CP Treasures, Vol. 7, Book, Now Released

Hello Everyone!

I am extremely honored to finally be able to tell everyone that the new "CP Treasures, Colored Pencil Masterworks From Around the Globe" Vol. 7 (book), is now released and it has my artwork in it!!!! Thank you Ann Kullberg and your fantastic team for choosing my art to be accompanied with so many other outstanding artists. It's an amazing feeling to be included.

If any of you are interested in purchasing this fantastic collection of Colored Pencil artists work go to this link: https://annkullberg.com/products/cp-treasures-volume-vii

New SOAR Workshop coming up!

Good News! I'm going to be teaching a workshop in Cedar Rapids, IA, June 29-30, 2019. 

Come join us! 
Go to this link for more info: 

https://annkullberg.com/pages/soar

Workshops Are Filling Up!!

Hello All,

I thought I would let you know that I have a few workshops coming up that are filling up quickly.

The Colored Pencil Cruise, at the end of March, has a few spots left so don't miss out on this one, it's always so much fun on these CP cruises!

In Livermore, CA, in April, we'll be creating this beautiful cat to the left!

We only have four spots left at the "Total Wildlife Workshop" in Montana!  This is such a great opportunity for all of you wildlife artists! Where else can you take lots and lots of photos of wildlife and attend a colored pencil workshop at the same time?

All of the information about these workshops can be found at the following link:  http://glassgems.net/workshops.html 

Keep Scribbling!!
Gemma

Colored Pencil Workshop Cruise

8 Day Bahama Workshop Cruise

Join us on the Royal Caribbean Serenade of the Seas

March 22-29, 2014

Info & registration: 1-800-253-0116, or http://annkullberg.com/pages/colored-pencil-workshop-cruises

 

$909 includes all three workshops!  (Interior stateroom/double occupancy, price subject to availability, taxes and departure fees are additional; group rate available for guests not taking workshops) 

 

Just the facts: 

Departure Port: New Orleans

Visiting Ports: Key West, Florida,  Nassau - Bahamas, Coco Cay - Bahamas

Workshops conducted on the three "At Sea" days.  No workshops held during port days.

Workshop hours:  9:00 to 3:00  /  Workshop location: Conference Center on board

Instructors:  Ann Kullberg, Gemma Gylling & Gretchen Parker

 

Class size firmly limited to 24. Non-workshop participants are more than welcome.
Bring a spouse, a friend...your mom! 

Bobcat Kittens "Double Trouble" 2

Double Trouble

I did some more tweaking on this piece.  I didn't like the way the side of the faces was working along with some suggestions from my treasured friend and expert artist, Arlene Steinberg.

Anyway...... I made some corrections, let me know if you think it works!

Keep Scribbling!!
Gemma

Bobcat Kittens "Double Trouble"

"Double Trouble"

Hi All,

As I mentioned before I am in the process of creating a book titled, "CP Cats, A Complete Colored Pencil Guide To Wild and Domestic Cats".

I just finished one of the full projects for the book, they are a pair of Bobcat kittens, I had so much fun photographing them that I just had to do a piece from that photo shoot.

It's 100% colored pencil and done on tan suede mat board.  The title of the piece is "Double Trouble", the size is 12" x 10" and I did it from my own photo reference.

Unfortunately I can't give much information on how I created it because that is all in the book.  If you should have any comments or questions, just ask and I will try to answer what I can without giving away too much of what is already in the book.

Keep Scribbling!
Gemma

Mountain Lion - Animal Totem

"Animal Totem; Cougar and the Cloud Spirits"

Hi All,

I did some more work on this piece and I think I like it better.  Also, the scan is a lot truer to the real piece.  I worked on the clouds and faded out the Native American a bit more.

This will be one of my Colored Pencil Society Of America entries.  If you should have any questions or comments let me know.

Keep Scribbling!  Gemma

Mountain Lion - Animal Totem

"Animal Totem"

Hi All,

The Mountain Lion I showed you in my last post was actually part of a larger piece called "Animal Totem".

