CPSA news

This comes from our friends on the other side of the pond at the Colored Pencil Society of America:-

CPSA has exciting convention news. The 2014 convention and exhibition will be held at Daytona Beach, Florida! The hotel will be the Daytona Beach Resort, 2700 N. Atlantic Ave. (on the beach). The 22nd Annual CPSA International Exhibition will be at the Ormond Memorial Art Museum (OMAM), 78 East Granada Blvd, Ormond Beach.

At its spring meeting, the governing board toured the museum. The gallery and its beautiful, tropical grounds offer a delightful setting for the exhibition. This is an event you simply won't want to miss.

The dates for the convention are Wednesday, July 30, 2014 through Saturday, August 2, 2014. The exhibition dates are June 13, 2014 through August 25th, 2014. The prospectus with more details will be available about November 15th of this year.

CP Society of America

The Coloured Pencil Society of America has just published its list of those artists accepted for their forthcoming exhibition.  The Exhibition recieved nearly 300 entries this year.

You can view the list at:
http://cpsa.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=150

The exhibition itself (always worth looking at - the standard is usualy top grade!) can be viewed online from the CPSA website from 1st February : www.cpsa.org

The top prize is a massive $2000, and is sponsored by Prismacolor!

Australian Coloured Pencils Network

Many of our viewers, and including some UKCPS members, are actually resident abroad. I have received a timely reminder of this fact via a note from a sister organisation, The Australian Coloured Pencils Network [ACPN] who have highlighted the call for entries for their next exhibition which is on the theme of 'colours of where I live'. The exhibition is only open to australian residents, and the the deadline for enties is 15 May 2011. However, even non-Aussie readers might wish to visit the ACPN website where there are some interesting video tutorials on basic CP techniques such as layering and burnishing. go to: www.colouredpencils.com.au for more information about the exhibition, and about the Network itself. Alan

UKCPS Open International Exhibition 2011

2011 marks the tenth anniversary of the UKCPS and we want to make the 2011 exhibition a bigger and better celebration of both coloured pencils and our Society than ever before. Generous sponsorship by Faber Castell’s UK distributors, West Design, means that we have the opportunity to have a much larger event in a prime location, opposite Westminster Abbey in London. The venue is the Methodist Central Hall which some of you may know from the Botanical Society’s exhibitions. As well as being conveniently placed and easy to reach at the heart of London, the venue has sufficient space for the Society to do much more alongside the Annual Exhibition to celebrate coloured pencils and our Society’s tenth birthday. The event is a three-cornered one;

• Faber Castell, themselves celebrating their 250th anniversary, will be displaying their full size pencil sculptures and a range of products for sale
• Speight of the Art Foundation will be running workshops for children
• UKCPS Annual exhibition.

There is a full programme of workshops, details of which can be seen on the website, and we also want as many demonstrators as possible and people who could help out, supervise the “have-a-go” facilities and act as stewards. Helpers may sell their goods, with commission to the Society.

Members, please apply to Pat Heffer (exhibitions@ukcps.co.uk) if you are able to offer help in any way - the more helpers we have the less the load for individuals.

Everyone start thinking now and preparing your innovative coloured pencil masterpieces and note there will also be a separate mixed media class (predominantly coloured pencil work). Full details and entry forms are now available on the website.

Japanese coloured pencil artist wins top prize at CPSA 2010

The awardwinners for the 18th International Exhibition 2010 of the Colored Pencil Society of America are now on show on the CPSA website.

The top prize goes to Shinji Harada CPSA from Japan who won the CIPPY award and CPSA Best in Show prize of $2,000 with a still life work titled "Grapes in a Basket.

David Billingsley CPSA of Oregon came second with a view of a shopfront titled Seattle Ambience.  He won the $1,500 CPSA District Chapters Prize for Exceptional Achievement and achioeved signature status this year.  You can see a much better image of the work on David's page on the CPSA District Chapter 201 website (for Portland Oregon).  This is David's website.

A suite of prizes each valued at $1,000 were awarded to:

• Cynthia Morris CPSA (MO) for Look on the Bright Side
• Ester Roi CPSA (CA)for The Lightness of Being
• Pamela Burroughs (In) for Hannah's Bugbox
• Bonnie Auten CPSA (MI) for Labino's Tribute

Theer were a number of other prizes awarded due to the generosity of sponsors and District Chapters - details of which you can see on the Awards page.

