Book Review: Drawing and Painting Flowers with Coloured Pencils - Trudy Friend

Book Title: Drawing and Painting Flowers with Coloured Pencils
Author: Trudy Friend
Publisher: The Search Press www.searchpress.com
ISBN: 978-1-84448-942-8
Published: 2014, Reprinted 2015
Pages: 144, Colour illustrations
RRP: £15.99

Who For: Intermediate amateur and professional artists wishing to try coloured pencils.

In Drawing and Painting Flowers with Coloured Pencils, Trudy Friend demonstrates the versatility and flexibility of coloured pencils. The book guides the reader from starting out with pencils and materials to tackling complicated compositional pieces.

In the first section, Friend introduces her choice of pencils: the Derwent range. She guides the newcomer through the various types and describes their characteristics and possible methods of application. Coloured pencils are not what they used to be many years ago, these days they are a medium for professional work of the highest quality. This is very evident in Friend's many demonstrations which the book is packed with.

The other sections take the reader through a logical and well organised topics. This makes it possible to dip into the sections rather than reading the book cover to cover. Having said this, for the newcomer to coloured pencils, I would advise a good look through the book so that the various techniques are covered. 

There are two key aspects of the book which I really like. First is Friend's approach to using the full range of pencils, water and non-water soluble, in a multimedia technique. Thus making full use of the potential of the medium and achieving impressive results. Beginning artists may find the approach particularly helpful, especially if watercolour is a medium they are familiar with.

Using coloured pencils in a multi-media approach

The second, is the way Friend uses objects to give the flower paintings and drawings substance and context. For example, she uses objects such as a water pump, a pair of old boots, and even a bicycle! The compositions are effective and the various elements support each other. This is particularly useful for artists who may find painting flowers in a 'botanical' style not easy or not what they want. These compositions can also be found in most gardens

Including objects to give context to paintings

Coloured pencils are the medium of the future. More and more professional artists are finding its versatility, and lucky for us manufacturers of art materials are responding to the demand. New and exciting products are being introduced regularly..

The book will serve the reader well as both an instructional and inspirational resource.

Mo Awkati

13th 'World of Coloured Pencil' Exhibition 2015

 

Alan Jones -Beau
2014 Derwent Best in Show

Venue: The Cumberland Pencil Museum, Keswick, CA12 5NG
Saturday 29th August - Saturday 3rd October 2015

Free entry open to all UKCPS members only, 24 pictures chosen by ballot. Pure coloured pencil or mixed media with coloured pencil as the main medium.

Closing date for entries 19th July 2015.

Entry is online only. Please ensure you read the rules of entry before completing the entry form.
When completing your entry form you will need your image in jpg format, max size of file 5MB, ready to upload. You will also need following info:
Title of Picture
Price including commission
Dimensions: Height x Width in cm - framed and unframed
Information for label - materials used and brief description of why you chose the subject.

Rules of Entry - read before completing Entry Form

Online Entry Form

Awards:
Derwent - Best in Show and People's Award.
UKCPS - 'Reserve Best in Show' and 'Runner Up' plus award for a 'Best Local Group Member'.
Leisure Painter - 'Best Newcomer to Coloured Pencil'.
People's Prize based on votes from exhibition visitors

Thanks to our sponsors:

Derwent's People's Choice Award

Congratulations to Suzy for winning the Derwent People's Choice Award at the recent Keswick exhibition held at the Derwent Pencil Museum. You can see all the award winners at our website.

12th 'World of Coloured Pencil Exhibition 2014' Closing date

12th 'World of Coloured Pencil Exhibition 2014'

Sponsored by Derwent

The Cumberland Pencil Museum, Keswick

27th Sptember to 8th November 2014

Closing date for entries 17th August 2014
If you are planning on entering the Keswick Exhibition this year please get your entries in this week as the closing date is midnight, Sunday 17th August - just one week away.

All entries are online so go to our webpage and send your entry now.

The exhibition is open to all members, one entry per member. 24 pictures are chosen by ballot so everyone has a chance to be selected.

