since my early childhood I have been keen on drawing and birds. I remember sitting with my mother on wintry days watching the birds on our bird table as they huddled up to keep warm and ate nuts and seeds as the snow fell all around them.

P RO F I L E

Pelican

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P RO F I L E

Magpie

Pied Flycatcher

with my pencils. Having said that, I have been given several other popular papers to try, and they all seem very good too.

I never draw my compositions directly onto the paper. Instead, I draw the picture on sketching paper, which allows me to make any corrections, additions or subtractions before committing the picture to the Fabriano. This is because the paper will only withstand a certain amount of correcting and erasing before it loses its tooth or becomes marked in some way.

My studio is away from our house in a 12' x 8' outbuilding, and I can usually be found there for about three to five hours on most days and often again in the evening. I like that I can walk out and lock the door and leave my work behind me. This stops me from being tempted to keep popping in to do a little more drawing.

“ As a design student I learned composition skills,

how to build up an idea using thumbnail sketches

and how to incorporate elements to hopefully create

good art!”

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Having a studio also has its advantages in spring and summer as the sun floods in and birdsong can be heard in the trees. The flip side to this is winter when the temperature can on occasion drive me back to the house since working in temperatures of 5˚C (40˚F) and colder takes a lot of getting used to. But all things considered I’m fully appreciative that I’m able to spend my time hopefully conveying the beauty of the natural world to others.

Last year, for the first time, I led a week-long workshop for other colored pencil enthusiasts in the U.S. We created a bird drawing, incorporating many of the textures and techniques used in my work. For anyone interested, I will be running another colored pencil workshop in Lindale, Texas in May 2015 and possibly in October 2015 on a similar theme. Details are available from Maureen Killaby at mkillaby@suddenlink.net.

Alan Woollett lives and works in southeast England. After leaving art college he ventured into wildlife art. His particular passion is birds. He has exhibited with the Society of Wildlife Artists (SWLA) and the National Exhibition of Wildlife Art (NEWA). In 1999 he was Birdwatch magazine’s International Bird Artist of the Year. He has also exhibited several times with the highly prestigious Birds in Art Exhibition at the Woodson Art Museum in Wisconsin. He has had work published in several magazines and has art in collections around the world. He is working on his first book which will be available to buy in 2016.www.facebook.com/alanwoollettbirdart

Woodpecker

Scarlet Ibis

P RO F I L E

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1 Open PowerPoint, then click on Insert > Picture. If you need landscape format

instead of portrait format for your page, you can change that by clicking on Design > Slide Orientation.

2 Insert your art image and your photo image. PowerPoint will resize both to fit

across the page. This one was easy because the art and photo are the same size. You may have to adjust the size of your art or photo if you’ve cropped one or the other. Double-click on the image, then resize by clicking on the up and down arrows for the height or width (found on the right side of the upper tool bar).

4 If you want to change the width or color of the lines, double-click on the

line, then click on Shape Outline, and then change weight and color.

Here I’ve changed the page orientation to landscape and moved the images next to each other. PowerPoint will let you place things outside the border, so I didn’t have to make the images small enough to fit.

Hope this helps. When in doubt with a drawing, I always use lines. They are the most helpful checking tool I know of.

Here’s what I have after adding six vertical lines in key spots.

A RT T E C H

Easy Critiquing Lines in Microsoft PowerPoint and Word

by Ann Kullberg

We get the same question often: “How do I put those lines on my images the way you do in the Critique section.” My usual answer is that you need a graphics program, but it hit me the other day that you could easily do the same thing with PowerPoint or Word. Here are the directions for how to do it. The only real difference for Word is that you’ll have to double-click each image in Word, and then choose Text-wrapping > Square to place the images on the page where you want them.

3 With images placed, you can now add your lines on top by clicking on Insert >

Shapes > Lines. To make straight lines, hold down the Shift key as you move your mouse across or down over the images.

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8 Tips for Entering Art Competitions

With CPSA’s 23rd Annual Exhibition deadline approaching, we thought a series of helpful articles would be timely. We hope you learn loads from our kind contributors, all of whom have been very generous in sharing their insights.

G R A B BAG

JUDGING: Who is Looking at Your Work?

1. Aim for a good fit between your work and the competition. It’s a complete waste of time, effort and entry fees to submit to competitions which are not a good fit with your artwork. It’s wise to do some research before you start to create an entry. If possible, I always try and see an open exhibition first before submitting work – partly to see what sort of work gets hung, but also to decide whether my work is, or could be, a good fit. Another good reason for researching the competition is to understand its purpose and to see whether again it’s something that you’d want to be associated with.

