Tag Archives: drawing

Fading Light

This latest drawing was based on one of my favourite photographs. The image was taken at a local park, with the poppy and foliage beautifully backlit by the fading sunshine. It is the most challenging piece that I have worked on in coloured pencil and took a long time to complete. The difficult areas were trying to capture the different focal points, the contrast between light and shade, and especially drawing all those tiny hairs on the stems and buds!

“Fading Light” 7″ x 10″ Faber-Castell Polychromos & Prismacolor Verithins on Grafix Drafting Film

Centre Stage

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My latest artwork “Centre Stage” was completed a few months ago and was inspired by a beautiful bed of tulips and pansies at a local park – they captured my attention shimmering in the afternoon light. It is the first time that I have tackled such a complicated background but I enjoyed the challenge, especially in drawing the out of focus areas. These require careful blending on the edges of each shape.

“Centre Stage” Faber-Castell Polychromos & Caran d’Ache Luminance on Drafting Film 8.5″ x 7″

My drawing was selected to be published in the 5th volume of “CP Treasures: Colored Pencil Masterworks from Around the Globe” which was released earlier this month. It is an amazing compilation of coloured pencil works from artists around the world and the book features a wide variety of subject matter utilising different techniques and surfaces. If you would like to purchase a copy you can go to Ann Kullberg’s website here.

I also entered this piece in the Australian Society of Coloured Pencil Artist’s Annual Colourbrations Exhibition and was thrilled to receive an “Honorable Mention”. You can view the online exhibition and award winners here. I was asked to contribute a short article to their December newsletter.

I’m looking forward to the year ahead – I have started on my next floral piece and then I hope to try some different subject matter and attempt some still life pieces. Happy New Year!

A New Year, A New Drawing

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I have just finished a new drawing of some orange clivia flowers from a reference photo I took at a local park. It was completed in a relatively short time for me, having started a couple of months ago. I am still finding blurry backgrounds a challenge, but with lots of patience and careful blending, I think I am slowly getting there.

This drawing is one of two pieces that have been accepted into the ‘Petite Pieces’ exhibition at Aspire Gallery in Brisbane. The exhibition opens on 1st February and features smaller works up to 40 cm x 40 cm.

“Hidden” Faber-Castell Polychromos on Drafting Film, 10″ x 7″

Step-by-Step Tutorial

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A couple of years ago, I was honoured to be asked to develop a step-by-step tutorial for two floral drawings on drafting film. It was a daunting prospect as I haven’t done anything like that before, and I wondered if I would be able to adequately describe all the processes that go into creating an artwork. I decided to give it a try and I chose close up views of a red poppy (see previous post) and a pink dahlia, using Faber-Castell Polychromos pencils.

“Pink Perfection” Faber-Castell Polychromos on drafting film, 8″ x 7.5″

Having two jobs, it took me a long time to do, but it was finally released last week on Ann Kullberg’s website. The project kit includes information on drafting film, tips and techniques, lists of supplies and colours used, the reference photos, thirty scanned steps in total, and line art to trace for both drawings. It is available for sale as a PDF download or in print form for $12.99 (US) here.