Wildlife/Animal Workshop in October

I will be giving a workshop at our local CPSA District Chapter in Livermore, CA. The workshop will be held October, 24-25, 2009. If any of you are interested in the details please let me know.

Here is a brief summery of the workshop I will be giving:

Participants in Gemma's workshop will learn to create realistic animals using colored pencils. By learning to draw an animal's eye, nose, mouth and fur, participants will master the steps needed to create believable looking animals. Students will learn how some common household items can be used to blend, burnish, impress lines and create very believable animal characteristics.

Gemma will share her secrets on the best ways to break a reference photo down to small manageable sections rather than viewing the drawing as a whole. There will be a discussion on photography as it pertains to your animal/wildlife artwork and Gemma will share how to create a good composition from your own reference photos. She'll discuss the best ways to create a great drawing utilizing Photoshop to combine photos, including discussions on what to consider and how to avoid mistakes when putting an animal into a surrounding area or scene.

On the second day the participants will learn how to draw a portrait of a Lion cub. The reference photo you will be working from is from a photo shoot that Gemma took while on an African Photo Safari. You will learn how to create the realistic look of young cub using Colored Pencils on Uart Paper.

For the complete flyer of the workshop go to: http://glassgems.net/GemmaGyllingOct2009Workshop.pdf

Our Alaskan Trip

Well we had a wonderful time while we were in Alaska. We saw lots of wildlife, ate lots of food and was lucky enough to have wonderful weather. We went on several excursions to get a way from the ship and see Alaska. While we were out we saw grizzly bears, black bears, orca, humpback whales, bald eagles and hawks. Here are a few of my favorite photos I took, while on the trip. Enjoy!!

CPSA Convention & Exhibition

Wow what a week. I arrived at the Marriott hotel in Duluth, GA Sunday July 26 and left Sunday August 2. During that time I was learning my new position as Conventions Director on the National Governing Board of CPSA. While learning the new job, kept me quite busy I still had a wonderful time and enjoyed meeting lots of people.

The Exhibition was incredible! Jeff George's piece, "Life and Death", won the CIPPY award and was a site to behold. There was a hidden item in the artwork, you just have to go to his site and find it. Here is the link to that piece on Jeff's site: http://www.jeffgeorgeart.com/jeffgeorgeart/Life_and_Death.html

Another one of my favorite pieces was Elizabeth Patterson's titled, "Sunset at Sweetzer, 11 PM". Her work is simply wonderful. Her artwork was one of the top three awards. Here is the link to that piece on her site: http://www.eapatterson.com/pages/SUNSET_AT_SWEETZER_11pm.html

There were several other pieces I really liked. If you get a chance you can order the DVD from CPSA which has the entire show on it along with the Explore This 5 exhibition. It is definitely a must see.

I didn't have a chance to take many pictures because I was running around learning the new job. If you want to see a fantastic write up on the convention go to Teresa Mallen's blog, she did a wonder job with lots of pictures. Here's her link: http://teresamallenstudio.blogspot.com/

Sorry this post is so short. I am getting ready to head for Alaska. I won't be able to get much artwork done while I'm gone so I most likely won't have a post on my current artwork for a while either. Hopefully I when I get back I will have some great photos of Grizzley bears to show you.

Artwork From Pastel Workshop by Lesley Harrison

I have to say that Lesley Harrison is one of the nicest people you would want to meet. She is very generous and a great teacher. Her artwork is absolutely Excellent!

The workshop was three days long and it was in Placerville, CA. The first day we worked on techniques and started to do a kittens eye. The second and third day we worked on this adorable little kitten named "Lola".

Lola was done on Velour dry mount paper in a light gray color. We used soft pastels, hard pastels and some pastel pencils. I just loved working with the pastels on the Velour paper, it gives you such a soft look and yet it allows you to get the detail in as well.

I will definitely be doing more of my animals with Pastels on Velour. I had a great time and really liked Lesley's process to achieve the realism I love to get.