I'm not so sure I'm happy with this but I guess we as artists often times come across that issue.  This is a piece I have been wanting to do for quite some time so I thought I would hit two birds with one stone.  I needed to create the workshop materials for the wildlife workshop I will be teaching in August of this year ,so I am using the mountain lion part of this for that workshop.  I continued on with it to create my vision I had with the Native American hidden in the clouds.  I have always been fascinated with the animal totems and the spiritual meaning of the animals, in ancient myths and stories, so I thought I would try to portray that feeling in this piece.  I'm not quite sure if I was able to capture that but hopefully this piece will move someone.  In those ancient myths the cougar symbolizes "Coming into Your Own Power".  I personally have always loved the Mountain lion/Cougar, it is one of my favorite animals.

This piece is piece is 100% colored pencil, done on light tan suede mat board and the size is 12" x 16".  If you have any questions or comments just let me know.

Keep Scribbling!
Gemma

"Majestic" 8" X 8", Colored Pencil on Suede Mat Board

Hello Everyone!

I've been very busy developing a new workshop.  This is the finished artwork that will be taught in the workshop.

The first time I will be teaching this workshop will be in May, here locally, in Copperopolis, California.

This piece was done from a reference photo from the Wetcanvas Image Library.  It's 100% Colored Pencil, 8" X 8" and done on Gray Suede Mat Board.

If you are interested in getting more information regarding the workshop go to this link:  http://glassgems.net/WorkshopDocs/2012MayCatWorkshop.pdf

I am donating this piece to the Colored Pencil Society of America for the their Silent Auction.

If you have any questions or comments please let me know.  Don't forget.... Keep Scribbling!!
Gemma

Mountain Lion / Reflections Series WIP 04 Completed

Hello All,

Well.... I finally finished this piece. I'm going to title it "Wild Reflections".

I continued to use the same technique and color pallet as mentioned before. 80% of this piece is done in colored pencil and the rest of it is done with pastel. I don't normally use pastel but thought it would be fun to give it try. Most of the pastel is used in the water area. The mountain lion is 100% colored pencil. After I sprayed it with workable fixative I went back with colored pencil and redefined some of the reflections in the water. I really enjoyed working on this piece. I plan on entering it in the CPSA "Explore This!" Exhibition, lets hope it gets accepted.

I am now working on another piece of an adorable Raccoon. Keep checking back, I should be posting the work in progress on the raccoon soon.

If you have any questions or comments let me know. Don't forget to keep scribbling!
Gemma

Mountain Lion / Reflections Series WIP 03

Hi All,

It's been a while since I have been able to work on this piece. Between the Colored Pencil Society of America Convention and vacation I just didn't have the time to work on it.

The Mountain Lion has been done with colored pencil with just a little bit of pastels for the highlights. The water was done by laying down 3 layers of colored pencil using Prismacolors, Moss Green, Dark Umber and Black and then blending it with a brush dipped in Gamsol and then slightly dried on a paper towel. I then created the details using Prismacolors Nupastels and the new PanPastels. I really like the effect this gave the water. If I get this piece done in time it will be my entry for the "CPSA Explore This!" show. I'm now starting to work on the Mountain Lions reflection, I plan to do that predominately in CP. Although, I will probably use pastels for the highlights.

If you should have any questions don't hesitate to ask and don't forget..... Keep Scribbling!
Gemma

Mountain Lion / Reflections Series WIP 02

Hi All,

Sorry I haven't posted an update before this. As Conventions Director of the Colored Pencil Society I have been really busy lately. We are finishing up all the final details of the Convention and I haven't had a lot of time for art. Hopefully after the end of the month I'll be able to spend more time on this piece. Even though we have been busy I always love seeing everyone at the convention and really really look forward to it. I hope to see many of you there this month.

I am almost done working on the mountain lion and will start the water and reflection of the mountain lion very soon. I'm enjoying working on this piece and hope it comes out as I imagine it should be. We as artists always seem to have a vision but often times the piece just doesn't come together as we envisioned. I have decided on a title for this piece.... I think I will call it "Wild Reflections". I want to thank all of you for your title recommendations I really like some of them. I think I will definitely use them in the series pieces to come after this one.