2. Be yourself. Genuinely innovative work or work which provides a new look and a different way of creating art is like a breath of fresh air. Being yourself and being different can often get your work noticed. This may sound as if it contradicts the first point. However, there’s a lot of difference between being aware of what a competition is about and the sort of work it attracts and copying what seems

to be popular. Do not do the latter – make your work your own.

3. Only submit eligible artwork by an eligible artist. This means you must read the terms and conditions of the call for entries at the beginning very carefully. Then read it again. Read once more just before you submit to make sure you got it right. You’d be surprised how many people make very simple mistakes, such as framing work and then realizing that it exceeds the size limits! Given the trend towards internationalization, it’s wise to check whether a competition is genuinely open to all or whether entry is limited (e.g., to artists who live and work in the UK).

4. Work out the time and cost involved in submitting your work. If it’s a national competition, shipping or travel costs associated with submission might be very expensive. However, also be aware that quite a few national art society competitions have regional pick-up points, and this can make a big difference in submission costs.

by Katherine Tyrrell

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Here Come De Judge!

G R A B BAG5. Make sure you submit top-notch digital images. Organizations

running art competitions are often criticized for the expenses involved relative to the chances of a successful submission. One of the ways they can cut your costs is to ask for initial submissions by digital image. The importance of good scanning and photography, color balance and cropping images accurately is often highlighted when you get a chance to see entries online. It’s a good idea to either employ a photographer or get better at taking photographs and then preparing and presenting them for submission.

6. Check out the jurors. Is your work likely to be a good fit with the art they appear to like? For example, if you paint traditional realism and they appear to like cutting edge contemporary, there may well be a problem!

7. Remember: Selection is personal! Not getting selected does not mean your art is no good. It just means that it didn’t appeal to this particular juror or panel in this particular year. I’ve seen

I have judged some local art shows, told the judges what to look for in UKCPS Exhibitions, judged a UKCPS Exhibition, and was the sole judge of the inaugural Pencil Art Society (PAS) members-only Online Internet Juried Exhibition in 2013. So when Ann asked for some comments on what judges are looking for, I felt qualified to reply. As the 2013 exhibition was my most recent work as a judge, most of what follows is based on my experiences there.

When you choose a judge, you accept that they bring their own prejudices, their own views and their own experience to the judging. This is inevitable. One way to counter this is to appoint a jury of three

different judges, ask them to pick 70 pictures each, and then show the 40 they all agree on. If the sole responsibility is given to one judge, it is a heavy one. All judges can do is be honest about what they like and don’t

Excerpted from Katherine Tyrrell’s Making A Mark – a top art blog – No. 3 in the UK and No. 7 in the world. Reprinted with permission.

artwork rejected from one competition win top awards in the next competition it gets submitted to. Ask Jeff George, CPSA – one of his pieces was submitted to the CPSA Open in 2008 and was not selected, but he resubmitted it the next year, and it won the major prize at CPSA 2009! (See below for image and my comment.)

8. Only submit your best work. It sounds obvious; however, to know what is your best work you need to have some feedback from people who are equipped to comment and whom you can trust. If submitting more than one work, submit a body of strong and consistent work. Think about the added benefit of a series or a group of works which relates well in terms of topic and palette and the overall caliber of the work. The chances of getting your work are enhanced if you demonstrate that you're not just a one-trick pony. Remember, though, that one weak work can harm the chances of the other work submitted and one standout piece of work can also do the same – for different reasons!

by Bob Ebdon, Founder, United Kingdom Coloured Pencil Society (UKCPS)

Life and Death, 8.5" x 32", colored pencil, © Copyright Jeff George The CIPPY Award and CPSA Best in Show Award ($2,500)

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like, and consistently apply criteria to all entrants. That is what I tried to do. The results reflected my feelings about art. They will never please everyone. I was not trying to please everyone. I was trying to fulfill the brief I was given to the best of my ability. Ideally, the judge’s criteria should be established by the brief from the organizing body and this brief should be communicated well in advance to prospective entrants.

My brief from the PAS was to “select the best art...based on originality of the subject, drawing skills, values, colors, composition, rendering, etc.” I liked the “etc.,” as this implied that I had some leeway to use my own criteria. So I set up my own mark scheme, based on my previous experience of judging UKCPS and other art exhibitions. I allocated marks to reflect the brief I had been given, and my personal artistic values. I stress again that this is how I work – probably something to do with scientific training! It is by no means the only way to judge, nor do I proffer it as the best way to work – it works for me.