This year there were no prizewinners from this side of the Atlantic.

This is the relevant blog on the CPSA blog Convention Recap - Top Award to Shinji Harada of Japan

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.

Call for Entries: 9th UKCPS Annual Open International Exhibition 2010

Any coloured pencil artist, anywhere in the world,
is invited to enter
the 9th Open International Exhibition 2010
of the United Kingdom Coloured Pencil Society (UKCPS)
sponsored by Caran d'Ache

The UKCPS has issued its Call for Entries for the Ninth Annual United Kingdom Coloured Pencil Society Open International Exhibition 2010. Artists working in coloured pencil and living anywhere in the world are eligible to enter.

The exhibition will be held at the Stamford Arts Centre, 27 St Mary’s Street, Stamford, Lincolnshire PE9 2DL between 13th September 2010 and 1st October 2010.

If you are thinking about entering and are wondering about the type and standard of work submitted to and selected for this exhibition, you can see images of exhibited and award-winning work in the blog posts below relating to last year's exhibition and also on the exhibition page on the UKCPS website

• UKCPS Annual exhibition 2009 - Award Winners
• UKCPS Annual Exhibition 2009 - Highly Commended
  
• UKCPS Annual Exhibition 2009 - now online

Winner of the Derwent Award for Best in Show (£400) and the People’s Choice Award (£50)
UKCPS Annual Open International Exhibition 2009
Old -Timers, One, Two, Free! by Kate Clarke
3x(39x26) cm, coloured pencils (£845)

Call for entries – what you need to know

The combined Call For Entries and Entry Form document was despatched with the March edition of Talking Point to UKCPS members last week and should now have been received by all members living in the UK.

Members, associate members and on members can also now download the formal Call for Entries (pdf downloadable form) and Entry Form from the calendar/events page of the UKCPS website. The form contains details about the topics identified above plus insurance, shipping, post, collection, sales and commission.

The key aspects of what you need to know when deciding whether to submit work have been set out below as a check list. However please ensure you read all of the call for entries form carefully before submitting your entry.

Eligible work

• Submission is open to all living artists. You do not need to be a member of UKCPS or live in the UK.
• Entries must not have been shown in a previous UKCPS exhibition.

Originality, reference material and copyright:

• The work must demonstrate compositional and drawing skills and an ability to use colour from a pencil source
• The work must be original (concept, design and execution by the artist)
• Any photographic reference used for the entire or as the primary source must be taken by the artist
• Subject to UK and International copyright laws, reference images may used to contribute and build up a final composition provided the final work does not resemble any reference source in a recognisable way.

Eligible Media

• The work must be 100% coloured pencil
• Coloured Pencils and crayons that are wax-based, oil-based or water-soluble (e.g. Caran d’Ache Neocolor II or Derwent Aquatone)
• Graphite pencil used in moderation under or between layers of coloured pencil
• Solvents or water used to dissolve the pencil
• Manufactured coloured support (paper, board etc.)
  
• Artist prepared uniform white background (eg gesso)

Ineligible Media/Work

• Pastel pencils; acrylic, oil, ink and watercolour
• Collage, montage, three-dimensional work
• An image produced by drawing over a digital reproduction
• Only one work can be marked 'not for sale'; any second and subsequent submission marked 'not for sale' would be ineligible
• The Society and the Stamford Art Centre may refuse to exhibit selected work presented for display if it is not up to the entry submission standard or pictures are not suitably framed.
• The Society has the right to refuse to accept works not meeting all specifications and conditions set in this prospectus. It is the artist’s responsibility to provide evidence that the work is in compliance if there is a challenge.

Selection

• The 2010 judges will include: Ann Swan (an RHS gold medal winning botanical artist), a representative of Caran d’Ache and a representative of Stamford Art Centre.
• Judges review images which are anonymous. Only details of the title and size are provided.
• Judges will be asked to select works to produce a varied exhibition showing the full range of capabilities of the coloured pencil medium.
• Every effort will be made to maintain true quality to the submitted image, recognizing that the print or electronic medium may affect the viewed image.

Awards

• Cash prizes include: The Caran D’Ache Award for Best in Show (£400), the 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).
  
