WHY COLORED PENCIL?

The most common questions or comments I get when displaying my works are “Is that Colored Pencil?” or “Why Colored pencil?”. I would like to address them by sharing some simple but interesting facts about my most favorite medium.

Colored pencil has been a fine art medium for a very long time. It’s being rediscovered now for its possibilities of achieving variety of finishes by incorporating various techniques. Throughout the years it’s been steadily gaining popularity among collectors and galleries worldwide. Compared to several traditional art mediums its safe, clean and easily portable!

I chose colored pencils for their versatility and precision. The medium satisfies my craving for simple line drawings as well as fully saturated paintings with lots of detail. The process of building each piece stroke by stroke is very meditative! I use professional grade colored pencils which are lightfast(the ability to resist fading in direct sunlight) like Prismacolor, Koh-I-Noor Polycolor, Derwent Coloursofts and Caran d’ache luminance. These have a much higher wax and pigment concentration which produces rich and luminescent color. My preferred choice of support is the Ampersand pastelbord, which is a textured, archival sanded hardboard surface that’s very forgiving.

TECHNIQUE

My technique involves using water soluble wax crayon as a base layer and adding several layers of colored pencils on top to complete the drawing. I then blend them using bristle brush to create vivid, saturated works of art. I finish by spraying my work with Varnish and UV spray and frame them without glass.

Colored Pencils can also be used on a variety of non-traditional surfaces like ceramics , wood and stone to name a few. To learn more about my technique and this versatile medium check out my classes and workshops – click here.