Beverley Courtney wins People's Vote at Keswick

 Jake by Beverley Courtney

Pencils: Prismacolor, Paper: Stonehenge; 15 x 20cm

The 8th 'A World of Coloured Pencil' Mixed Media Competition 2010 closed on Sunday and the number of votes cast by visitors for each artist were counted.

The winner of the People's Vote is Jake by Beverley Courtney.

Beverley wins a prize donated by Derwent which comprises the following items:

• a wooden presentation case of 48 Inktense pencils, 
• hardback Derwent sketckbook, 
• History of Pencil Making Booklet and 
• a Museum notebook and pen.

Coloured Pencil Experience Day in Somerset

Yesterday Pauline Longley, the UKCPS Groups Co-ordinator, ran a second workshop about coloured pencils in Somerset for UKCPS members and others interested in learning more about coloured pencils.  Here's what she had to say about the experience.

Saturday proved to be another very successful day for our second workshop in Somerset despite the heat, Glastonbury Festival, Wimbledon and the World Cup.  We had slide shows of recent exhibitions in the UK and USA and four demonstrations covering:

• botanical, 
• how to render long wispy fur, 
• blending with mineral spirit and 
• working on black paper.  

There was also a gallery of: pictures, greetings cards and art materials for sale, step-by-step packs and practice sheets for a small charge.


We offered samples of different papers and pencils to try and people were amazed at the variety and the difference that they make.


It was good to meet new UCKPS members and we are hoping it will bring in a few more recruits for the society too as everyone was so enthusiastic.  We had some very positive feedback so we will do it all again on 16th October.

We would like to roll these out in an area near you so if you are willing to help contact Pauline Longley (UKCPS Groups Co-ordinator) for more information.

You can also find Pauline on her website (http://www.paulinelongley.co.uk) and blog (http://art-pal.blogspot.com/)

Ann Swan book competition winners

Pauline Longley and Lesley Sharman have both won a copy of Botanical Painting with Coloured Pencils by UKCPS member Ann Swan SBA GM in the competition which ran on this blog during May.

If you are a UKCPS member and you've not yet entered, it's not too late to win a copy as there is a separate competition with another two books being awarded to UKCPS members who are mailing their entries to Ann Holden, the Editor of Talking Point.  The details of BOTH competitions were set out in A competition for UKCPS members.

 A two page spread of a step by step demonstration of how to draw an ivy leaf

Once Pauline and Lesley have got their books and read them, they will both be writing a review of the book which will be published on this blog in September - just before the Annual Exhibition.  We'll find out how they rate it and what they found most helpful.

UKCPS would like to extend its thanks to Harper Collins, the publisher of Botanical Painting with Coloured Pencils, for kindly providing four copies of the book for the competition running on UKCPS News and Talking Point

You have until the end of June to mail your entries to the Editor of Talking Point (the address details were provided in the June edition of TP). 

Deadline for UKCPS Open Exhibition entries: 12th June 2010

This is a reminder that the deadline for all entries to the 9th Open International Exhibition 2010 of the United Kingdom Coloured Pencil Society (UKCPS) is Saturday 12th June

Stamford Arts Centre

(Source: Google Streetview) 

This blog post Call for Entries: 9th UKCPS Annual Open International Exhibition 2010  summarises the conditions of entry. 

However you should also read the Call for Entries (downloadable form in pdf) in full.

Exhibition Venue: Stamford Arts Centre, 27 St. Marys Street, Stamford, PE9 2DL

Submissions due: SATURDAY 12th JUNE 2010

Submission is open to all living artists. The work must be original (concept, design and execution by the artist), 100% coloured pencil, demonstrate compositional and drawing skills, and ability to use colour from a pencil source. Entries must not have been shown in a previous UKCPS exhibition.
The Exhibition will run from Monday 13th September to Friday, 1st October 2010. Open during normal gallery opening hours - Monday-Friday 10.30am - 5.30pm, Saturday 10.30am - 5.00pm and Sundays 1.00pm - 5.00pm.

Awards: Caran d'Ache Award for Best in Show (£400), UKCPS Award for Reserve Best in Show (£300), the President's Award (£100), the Peter Weatherill Landscape Award (£75), the People's Choice Award (£50), plus other awards donated by our sponsors.