South West Society of Botanical Artists

South West Society of Botanical Artists

To all UKCPS artists,
especially those living in the West Country,

Linda Nicholls is organising on behalf of the Society of Botanical Artists, a 3 night visit to the Lake District where they have been invited by Derwent to visit their factory and Pencil Museum, with an optional full day workshop.

This will be in March 2015 (date to be confirmed), staying half board at a 4* hotel with coach travel from Exeter via the M5 and M6. 

The cost will be approximately £280.

If interested please communicate with Linda at this email address:

pelisande@btinternet.com

Derwent Art Prize 2014

Entries are open for the Derwent Art Prize 2014! The Cumberland Pencil Company are delighted that the UK Coloured Pencil Society are sponsoring the UKCPS Award for Excellence. The winner will be selected from shortlisted entries by members of the UKCPS committee and the prize of £250 will be awarded at a private awards ceremony on 15th September 2014.

Other prizes include; a First Prize of £6,000; Second Prize of £3,500, Third Prize of £1,000, the People’s Choice Award (works in the exhibition) of £700, the Young Artist Award of £500 for artists aged 18 - 25 years, and an additional People’s Choice Award of £700, selected from all 2014 entries and judged by visitors to the website: www.derwent-artprize.com.

The Derwent Art Prize is open to all living British and international artists over the age of 18. Artists can submit up to 6 pieces of work, created with any charcoal, pastel, graphite, water-soluble and coloured pencils on any 2 or 3 dimensional support.

DEADLINE FOR ENTRIES: 9th June 2014
ENTER ONLINE AT: www.derwent-artprize.com.

Derwent Art Prize

Just a month left till the deadline for the Derwent Art Prize!

Derwent Art Prize

The Call For Entries is out for the 2014 Derwent Art Prize, (closing date 9 June 2014).  Get the details and entry instructions from the website: http://www.derwent-artprize.com/enter-derwent-art-prize

Derwent Academy website

This came to me from the Derwent website. 

 

The Derwent 'Academy' range of pencils are designed for students, and those beginning in the colour pencil medium -- but the new website at www.derwentacademy.co.uk is a good resource. Check out the videos in the 'Hints and Tips' section, and also the video on how pencils are made in the 'Quality' section.

 Check it out!

 

 

 

Awards @ Keswick Exhibition

The UKCPS 'World of Coloured Pencils' Exhibition is currently on at the Cumberland Pencil Museum in Keswick, Cumbria, and is running until the 27th April.

 

The Derwent judges have made their decision on the award winners for this year:-

Best in show - Diana Hudson for 'Intensity'

Reserve best in show - Judith Heilbronn-Crown, 'Lagavulin on the rocks'

Best Newcomer - Julie Maguire, 'Cradle'

Best local group - Davina Halliday, 'Mungrisdale'

Highly commended -

• Irina Cawton, 'Herbarium'
• Sue Clinker, 'Look into my eyes'
• Morryce Maddams, 'The Bishop's Mitre'
• Jackie Cox, 'Nosy neighbours'

STOP PRESS!!

SINCE POSTING THE ABOVE, LIZ RIDLEY HAS DONE HER BIT WITH THE UKCPS WEBSITE, AND I AM PLEASED TO SAY THAT YOU CAN NOW VIEW ALL THE ENTRIES VIA THE WEBSITE LINK: http://www.ukcps.co.uk/keswick_2013/index.html

New colours for Coloursoft, and more products

Derent are introducing an additional set of colours for their Coloursoft pencils. [my personal favourites!].

Available from March onwards, the set comprises 12 new  (and very vibrant) colours developed in co-operation with fashion designer, Nikki Partington.

They will be issued in a 12 pencil tin with a RRP of £19.50

Some of the colours are:

Ivory, Lemon Sorbet, Magenta, Powder Blue, Chartreuse, Seaweed, Henna, and Cinnemon.

Yours truly will be going to the Pencil Museum on 14th March, so I'm hoping to treat myself!