So what are my values? For me, art is not just about technique. Art is about communication. It is about an emotional response, about showing the viewer something new or hidden, about telling a story and about showing wonder. Great skill and technique can help in this, or sometimes they can hinder. Hence the et cetera. I added what I call emotional content to the list I was given. This could be something as simple as “Did the picture interest me?” or “I had never noticed that before” right up to “This picture makes me cry.” I then had several categories about technical aspects, and one wild card that I had to allocate marks for.

I chose to do the following:

Originality – 15 marks: How unusual is the subject? How often have I seen this done before?

Values/Colors – 15 marks: Is a full tonal range used (not just white to black), but a full range of tones in-between? How good are the flesh tones? Are the colors used effective in conveying the meaning of the picture?

Technical Skill – 20 marks: How is the perspective? Are techniques such as impressed line used properly? How solid do the objects look? How well drawn is it?

Composition – 20 marks: Are classical rules of composition followed, or deliberately and effectively ignored? Where does the eye go? Could the composition be improved with a better crop, or by moving or eliminating elements?

Emotional Content – 30 marks: Does the picture interest or intrigue me? Does it evoke a response – make me laugh, puzzled or cry? Does it make me see something ordinary as wonderful?

I hope you can see how complex this is, but also how open to different structuring it might be, and how subjective it is. Other judges might have create entirely different categories to judge, though I cannot think what they might be! And they could certainly have given different amounts of marks for each of the categories I chose. I allocated 30 marks – nearly one-third of the total – to Emotional Content, for example, because I feel this is so important. Other judges

may have knocked this down and increased marks for Technical Skill or Composition. It is all very personal.

So this gave me a score out of 100 for every picture. Did I just take the top 60? No way. I may have a mathematical bent, but I also have a soul.

I had to go back to the brief for the next stage of judging, because it stated that no artist could have more than two pictures in the exhibition, and most had submitted three. Now if two of an artist’s images were worth putting on show, you can bet that the third was as well! This caused me as a judge some heartache as I had to exclude several good pictures. It was a case of looking at the three and eliminating the least excellent one! I then had to balance the exhibition.

By this stage the top 40 or so pictures were pretty clear to me. There was another batch of 40 or so that were definitely not under consideration – usually because they were unoriginal, I had seen the image done better before, they were technically not competent, or they were just uninteresting. To me, that is – someone else may have loved them! The remaining 40 were all within a few marks of each other, and I had to select about half of these to get a total of 60 for the exhibition, as stipulated in the brief. Here is where I was able to judge pictures against each other directly, and try to fulfill another part of the brief – to get a balanced selection of subject matter, styles and media. As often seems the case in exhibitions of pencil work, the entries were very heavy on horses, portraits and flowers. So unfortunately, a lot of these were overlooked in this part of the selection process in favor of unusual subjects. The entries were also biased in favor of colored pencil, and again at this stage mixed media and graphite work stood more chance of getting through. If I had two images of similar subjects scoring similarly in my crude marking system, the more unusual medium got favored. And in comparing two colored pencil pictures which scored similarly, the more unusual subject got favored. But I was still cognizant of another stipulation to choose the best art, irrespective of media. Again, as you can see, subjective, unscientific, entirely personal – and it cannot be any other way.

My final task in the exhibition was to allocate awards. For UKCPS exhibitions, in my time, we used a jury of three judges to select pictures for the exhibition. We asked them to score on a system we gave them, and then total the scores. We then asked someone we respected to go along to award prizes. It is much better to see the works in person and pick favorites. I have done that, and it is so much more informative to see the actual work to get an impression of size and degree of finish. As the PAS exhibition was online, this was not possible, and I was given a list of awards I could allocate.

On my scoring system, 23 pictures had scored higher than 90. The standard was incredibly high. Brilliance of technique and composition, composition, as well as originality, were a givena given for these top pictures. So it came down to a very personal reaction to each image. I gave awards to the images that moved me most.

Hope this helps!

G R A B BAG

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It was a wonderful learning experience. The entrants were asked to interpret a lovely sepia-toned vintage photo of a Ziegfeld Follies girl. I was enlightened about the process of painting and firing colors, in some cases many layers, when what is painted on the porcelain often changes dramatically in the firing — even more so than watercolors drying lighter or acrylics drying darker! I was delighted to see the diversity of artistic interpretation: The artists did everything from a near match of the photo reference, including one or two in sepia tones or another monochromatic scheme, to taking liberties with the color of her hair to the design of her attire, with several artists being bold in leaving out or adding elements to make the image their own.