• In addition, each of the exhibition's commercial sponsors (various manufacturers and suppliers of coloured pencils - see side column of this blog) will provide awards involving art media and materials. There will also be other smaller prizes of art materials for highly commended works.
• The judges present on 12 September will select the works for the Awards (except those specifically given). The decision of the judges is final.

Method of Submission

• NO ORIGINAL WORKS SHOULD BE SUBMITTED. NO SLIDES.
• Fees are payable with each submission and vary depending on the status of the entrant. Members are able to submit the first work free. Payment should be by cheque or via online payment only (see form)
• Initial submissions should comprise entry form, fee and image only by post. Good prints or photos (no larger than A4/8.25” x 11.7”) or high resolution scans on a CD. Both prints and file names need to indicate the name of the artist clearly.
  
• Both sides of the entry form must be completed and submitted with the image. Framed & Unframed sizes need to be supplied in centimetre. All prices must include commission.
• Include a short CV (resume) and for each entry, give brief details including type of pencils and support used and reasons for choosing the subject. The CV and descriptions will not be part of the judging process, only for the interest of the public during the exhibition.
• All entries should be submitted to the Elizabeth Frearson, Chair of UKCPS (details on the Call for Entries form)
• Artists whose work is selected will be notified of detailed arrangements for submission of the artwork proper. It's been possible to arrange regional collection points in the past and UKCPS will endeavour to make this service available to entrants again this year if possible.
  

Artists intending to submit entries should note that, with submission, they grant permission for the UKCPS use of the accepted images for publicity and promotion for purposes wholly related to UKCPS.

All queries should be directed to Pat Heffer (details on the Call for Entries form)

Important Dates

The Exhibition will run from Monday 13th September to Friday, 1st October 2010. Normal gallery opening hours are 10.30am - 5.30pm from Monday to Friday, 10.30am - 5.00pm on Saturdays and 1.00pm - 5.00pm on Sundays.

Key dates include the following

Key Date/Deadline	Action/Event
12th June 2010	Deadline for receipt of all submissions
w/c 9th August 2010	Notification of judges selection sent to artists
10th September 2010	Last date for receiving works by post or courier
11-13th September 2010	Handing in of artworks (Pat Heffer will advise re arrangements)
13th September 2010	Judging, Opening and Private View 6pm to 9pm
13 September – 1 October 2010	Exhibition open
1 October 2010	4:00 – 5:00 removal of works 5:00pm Annual Meeting (AGM)

CPSA Explore This! 6 Online Exhibition

The online exhibition of the 6th CPSA Explore This! is now online.

Beginning in 2009, the CPSA Explore This! exhibition became a juried online show. This change was made with the hope of allowing artists to display their work to a broader audience. By encouraging the exploration of materials we hope all artists, colored pencil artists or not, will be inspired to enter their artwork in this exhibition.
CPSA - About the Exoplore This! exhibition

These are the links to:

• the award winners
• information about the juror Barbara Grazul Hubbard
• the exhibition 
• the list of participating artists and title of their artwork 

The exhibition continues until 31st January 2011

Julie Douglas in 17th Annual CPSA International Exhibition

Congratulations to UKCPS member Julie Douglas who, for the second year in a row, has had one of her coloured pencil portraits accepted into the Annual International Exhibition of the Colored Pencil Society of America.

Last year Julie's picture, "Dappled Son", won a $500 Award for Outstanding Recognition at the 16th Exhibition in Seattle.

Boy on a Swing - by Julie Douglas
coloured pencil
copyright Julie Douglas

CPSA yesterday announced the successful entries - in Artists and Artwork Selected for the 17th Annual CPSA International Exhibition - 2009. The exhibition is being held in Atlanta Georgia between July 9 - August 29, 2009 at the Jacqueline C. Hudgens Center for the Arts.

If any other international UKCPS members have also been successful please let me know and I'll add your names into this post.

Who's in the "Explore This" exhibition?

As previously announced, as from 2009, CPSA's Explore This! exhibition is to be annual and online only with all entries being digital images. This meant that the exhibition became a much more affordable proposition to enter for anybody previously concerned about the cost of shipping work over to the USA and back.

The Exhibition Artwork will go online and the Award Winners will be announced on February 1, 2009.

In the meantime you can check out whether you can recognise any names of UKCPS members in the listing of accepted entries which was published this week.