More details from the Derwent website: www.pencils.co.uk

In addition .... (for those who like mixed media with their CP), Derwent have also extended their range of Inktense Blocks to 72 colours, and have introduced some lovely charcoal and graphite blocks (see the review in the April edition of 'Leisure Painter').

A Major New Competition - Derwent

Derwent Art Prize 2013

Call For Entries

 

Rewarding excellence through showcasing the very best international works created in pencil, The Cumberland Pencil Company is delighted to announce their inaugural Derwent Art Prize.

 It is an open submission opportunity for British and international artists, offering prizes of up to £8,750.

Entries will be judged by a distinguished panel of selectors: Yvonne Crossley (Director
of The Drawing Gallery, Shropshire); Fisun Güner (journalist and freelance visual arts
writer); and Professor Stephen Farthing RA (artist and Rootstein Hopkins Research
Chair of Drawing at the University of the Arts, London).

'We are delighted to be invited to select works for this inaugural year of the Derwent Art
Prize. We look forward to seeing a high standard of entries and hope to bring together an
exhibition which showcases the very best works created in pencil, from both British and
international artists.'

An exhibition of selected works will be held at the prestigious Mall Galleries in
London SW1 from 16-21 September 2013 and all selected artists will be featured on
the Derwent Art Prize website.

 The Derwent Art Prize 2013 exhibition will then tour to venues across the UK, including the Pencil Museum in Keswick, Cumbria.

The Prize is open to all living British and international artists over the age of 18 years old on 1st July 2013. Artists can submit up to 6 pieces of work, created with any charcoal, pastel, graphite, water-soluble and coloured pencils on any 2 or 3 dimensional support. The maximum size of work is 182cms in its greatest dimension.

Deadline for Entries: Monday 1st July 2013
Entry is online at: www.derwent-artprize.com
For further enquiries please contact the competition organisers, Parker Harris, on:
Tel. + 44 (0) 1372 462190
Email. derwent@parkerharris.co.uk
WWW.DERWENT-ARTPRIZE.COM

Barbara Murray - & the Derwent Blog

The current edition of the Derwent company's own Blog, 'Love Pencils',  has a big feature written by (and about) the UKCPS Chair, Barbara Murray, and her 26 years with the company.

There is a link to the Derwent website down and to the right under 'Links to Sponsors'.
The blog addresss for Love Pencils is http://www.lovepencils.co.uk/
The URL for the article is http://www.lovepencils.co.uk/post/2012/08/14/Barbara-Murray-Memories.aspx

British Greats Award

There is a competition being run to identify the 'greats' of Great Britain. Our friends at the Cumberland Pencil Company are one of the nominees, and are asking for YOUR vote.

Go to: www.thegreatexhibition2012.co.uk/Greats/Cumberland-pencil-company and vote for a great British company!!

Visitors Choice at Keswick

Congratulations to Alan Jones,  whose picture  entitled 'Meggie' [see right] was voted most popular by visitors to the 2012 World of Colour Pencils' exhibition at the Cumberland Pencil Museum in Keswick.

See the UKCPS website (ukcps.co.uk) for pictures of all the exhibition entrants and the main awards.

Bev Lewis - New Derwent Paper

Congratulations to UKCPS Signature member, Bev Lewis, whose lovely picture of a Rhinoceros features on the front covers of the pads of  Derwent's newly launched range of watercolour papers.

Derwent have launched the paper as follows:-

Derwent launch new Watercolour Paper

Derwent’s new beautifully smooth natural wove Watercolour Paper has been especially developed for use with water-soluble pencils, but it can also team up with all types of water-soluble media; particularly Derwent’s new Artbar range and their Inktense Blocks. 

The superior smooth texture of the new Derwent Watercolour Paper makes it incredibly versatile;  it enhances your pencil work whether wet or dry, and is ideal for intricate watercolour paintings as well as even washes of colour, or a combination of the two!