I decided that I would process my evaluation as transparently as possible, as I have always benefitted from jurors’ comments and critiques on those rare occasions when I received them in shows I had entered. So, on the day I posted my final decisions, I discussed each one of the 20 or so submissions, first pointing out strengths and then discussing areas that might have been handled differently or that could use more practice. Some of the artists freehanded their

We hate waste, so last month we sent three of our products that were slightly damaged to the Colored Pencil Painters Guild (CPPG – The Villages in Florida), thinking they might use them as door prizes at their monthly meetings. Instead, I received this heart-warming report:

We decided to have a silent auction at our December meeting, offering tickets at $1 per ticket. We had the three prizes on display. Participants put their tickets in holiday bags that corresponded with each prize. The auction went well, with $109 collected. That money will go to Supporting and Encouraging Young Artists (SEYA). This organization is composed of volunteer CPPG members who go to area schools to conduct CP sessions in their associated

portraits, while others must have used a tracing or other transfer of the reference, as there were hints that the drawing skills in the group varied widely.

I then explained how I chose the six finalists, mentioning uniqueness of technique, interpretation, choice of palette, risk-taking, drawing and other artistic skill. I elaborated on how I chose the winner, and expressed that they were certainly all winners, having tackled a subject (portraiture) that was unfamiliar and a challenge to most of them!

This was a most rewarding experience for me as an artist. I had to grow and develop new skills for looking at and discussing art done with a wide range of skills and abilities, in a medium I have never experienced. I sharpened my critical evaluation skills, and I learned how to articulate the evaluation process so that others might learn from what I had observed. The comments and compliments I received were gratifying and uplifting, and affirmed that I had met the task well. The artists especially appreciated the feedback I gave them, I believe, because it was honest and was given to help fortify their growth.

art classes. I am a new member of that organization. Some area schools are very receptive to our coming in for several weeks to introduce CP. Thought you would like to know how much your donated items are enabling this project.

I love their attitude! I wanted to include this here because I thought it was both a clever way to raise group funds, and also thought some of you might want to start a similar organization in your community. If you have questions for SEYA, you can contact Bob Koudelka at koudelkare@comcast.net

CPPG: www.emssdi.com/CPPG

G R A B BAG

Evaluating Art Competitions: My Wonderful Experience

Back in 2009 a fellow Strokes of Genius portrait forum member asked me if I would be interested in judging a portrait competition among an online group of china painters. Having no experience at either evaluating a show of works by other artists, or with painting on porcelain, I dove into research to prepare for this venture. I was familiar with much of the criteria used in juried shows, as I had experience entering such shows and kept abreast of what jurors look for, but I wanted to become sufficiently knowledgeable about this medium, and the judging process, to feel confident in fulfilling the task.

by Debra Rexroat

Paying It Forward

CPAL MEMBER’S PROFILE

Agnieszka Przyborowski

My name is Agnieszka Przyborowski, and I’ve been drawing and painting pretty much all my life with some breaks in between. I work mainly in colored pencils and graphite. I like a variety of subject matter when drawing, but the most challenging for me are self-portraits. When I joined CPAL in 2012, I found the group very inspiring and friendly. I check it daily for new artists and their incredible talent.

For more information you can visit my FB page at www.facebook.com/agnieszkasart.

CPAL FEATURED ARTWORKSExpert: Step by Step by Julie PodstolskiAdvanced: Self Portrait by Agnieszka PrzyborowskiBeginner: Jenko by Kathy Auger Patterson

We would like to welcome artists who have a like-minded love for colored pencils and a desire to share and grow. Come join the CPAL family!

Visit us at www.facebook.com/groups/cpalportal.

C PA L C O R N E R

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Sexy Z9" x 12"

Judith J. Roat

Dutch, the New York Yorkie11" x 14"

Catherine Garneauwww.w i l d a t a r t p a i n t i n g s . c om

S H OWC A S E

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Halved16" x 20"

Jeffrey M. Greenj e f f r eymg r e e n a r t i s t . c om

C R I T I QU E

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This month’s critique is a portrait by

Victoria ShewbrookI have been working with colored pencils since the 1980s. Not until two years ago did I know there were other colored pencil artists around the globe, doing their art and excelling in it. This piece was eight hours in the making. I was trying to meet a deadline for the Eyes theme for Ann’s 15th Annual Theme Show. I know I pushed myself without much time for review, but I would like Ann Kullberg to review it and see what could have been done better.

I have to start by saying that doing any portrait of any size in colored pencil in only eight hours is quite a feat. When I first started looking at the piece, I wondered if the skin tones weren’t completely developed because they were intended to be stylized, or if Victoria was rushing. But having read her comments, I can see that it was definitely a matter of time. Considering the time crunch, I think the skin tones are lovely, quite warm and smoothly applied with nice soft edges. And the woman’s eyebrows are very well done. I can see close attention was paid to them and that makes me so happy because it’s something I always harp on. A bad eyebrow can ruin a perfectly fine likeness.