If you ever get a chance to take a Workshop from Lesley, I highly recommend it. She is a wonderful artist and a great teacher. She said she was going to be doing another workshop in Sutter Creek, CA in November. I'm sure the information regarding this upcoming workshop would be posted on her website. Here's the link: http://www.harrison-keller.com/

"Africa From the Back Side" Photography

In September, 2008 my husband and I took a trip to South Africa. That had to be the best vacation I have ever taken. We went to two Game Reserve Parks and I took over 5,000 pictures of the animals. Wow... what an experience.

I recently decided to try to enter some of my photos in a photography contest given by "Photography Forum Magazine". One of the photos I entered was the zebras on the left. I titled the photograph, "Africa From The Back Side". From what I understand, there were 3,500 photographers that entered that contest. I entered 4 of my photos. I just got a letter from the magazine telling me that one of my photos was accepted. I was so excited I was literally jumping up and down. The accepted photos will be published in a coffee table book titled "Best of Photography 2009". They still need to judge the show for the winners and we will hear the results of that judging August, 17, 2009. I don't expect to win anything but, I am just absolutely thrilled that I was accepted in the show along with being published in the book.

If you are interested in the information about the contest you can go to this link: http://www.pfmagazine.com/index.aspx

Hiding Place - CPSA Silent Auction Donation

This Sunday I will be leaving for the Colored Pencil Society of America's 17th Annual Exhibition and Convention. I was invited to donate one of my small pieces of artwork for the Silent Auction.

The piece I am donating is this little raccoon, the title of the piece is "Hiding Place". It's 10" x 7" and matted to 11" x 14". It's 100% Colored Pencils done on UArt 800 grit. I mostly use Prismacolor pencils and Derwent Studio pencils. Some times I do use some of the other brands. I found that it really doesn't matter if you mix the oil based and wax based pencils. I haven't had a problem doing this. This was the first piece I did on the UArt sanded surface paper. I just love that paper and I am sure I will be doing many more of my Colored Pencil pieces on that surface. If you haven't used it yourself I highly recommend it.

The reference photo for this little guy was one that I took while I was in Kalispell, Montana. There were two raccoons, they were so cute so I got lots and lots of pictures of them. I'm sure I will do more art from those reference photos. I found it is always fun to do artwork from your own photos. It's a real sense of accomplishment.

Zebra's Laughing Out Loud - WIP Continued

Well... I was able to get another one of the zebras in. I thought I would post what I have done so far.

Tomorrow I am going to go to the three day workshop I talked about in another post. I will be learning to do Animals in Pastels. I'm really looking forward to taking this workshop. The instructor is Lesley Harrison. In case you want to see her work here is a link to her website: http://www.harrison-keller.com/

Anyway.... back to the zebras. I like how these are coming along. In fact I kind of wish I would have done them larger like I usually do. These are only 8" x 10", that's a lot smaller than I usually work. I really like the Artboard with Arches hot press water color paper on it. I love how the pencils lay down and it seems to take lots of layers.

I probably won't be able to get much work done on these in the next couple of weeks. I have lots going on but if I do I will be sure to post the progress.

Zebra's Laughing Out Loud - WIP Continued

I was finally able to get some work done on this piece. Here's a quick update.

I think I really like the Artboard surface. It seems to accept a lot of layers and is quite easy to blend the colored pencils. I'm looking forward to seeing what the piece looks like once it's varnished and in a frame.

This is a really fun piece and I am really enjoying creating it.

Gemma Gylling Workshop - TBA

Hi All,

Sorry I haven't posted lately. I have been gone for about a week and I'm now preparing for the Colored Pencil Society of America Convention.

Most likely I won't have an update on the zebras for a while because this month I am just swamped with things going on. Next week I will be going to the Pastel workshop taught by Lesley Harrison. After that I will be going to the CPSA 17th Annual Exhibition. I am a board member so, therefore have lots to do to prepare for the convention.

