Coloured pencil art in Annual SOFA exhibition

Coloured pencil artwork by a UKCPS member features on the front cover of the ever popular colour brochure/private view invite for the Annual Exhibition of the Society of Feline Artists' (SOFA).

SOFA Exhibition 2009
Colour Brochure/Private View Invite

Two of the works on the cover have been produced using coloured pencil.

Christmas Cat by UKCPS member Irina Garmashova SOFA is the largest work at 14" x 20 and has been produced using a combination of acrylic and coloured pencil on paper. Irina also has other coloured pencil artwork in the show.

The second work Meet the Kittens is by yours truly! It's 12" x 8" and is pure coloured pencils on Arches HP. I was officially flabbergasted yesterday when I was contacted by Gayle Mason who wanted to congratulate me on getting on the front cover! It's "the place to be" if you want to get your work noticed by the many feline art collectors who visit this very popular exhibition every year!

Meet the Kittens
12" x 8", coloured pencils on Arches HP
copyright Katherine Tyrrell

Other coloured pencil work in the brochure includes work by fellow UKCPS members:

• Moody Blue by Gayle Mason SOFA is mainly coloured pencil with a little bit of acrylic
• Margaret Edwards's I Can See You - coloured pencil on paper.

SOFA has a tradition of always giving coloured pencil artwork a prominent place in its exhibition. Founder member Anne Aggett SOFA has been drawing and exhibiting cats in coloured pencils for very many years.

The exhibition

The SOFA Annual Exhibition takes place in central London at the Llewellyn Alexander Gallery in London (near Waterloo Station/opposite the Old Vic).

The exhibition dates this year are 28th August through to 18th September, (10am - 7.30pm Monday to Saturday).

The exhibition includes works by Full and Associate members of SOFA members. It will include approximately 300 paintings of cats in oil, acrylic, watercolour, pastel, coloured pencil and etchings and is the largest exhibition of feline art in the country. Prices range from £80 to £3,000 with the majority of working being under £750

Submission of artwork

Only Full Members and Associate Members of the Society of Feline Artists can submit artwork to the exhibition. Full membership is by selection only, after completing a year`s Associate Membership. Full members can exhibit up to six works and Associate members can submit up to four works.

Any UKCPS members interested in submitting work to SOFA can find out how to do this by reviewing the Associate Membership page on the SOFA website. You'll need to contact the membership secretary Sara Butt to find out if it's still possible to submit work for this year's exhibition.

The deadline for submitting work suitably framed to the gallery is Thursday 6th August between 10am and 4pm. This is a Gallery Exhibition and the selection of all work is done solely by the Gallery Director Jillian Llewellyn Lloyd. Please note, there is absolutely no guarantee of getting work selected. Also no matter how good the work an unsuitable frame can lead to a work being rejected.

You can read a review of last year's show here.

Gayle and I are very happy to advise any interested UKCPS members on guidelines for matting and framing coloured pencil artwork.

Gayle can also advise on the process of applying to become a full member having achieved this status last year.