The unique feature of Explore This! is that all entries must have some element which breaks the rules of the CPSA International Exhibition

Finally, CPSA have also announced that the 2010 CPSA Convention will be in Santa Clara County in California - just south of San Francisco. Further details are available on the CPSA blog (see below).

Links:

• CPSA Explore This! prospectus
• CPSA list of accepted entries
• Colored Pencil Society of America News - Announcements for Explore This! 5 and 2010 Convention/Exhibition

The Japan Colored Pencil Society

Late last year, UKCPS received news from Takako Ikuta in Japan. Some of you may recall Bob Ebdon writing about her in his sign-off post back in September 2008.

....finally - back to our very first exhibition. This took place at Patchings Farm in 2001, and our very first AGM was held there on a Saturday. The following day I got a call from Patchings - a lady had turned up for the AGM, she had come a long way, and would I like to meet her. It turned out she had come a VERY long way - it was Takako Ikuta, from Japan. I was delighted to meet her, brought her home for tea, and have kept in touch ever since. I was very excited to get an e-mail from her just this week to announce that she has formed the Japan Colored Pencil Society. Now look what we done!

• In September 2008, Takako founded the Japan Colored Pencil Society. It has 22 members.
  
• The society now has a website - the address is http://j-cps.org.
• JCPS also held its first exhibition in 2008 and exhibited the works of all those who applied. You can see a gallery of the first exhibition on the website and you can see photographs of them hung here.
  
• JCPS are also planning to hold a second exhibition in November 2009.
  

It's very interesting to note that some of the artwork is using coloured pencil at the same time as adopting the subject matter and compositional style of traditional Japanese artwork of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

About Takako Ikuta

Takako Ikuta UKCPS CPSA is a coloured pencil artist and author who has exhibited with both UKCPS and CPSA, was awarded signature status with both societies in 2004 and 2005 respectively and has won prizes and commendations at the annual exhibitions of both societies.

Which I think I'm right in saying makes her unique in the world!

So Long, Been good to know ya...

Takako Ikuta "On a Monday Morning"

It seems appropriate that my last post should take me right back to the beginning of the Society - but more of that in a moment! First, as you will have gathered, a very worthy replacement for the managing of the UKCPS blog has been found in Katherine Tyrrell, who I am sure will do a much better job than me. She will introduce herself in the next post. My health is still not good, but initial investigations have shown that I do not appear to have the heart problem I thought I may have. When your father dies aged 45, you tend to worry over these things! My biggest problem at present though is that I am depressed and have not put pencil to paper fruitfully since last June. I don't know when or if I will do so again.

Anyway, before I ride off into the sunset, just time for a few things, starting with congrats from me to our President Ann James Massey SWA, KA, CPSA, UKCPS and member Jean Canter PPSGFA, UKCPS, both of whom have been juried into the ING Discerning Eye exhibition. Then I have just seen a copy of the CPSA magazine "To The Point", which contains pieces by myself and Katherine that the CPSA used to comment on the recent discussions about use of photos. Which I do not intend to get drawn into again. Talking of drawing, the October edition of Leisure Painter magazine (out now) contains the third in my series of four articles, this time about using tools such as a blender, embossing tool and the Derwent eraser.

And finally - back to our very first exhibition. This took place at Patchings Farm in 2001, and our very first AGM was held there on a Saturday. The following day I got a call from Patchings - a lady had turned up for the AGM, she had come a long way, and would I like to meet her. It turned out she had come a VERY long way - it was Takako Ikuta, from Japan. I was delighted to meet her, brought her home for tea, and have kept in touch ever since. I was very excited to get an e-mail from her just this week to announce that she has formed the Japan Colored Pencil Society. Now look what we done! When their website is launched - hopefully next month - I will ensure Katherine features it. At present they only have 22 members, but they are up and running. I remember what that feels like, and wish them all the luck in the world. Well done Takako - I hope you know what you have let yourself in for!

Thanks to all who have helped make this Society what it is today, to all who have supported me personally, and I leave you with a song:

Of all the money that ere I had, I spent it in good company
And of all the harm that ere I've done, alas was done to none but me
And all I've done for want of wit, to memory now I cannot recall
So fill to me the parting glass...

Goodnight and joy be with you all.