I thought I would take this opportunity to let you all know that I will be giving a workshop at our local CPSA District Chapter. The workshop should be in the month of October but I am not sure of the exact dates yet. All I know at this point is the workshop will be in October in Livermore, California. If any of you are interested in the details please let me know and I will provide you with that information as soon as it scheduled.

Here is a brief summery of the workshop I will be giving:

Participants in Gemma's workshop will learn to create realistic animals using colored pencils. By learning to draw an animal's eye, nose, mouth and fur, participants will master the steps needed to create believable looking animals. Students will learn how some common household items can be used to blend, burnish, impress lines and create very believable animal characteristics. Gemma will share her secrets on the best ways to break a reference photo down to small manageable sections rather than viewing the drawing as a whole.

There will be a discussion on photography as it pertains to your animal/wildlife artwork and Gemma will share how to create a good composition from your own reference photos. She'll discuss the best ways to create a great drawing utilizing Photoshop to combine photos, including discussions on what to consider and how to avoid mistakes when putting an animal into a surrounding area or scene.

On the second day the participants will learn how to draw portrait of a Lion cub. The reference photo you will be working from is from a photo shoot that Gemma took while on an African Photo Safari. You will learn how to create the realistic look of young cub using Colored Pencils on Uart Paper.

Pride's Promise - Professional Image

I got the image back from the professional photographer so I thought I would post it here.

I always have my work professionally digitized. That way in the future if I want to have prints, postcards, notecards and so forth I have a really good image to work from.

I plan on selling giclee' prints on canvas of this one. I haven't decided what size yet but once I do I'll post it here. It will be a limited edition run of 150 prints. As I said I'm not sure of what size but I'm thinking I may have it done in the actual size of the original which is 12" X 20".

As for the Zebras I have the contour drawing done and I started putting in the sky. I really don't have enough done to post yet but will hopefully have something soon.

Zebra's Laughing Out Loud - WIP

We went to a wildlife park near Sedona, AZ called "Out of Africa". They have this one area called the Serengeti safari where you drive thru in an open bus. At one point we stopped and some Zebras came up to the bus to get their treats. It struck me funny because it seemed as if they were laughing. I got several photos of them but not one of them was what I would call a great picture.

Photo #1

As you can see here two of the Zebras look pretty good but the one in the back isn't in the best position. Also the one in the front really isn't laughing, his mouth is closed.







Photo #2


On this photo the Zebra in the front has his mouth parcially opened. I liked that better than the front Zebra in photo #1.







Photo #3

Here is a pretty good photo but the Zebra is all by himself and I liked the idea of having three of them together.








Final Reference Photo

So..... started with photo number one in Photoshop. I erased everything except the two front Zebras. Then I took just the mouth of the front Zebra in Photo number two and placed it over the mouth of the front zebra (now he has his mouth open). Then I erased everything except the Zebra in Photo number three and added what was left in the back of this version of the Zebras. Then I found a sky picture I and added that in the background. And.... Voila!!! I now have more of what I was looking for. I will use this reference for my drawing.

As I mentioned in my last post, I will be using the Art Board with the Hot Press Arches watercolor paper mounted on it. I will start drawing my contour drawing on the Art board tomorrow. I'll keep you posted on how it goes. Oh.... and the title of this piece will be "LOL".

Pride's Promise - Finished!!

Well I finally finished this one. I'll be taking it in to have it professionally scanned so I will re post it as soon as I get that scan back. This really isn't a great digital file of it. It definitely looks better in person.

I should be starting another piece in the next day or so. I plan on drawing some Zebras. I will post the reference photos that I will be using and show you how I combine several references to get the composition I want. It should be an interesting article. So be sure to check back. I got a sample from Art Boards. They have a board with Arches watercolor paper mounted on it. That is the support I will be using on the zebras. I have never used this before so I'll keep you posted and let you know what I think of the product.

I Will be attending a Pastel Workshop!

For a very long time I have wanted to learn how to do Pastels. I was so excited when I saw that Lesley Harrison, not only a wonderful Pastel artist but, her subject of choice is Animals/Wildlife, is doing a workshop in my area. I just can't wait to attend this workshop. The workshop is being held in Placerville, CA in July.