The image above is the full artwork so you can see I haven't gotten a lot done at this point. The one below is a close up of the mountain lion. If you should have any questions at all let me know. Don't forget...... Keep Scribbling!!!
Gemma

Mountain Lion / Reflections Series WIP 01

Hi All,

I decided to do a series of this Mountain Lion with Reflections. I'm not sure how many I will do but I do have a bunch of pictures of this Mountain Lion playing in and about the water. I figure I could at least do 3 to 5 pieces. I would also like to have the title of all of pieces in the series to include the words reflections, reflection, reflected or reflecting in the title. The first piece of the series was titled "Reflections". If any of you can help me with a title for this one I would really appreciate it. This first picture is the reference photo.
This piece will be done on the Suede board again. The color of the Suede board is called moccasin. I plan on doing this piece using Colored Pencils and pastel. If it turns out the way I hope and if I get it done in time, I plan on entering it in the Colored Pencil Society of America's, Explore This 7 exhibition.

So far it has predominantly colored pencil with very little pastel. I plan on using the pastel more in the background than on the cat. However; I did use pastel on some of the white highlight areas.

This is my beginning, I haven't got a lot done yet but hope to be able to work on it quite a bit next week.
Here is a close up of what I have done so far. As I mentioned before the pastel is only in the white areas. The rest of it has been done with Prismacolor colored pencils and Derwent Colorsoft colored pencils. I just love the way the Colorsoft pencils work with the Suede board.

If you have any questions or suggestions for the title please let me know.

Keep Scribbling!!
Gemma

Reflections - WIP - Finished!!! Again, LOL

Hi All,

Well.... isn't it funny how you post your piece on online and then see it on the monitor and start finding things you just didn't see before it was posted. That's what happened to me, so.... I tweeked on it a bit more and now I think I am happy with it, LOL.

Enjoy... and keep Scribbling!

Gemma

Reflections - Work in Progress - Finished!!

Hi All,

Yayyyy!!! I finished it, what a relief!

When creating the water I laid down a layer each of Moss Green, Dark Green and Dark Umber. I then used Gamsol to blend the three layers into the tooth of the Suede. When doing this I use a bristle brush, load the brush with the Gamsol and then dab it on a paper towel before I start blending the three layers.

I then finished the reflection of the lion completely. Now that the under layers of the water is down and the reflection of the lion I start glazing Moss Green, Bronze and Artichoke over all the water and the lion. I then went in and added some blue and light reflections.

I then sprayed it with fixative. It's all ready to enter into the CPSA Exhibition..... lets keep our fingers crossed.







Here is a closeup of the upper part of the drawing.

















Here is a closeup of the lower part of the drawing.









I hope you enjoyed this work in progress and if you have any questions at all please let me know. And....... don't forget...... Keep Scribbling!! Gemma

Reflections - Work in Progress - update 5

Hi All,

Well... here is the next update. I'm continuing to work my way down using the same techniques as before.

One of the things I noticed about the suede board is it actually seems to work better if you use a duller pencil. Although; I am using a fairly sharp pencil when laying down the fur. It's interesting.... drawing on the suede board really doesn't feel like drawing, instead it feels more like I'm painting. I just love it and I have to say I think this will be my support of choice more often than not.

I can't remember if I told you where to get the Suede Mat board.... I get it from my framer so, if your looking for it check with your local framer. It can be quite pricey but it comes in a very large sheet of 30" X 40" so you can do several pieces from that sheet. The color I used on this one is called Moccasin. One of the things I learned from a fellow artist is you don't want to work on the darker colors of the suede board, you will have a problem covering it.

If you have any questions just fire away and.... by all means keep Scribbling!! Gemma

Reflections - Work in Progress - update 4

Hi All,

Well I'm moving right along on this one. I really don't have a lot to say about it at this point. I've been using the same colors and technique and just moving my way down the support.

Oh.... I do have one thing to say, hahaha. When it came time to do the splash, I found I was having a bit of an artist block. So I decided to do what I preach to my students in my workshops... well fancy that, LOL. I cut a little square in a white piece of paper to make a very small window. I placed the window over the area where the splash was on my reference drawing and Voila..... it no longer was a splash. It suddenly became nothing but colors, shapes, lines and values. Another thing I will do at times is have my laptop near by with the reference photo on it and zoom way in on a small area, that helps too.