Judith Heilbronn-Crown wins 'Best in Show'

This post is all about the pictures and UKCPS members who won prizes at the 8th "World of Coloured Pencil" Exhibition at the Pencil Museum in Keswick, Cumbria

The Derwent Award for ‘Best in Show’

Waterfall at Nant Gwernol by Judith-Heilbronn-Crown

Pencils: Derwent Coloursoft and Watercolour, 
Paper: Black Stonehenge, 35 x 44cm

Abergynolwyn has the most lovely waterfalls, reached by the train from Tywyn in Wales. The small steam train calls at several beautiful stops en route, Abergynolwyn being the last in the line. There was almost 2 hours to walk and take photos before the return journey. This picture is from my favourite photo. I wanted to try out my Coloursoft pencils and also to experiment on black Stonehenge paper. The waterfall seemed to be a picture that might work well on black Stonehenge—and I was happy with my choice of subject. I used Derwent Watercolour white for the highlights.

The Best in Show prize donated by Derwent comprises:  Wooden presentation box of 72 Derwent Inktense pencils, Wooden presentation box of 48 of the new Derwent Pastel pencils, Box of 6 Coloursoft Portrait pencils, Box of 6 Derwent Sketching pencils, A4 hardback sketchbook, Museum Notebook and pen, Derwent Helical Battery Pencil Sharpener, and a booklet on the History of Pencil Making in Keswick.

[Apologies to Judith whose name was initially spelt incorrectly]

The UKCPS Award for ‘Reserve Best in Show’ (£150)

Autumn Harvest by Carole Keen

Pencils: Derwent Coloursoft and Inktense, and Prismacolor
Paper: Smooth Cartridge Paper 18 x 24cm

UKCPS Award for Runner Up (£50)

Jake by Beverley Courtney
Pencils: Prismacolor
Paper: Stonehenge 15 x 20cm

‘Best Newcomer’ - The Leisure Painter Magazine Award (2 years subscription to the magazine)
Sleepy Fox by Jane Holford-Atkin
Pencils: various Derwent colour collection
Paper: Mount board 18 x 25cms

UKCPS Award for best ‘Local Group’ entry (£50)

Baking the Cake by Angela Hammond
Pencils: Derwent Coloursoft and Prismacolour
Paper: Stonehenge 30 x 34cm

The Peoples’ Choice Award will be decided by public vote over the course of the exhibition

The online exhibition can now be seen on the main UKCPS website.

Unlike the Annual Open International Exhibition, the "World of Coloured Pencils" is a members only exhibition where the work exhibited is selected by ballot making this exhibition much more representational of the range of abilities within the Society, from beginners to professionals.  Artists can also use other media for their enytries so long as coloured pencils are the main medium.

Thanks to our Exhibition Sponsors

A World of Coloured Pencil opens in Keswick

The 8th 'A World of Coloured Pencil' Mixed Media Competition 2010, sponsored by Derwent Pencils, opened on 30th May and runs until 26th June at the The Cumberland Pencil Museum, Keswick, CA12 5NG

This is a members only exhibition.  This year was the first time that work chosen was selected by ballot - with the first 24 selected from the ballot being shown.  This means that it reflects, much more than our main exhibition, the range of abilities within the Society, from beginners to professionals.  In this exhibition, pictures can be pure coloured pencil, or may use other media as long as coloured pencils are the main medium.

We now have photos of the exhibition courtesy of Sylvia Richards, the wife of Dave Richards who organised the hanging at the weekend!  I'm sure you will agree it looks splendid.

 The Long Wall

 The Short Wall

Judging was delayed so we're waiting to hear who are the prizewinners are and I'll be posting again about the artwork which won prizes - and who created it - as soon as we have the names.

The online exhibition is also now available

How to visit the Cumberland Pencil Museum

Derwent have a page on their website which gives information for visitors

This is a Google Maps link to The Cumberland Pencil Museum.  For the  very first time, courtesy of StreetView we can now see what the turn in the road looks like and the signs to look out for to visit the Southey Works, home of the Cumberland Pencil Museum (when approached from the south east - see below)

and finally......

Given the tragic events which occurred elsewhere in Cumbria yesterday, I'd like to add a note of support for all the wonderful people who live and work in Cumbria and do their utmost to promote the peace and beauty of the very special place which is the Lake District and Cumbria.

Let's show our support, not just for coloured pencils and Derwent who host this exhibition for us, but also for Cumbria in general by making a point of visiting this wonderful area, museum and exhibition if we can during June.