Here is the Workshop description: Lesley Harrison is well known for her beautiful and sensitive paintings of horses and other animals. This workshop is specifically for those who wish to explore and learn how to use soft pastels as a full painting medium. Three full days of class time with Lesley is an opportunity you don't want to miss. Lesley will begin with a demonstration and then there will be plenty of time for people to paint and have individual attention.

Here is Lesley's webpage: http://www.harrison-keller.com/. She is an excellent artist, I just can't wait!! I'll be sure to keep you posted about the workshop when I attend.

Pride's Promise - Work in Progress, Con't

This week has been a really crazy week for me so I haven't had a chance to work much on this. I did get a chance to put the cubs legs in so I thought I would go a head and post an update. I hope to be able to spend more time on them this week. Things are finally starting to calm down a bit.

I really like the Uart with the sanded surface. I like how I can lay down a medium color and then go back and add the lighter colors and darker colors on top of that. This piece is a good size it's about 12" X 22". I'm using several brands of pencils on it but predominantly the Derwent Studio pencils and the Prismacolor pencils. Here's my update:

Here's a closer look at the area I just finished:

Wildlife Art Journal - An Online Magazine

For those of you who love wildlife art, have to go check out this great online art magazine. Wildlife Art Journal is available to you every day, with a constant flow of new and updated stories and it costs you far less than most other printed art magazines. Best of all, you'll have unlimited access to read the stories you like, or artist profiles you may have missed, any time, anywhere, simply by logging on.

For only $1 U.S. per month, you get all of the benefits of a premium membership: Full access to stories about painters, sculptors, photographers and nature filmmakers, regular updates on auctions, museum exhibitions, gallery openings, special events, guest essays, their exciting blog RarAvis, wildlife art news from around the globe, and much more.

I just subscribed and I have to say I am really glad I did. Just thought I would pass this information on to you. Here's the link: Wildlife Art Journal

Ann Kullberg's Newest Book

Ann Kullberg has a great new book titled "Colored Pencil Secrets for Success", the publisher is Northlight Books. My artwork is included in this book, I feel so honored to be one of the artists chosen for the book. It is now available at Amazon! If you are interested in buying the book you can use the link I provided below. Keep Scribbling!!

If you are interested in finding out how to buy more of my favorite Colored Pencil books scroll down to the bottom of this page.

Pride's Promise - Work in Progress, Con't

I wasn't able to do to much on this but I have been able to proceed on the cub some. I have his little face completely done and I'm now starting to work on his body.

It has been such a joy to draw these two. There is a great little story behind them..... when we were in Africa we were following a den of lions. There were 5 females and 10-11 cubs. We followed them down into a sandy dry riverbed. It was cooler down there because it was down in a ravine. We sat there in our Landrover for a while and I took several pictures of the entire den. When we decided to leave the Landrover would not go into 4 wheel drive. We got stuck..... big time! We had to just sit there until the lions decided to leave. Once they left we were able to get out of the vehicle to get it unstuck. Needless to say I have a bunch of pictures of these lions. I'm sure I will be drawing them for a long long time. Enjoy!

Here is close up of the little guys face:

Pride's Promise - Work in Progress

While Bill and I were in Africa I took several pictures of these lions. I have so many reference photos from the trip it's hard to decide which one to work on. I decided on these two for now. This piece is done on UArt 800 (sanded surface paper) and of course, it's done with colored pencils (my favorite medium). Here is the photo I took:

I have the background in and I'm starting to create the Momma lion. When I draw I first draw in the contour drawing. From there I start creating my subject. I tend to finish each little section as I go. Colored Pencil is a very slow medium, I tend to not to get bored with the piece when I work in this fashion.

You can see now how the momma lion is coming along. With the following picture you can see the contour drawing a bit better than in the last photo of the piece.

Now I'm starting to work on the baby. I think this is coming along fairly well. I will probably go back and touch up a few things but so far most of what I have done will stay as you see it here.