Compositionally, Victoria made good choices in leaving out the white triangle above the baby’s head and below the chin. It’s a touching image and a great one for our last theme show. When we look at the images with horizontal lines, we can see that very little is off.

PROPORTIONBut vertical lines show us where the drawing became a little distorted. Start your eye on the photo on a particular line and follow it down to the art. See where the red line is very near the top of her eyelid on the photo but below it on the portrait? Also note where the white line and infant intersect on the photo and how close the mother’s eye is to that white line? On the portrait, that eye shifted to the right quite a bit, and also widened. The baby’s eye in the portrait is slightly smaller and higher, as you can see from the black line. Finally, the pink line shows us that the eyebrow in the portrait is also too high.

Here’s a closer look at three things:

Woman’s lower eye was enlarged.

Baby’s eye was narrowed (angles are slightly closer together).

Baby’s iris is rounder in the art than the photo.

Q & A

19

Victoria’s irises are too light to be realistic, although since the portrait is somewhat stylized, it looks less unnatural than if it were highly realistic. Here’s a quick look at the difference in values between photo and art. These are values from within the iris and not the pupil. You can see that the values of Victoria’s skin tones are quite similar to the photo, but not the eyes. A few more layers of color (including grays) would make the eyes more believable.

It was a lovely addition to our 15th Annual Theme Show, Victoria, and thank you for being brave enough to submit your eight-hour drawing for a critique!

VALUEI have noticed that it is very common for people to draw the irises much lighter than they really are. I believe we notice the color of eyes more than we notice the value. But when irises are left too light they tend to look glassy and unnatural. Here’s an example:

Q: Can you recommend a good pencil sharpener? I have a Panasonic that makes a long lead to get a sharp point, the Prismacolor torpedo-shaped hand-held, and a battery-operated Derwent, but none of them work well.

A: Panasonic is what I use now, although eventually I’ll have to replace the ones I’ve hoarded as they wear out. For traveling, I use a Foray, which is inexpensive and does the trick as it can be either battery or electric powered. The Foray is inconsistent, though, so you may have to purchase a few to get a good one (and return the lousy ones).

People seem to be quite happy with the X-acto School Pro, although it’s on the more expensive end.

My advice is to never use a hand-held sharpener at all, though. Electric is far superior. Hand-held sharpeners tend to tug and torque the cylinder of lead inside the casing, resulting in breakage, sometimes throughout the entire pencil lead.

Q: I have a question about the elderly woman kit. Will using the Pitt pens disqualify you for colored pencil entries in contests? Or will it be a mixed media artwork?

A: It would not disqualify you from entering our annual Member Show, or our Facebook shows, but each organization has different rules. Since it would definitely be considered mixed media, it would disqualify you from entering the CPSA Annual Exhibition, but not from their annual Explore This! show, which allows mixed media.

Q: I had many back issues of the magazine on my iPad, but when I updated the operating system, they disappeared from my iBooks. What can I do?

A: This happened to me, also. If you’re missing issues, you can email us. After checking which issues you’ve purchased in the past, we will send you links to any missing issues again.

Q&A: You asked, Ann answered!

Submit your art questions to Ann!ann@annkullberg.com

CP – Ann Kullberg’s Magazine for Colored Pencil Artists February 2015 www.annkullberg.com

CP Wildlife WorkshopLearn from the Master – Gemma GyllingWildlife Photography and Colored PencilAt the stunning Triple D Game Farm –0 MontanaMay 29 - June 1, 2015

The Triple D Game Farm is one of the only places to photograph and sketch fantastic wildlife just a few feet from you, in a natural setting.

Each Morning: Accompany Gemma into the field to photograph two speciesEach Afternoon: Draw these magnificent animals with Gemma's expert instruction

Once in a lifetime opportunity! Very limited space – don't wait to sign up.

Registration and Info: www.glassgems.net

Dear Danette:

I received your table-top easel today and was delighted to discover how lightweight it is. I’ve been schlepping around awkward drawing boards for years. The lovely thing about your easel is that I can see myself taking it wherever I go, whether from room to room or when I’m traveling. I can even use it in the car during driving trips! Thank you so much!

PS: I’ve been sitting in my living room with my easel in my lap drawing for about 2 hours and have none of my usual aches and pains from sitting in one position for so long. This purchase was a winner!

Barbara Minor, January 6, 2015

danettesmithpyro.weebly.com/ table-top-easel.html

danettesmith@outlook.com