If you have any questions at all let me know.... and.... Keep Scribbling!! Gemma

Reflections - Work in Progress - update 3

I finished the lions face and started working my way over to the grasses on the right side of the artwork.

I have about a third of it done now, I sure hope I can finish it before the Colored Pencil Society of America Exhibition deadline. The deadline is March 31st. so if I keep working hard at it I should be able to finish it. I tend to work very slow but I am trying really hard to finish this in time.

As you can see the grasses are starting to grow out of the water. Water is always fun to create but doing it on this suede board makes it so much easier. You can lay down your dark colors and then draw the reflections on top of the dark. It is so much more like painting than colored pencils usually are done on Stonehenge or Watercolor paper. I did the grasses also by laying down the darker colors and then drawing in the individual grasses on top of that. Then I came back with black and drew in some negative space to give it the depth I was trying to achieve.

I also like the softness I am able to get on this suede, it is wonderful to do animal fur on. The Suede Board can be hard to find at times but all you need to do is go to your favorite Framer and ask them to order it for you. It comes in sheets of 30" X 40" and in lots of really nice colors. You do want to be careful and not choose a color to dark because you may have a problem covering the suede board.

If you have any questions or comments just ask away. Keep Scribbling! Gemma

Reflections - Work in Progress - update 2

This is the upper right section of the drawing so part of what has been drawn on the left is cut off in this section of the image.

I'm using lots of different brands of pencils on this one. I'm using Prismacolor, Derwent Studios, Derwent Colorsoft, Lyra and Polychromos. I really like the way the Derwent Colorsoft pencils work with the suede board. It almost behaves like pastel, it is very cool.

One of the things I really loved about the reference photo is the dramatic morning lighting. The subject is very light on one side and dark on the other. This type of lighting gives the painting a very dramatic feel and a warmth that catches the viewers eye. Hopefully I will be able to pull this off because this is what, I feel, will make or break this painting.

I'm layering lots and lots of colors to give it the real fur look. In the lighter areas I laid down the lighter colors first and worked in some darker colors and then went back to the lighter colors. In the darker areas I laid down the medium color and then the lights and dark on top of that.
One of the things I noticed in my last update was, I didn't get the values quite right on the log and the shadows from the lion on the log needed to be darker as well. This is something I corrected in this update. Personally I like the log much better now.

Here is a close up of the Mountain Lion head. You can see how I use lots and lots of colors.

If you have any questions just ask and I'll be happy to answer what I can.

Keep Scribbling!! Gemma

Reflections - Work in Progress - update 1

Here is my start on my colored pencil piece titled "Reflections". This is the upper left corner of the piece. The size of this artwork is 10" X 24". As you can see I tend to start in the upper corner (or the eyes) and work my way down and across.

I chose Moccasin Suede Mat board as the support. I love applying colored pencils on the suede board. It allows me to lay the layers down as if I am painting. I can add the highlights on top of the dark colors and still have them really pop. Typically I would have to save my highlighted areas because Colored Pencil is transparent, but with the suede board it reacts as if it is opaque.

I start out by drawing a very detailed contour drawing and then transfer it to the Suede Board. When I'm doing the fur on suede board or a sanded surface I tend to lay down a layer of medium color and then feather in the dark and light hairs. That tends to give it that real fur look. I used the same approach on the log, lay down a layer of medium color and then added darks and lights on top of that. I also use Gamsol to blend some of the areas. This helps dissolve the pencil down into the tooth of the suede board.

When I am creating my colored pencil artwork I break each piece of the reference photo down to little squares. This way I am looking at lines, shades, color and shapes. This approach makes it much easier for me to get the realistic look. If you decide to try this approach yourself you may want to take notes of what colors you used for the different areas. I personally don't take notes because I have worked with colored pencils long enough I almost always use the same color of pencils to achieve a certain look, but at first, I did keep notes. If you have any questions let me know and I will be happy to answer them.