The heavy weight 300gsm paper responds well to washes but Derwent recommend that the paper is stretched prior to use if a particularly large area is to be covered or a heavy wash used. 

The new Watercolour Paper is available in pads in the most popular sizes ranging from A2 to A5. Each pad contains 12 sheets of 300gsm, white, acid free watercolour paper and features a watercolour drawing of a Rhino by animal artist Bev Lewis (UKCPS) on the cover. Prices start at £5.99 for an A5 pad ranging to £22.99 for A2.  

For more information on Derwent’s new Watercolour Paper and their range of water-soluble drawing media visit www.pencils.co.uk

'World of Colour Pencils' Exhibition

You can now visit the UKCPS website (www.ukcps.co.uk) to view all the entries and prize winners for the UKCPS 'World of Colour Pencils' exhibition, which opened last Sunday and is now on until the 26th May at the Cumberland Pencil Museum in Keswick, Cumbria.

Congratulations go to:

Irina Garmashova-Cawton for Best Picture in Show (sponsored by Derwent)
Linda Brand for Reserve Best in Show
Vivienne Priest for the Leisure Painter Best Newcomer Award (and our thanks to Leisure Painter Magazine for the award!),
and to Alan Jones and Pauline Longley for their Highly Commendeds.

The 'Visitors Choice' award will be announced at the end of the exhibiion once all the public votes have been counted.

UKCPS Exec Committee at Derwent

That bunch of rogues shown on the right is made up of some of the members of the UKCPS Executive Committee, (plus some of their partners), when they were guests of the Derwent Cumberland Pencil Company at the factory in Lillyshall, near Workington, on Friday last.   The Exec. Comm. were invited to tour the factory as part of a two day visit to Keswick during which the committee met to conduct UKCPS business, and to set up the entries for the 'World of Colour Pencils' exhibition at the Cumberland Pencil Museum. (the results of which will follow in a further posting).

 (From L to Rt)

REAR: Will Johnson, Malcolm Cudmore, Pauline Longley, John Ridley, Suzy Herbert

FRONT: Paul Longley, Alan McMahon (me! -with silly grin),  Barbara Murray (UKCPSChair), Liz Ridley, Pat Heffer (UKCPS President), and John Heffer.

  

Keswick Exhibition

Last reminder for UK members-- the deadline for Entries to the UKCPS 10th 'World Of Coloured Pencils' Exhibition at Keswick closes in two days on 10th March.  You can still get an entry in if you post 'First Class' or attach a photo of your entry to an email!!

Visit the UKCPS website for 'conditions of entry' and entry form: www.ukcps.co.uk

Derwent 'Artbar'- new drawing product

Derwent have introduced a new product which may be of interest to those who like to use soluable pigments in their drawings, or want to try a new dry medium - I quote from their literature:

Derwent’s new Artbar is a water-soluble wax bar perfect for creating bold expressive marks and building up texture. The high wax content gives the Artbar a very smooth consistency and its unique triangular shape means you can make many more distinctive marks than you can with a traditional round block.

The new Derwent Artbar range recognises the role of tone within art and the comprehensive spectrum of 72 opaque colours is divided into 4 tonal groups, Brights, Pales, Earths and Darks. For easy colour selection the colours within each tonal group are positioned together in the tins.

The Artbar has been tested by our panel of professional artists and they found the new Derwent Artbar incredibly versatile, being able to use them dry and wet as well as being able create texture by building up layers of colour almost like paint...

Each Artbar is protected by a peelable silver wrapper which can be removed in sections thereby ensuring that both the Artbar and your hands are protected throughout the life of the bar. They are perfect for working ‘en plein air’ as they are easy to transport dry and will balance on a hand held sketchbook without falling off!

The new Derwent Artbar is available individually and in selections of 12, 24, 36 and 72. The 12 tin contains a set of basics which, in theory, can be used to create any colour you want. To help you understand the art of colour mixing a tutorial is available to download from

www.pencils.co.uk   

If any readers have had a chance to use them - why not leave a comment for other readers to see with your own opinion of their value?