Work in Progress…

The piece I’m currently working on will be a companion piece to “Reflections on Heavy Metal,” a winner in the CPSA International Exhibition last summer.  I haven’t titled it yet, but it will be a triptych like the Fender guitar piece.  Here’s a glimpse at one of the panels in the triptych.  (This, like all my work, is Copyright protected.)

This piece is 100% colored pencil on Art Spectrum Colorfix Suede paper.  I wanted to challenge myself and so far, so good!  I’m working on the third panel of the piece now and it is proving to be the most difficult.  I hope to have it completed within the month and be able to move on to something else.

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A Departure From My Norm…

I just finished this piece that I have entered in the CPSA (Colored Pencil Society of America) International Competition.  Works entered are evaluated by a judge and then, if selected (juried in) are shown at the international show and evaluated further for awards.  Just being juried into the show would be a HUGE deal for me, as I failed to make the cut last year.  I decided to depart from my animal art for this piece and do something completely different. This is my son’s Fender Stratocaster.  It’s all in colored pencil and done on Art Spectrum Colorfix Suede paper.  I loved how the paper, which has a velvety surface, combined with the wax and clay in the pencils creating a very painterly effect.  Here’s the piece entitled, “Reflections on Heavy Metal.”  Wish me luck in this year’s competition!  The results are not out until late April.

“Reflections on Heavy Metal” 15.5″x8″
Colored Pencil on Colorfix Suede Paper
Copyright 2012, Lisa M. Mills

Teaching an Old Dog New Tricks

I am so thankful for teachers.  I’m thankful for teachers that teach my son on a daily basis. I’m thankful for artists who are willing to share their art and techniques with others.  Teaching is something that I seriously doubt that I could do and do well.

As an artist who left her drawing tools on the back burner for a few years, I had to reacquaint myself to my craft and the tools that go with it.  I first found a colored pencil artist by the name of Alyona Nickelsen.  She is an accomplished still life artist and fortunately for me and others, is willing to share her techniques with those willing to learn.  She has a book called The Colored Pencil Painting Bible and she offers an online colored pencil painting school.  Last year I began her three courses, finishing the last one in February of this year.  Her instruction and insight helped me infinitely!  Check out Alyona’s work at www.brushandpencil.com. Many of my “instructional” pieces in my gallery were done under Alyona’s tutelage.

I recently discovered another colored pencil artist who specializes in wildlife art.  Beautiful wildlife art.  Her technique amazed me and upon further investigation, I discovered that she also offers a tutorial on her technique.  Her name is Christina Langman and you can find her artwork on her website at www.bigcatart.com. I purchased her tutorial and am now doing a small experimental piece using the new technique in a drawing of a horse.  I’ll post pictures of the process in a forthcoming blog post.

I am grateful for both of these artists and their willingness to share their techniques with others.  Some artists are very tight-lipped about their work and their processes and I respect that. But I view my work as a process and I try to learn every time I sit down at my drafting table.  I learn from the process and I learn from others.  Thank you, Alyona and Christina for your willingness to share!

Color Me Here…

About a year ago, I decided I wanted to venture back into art, mainly just as a hobby or a way to create art for my house.  I started with my graphite pencils and illustrated a drawing of Lucy, my Golden Retriever.

(Artwork Copyright 2010 Lisa M. Mills – All Rights Reserved)

This rendering of Lucy depicts her on her favorite perch – the stairs.  She was unmoved that I was photographing her and moved even less that I illustrated her.  She’s a lazy girl.

That one drawing got me hooked all over again on art (you can see my story on the “About the Artist” page).  I then began to photograph my dogs, birds, critters in the yard – virtually anything I could draw.  I’m slow at my craft, but steady as I rebuild a portfolio.

Last spring, I discovered another artist named Alyona Nickelsen who has a book called “The Colored Pencil Painting Bible.”  Wow.  She is amazing.  I found out she offers an online school and I thought this would be a great way to hone my skills as an artist.  I took Part 1 in September and will be starting Part 2 in November.

Here’s a sample of my accomplishments in Part 1:

My husband suggested I was going “out of my gourd” while I was working on it as it was so intricate.  But I persevered and won the Class Challenge Project (this gourd) for Part 1 of the class. (Each class has a challenge project at the completion of the class, where students are encouraged to submit their work to compete against one another.)  This was rendered in sepia, plus black colored pencil and a colorless blender.

So, thanks for stopping by Color Me Here…I’m looking forward to the journey.