Julie Douglas

Julie Douglas, "Dappled Son"

This gorgeous picture will have all members of the UKCPS pushing it in the next few weeks and months. Why? Because it is the only successful entrant into the CPSA Exhibition from a UKCPS member based this side of the pond - and I had to be careful how I phrased that as I did not want to all of a sudden annex Ireland! Many congratulations to Julie Douglas of County Clare, Eire, for achieving this year what so many have tried and failed over the past seven years, and at least we now have a toehold in the CPSA competition!

Other news: I have put up a fairly comprehensive Frequently Asked Questions guide to the UKCPS Exhibition, with what I hope are some pointers especially for overseas entrants. Please read this carefully if you are thinking - as I hope you are - of entering this year. We are trying to spot problems before they arise, which is something of a new approach for your Executive!

And finally, I hope you enjoyed my latest article in Leisure Painter magazine, in the current (June 2008) edition, encouraging you to work on different papers. I actually had a telephone call this morning from a gentleman who said "I didn't know you were such a fine figure of a man!"

Bob's bits

Another of those blogs where I just lump a few little things together to make a posting! I am conscious that I have not posted in a while, but will only disturb your in-tray if I really feel I have something of interest.

First a reminder that you should be working on your entry for our next Exhibition, entries due to Pat Heffer before July 9th, and the sooner the better as far as Pat is concerned. If you need an entry form, you can download one from here.

You may be interested to see the list of successful entrants for the next CPSA Exhibition, which is here. Perhaps what is most interesting is the long list of artists, including the past three winners, who have not been successful this year. It just goes to show that in the end this is all a matter of opinion.

Next, apologies for the fact that the UKCPS site was out of action for several hours today. I have yet to recieve an explanation from our hosts GNHosting, but at least it is up again as far as I can tell now.

Finally, a request for artists to support a worthy cause where they can. The UKCPS has a policy of only providing links from our site to other sites that have specific CP content, so when this site asked for a link I had to say no. But what they are doing is very laudable, and it would be well worth any of you clicking through and just checking out what they are trying to do. They also offer some good advice on protection of images - The Animal Artists Protection League tries to monitor the web for unlawful use of its members images. And they have a great logo!

May at Keswick

Tony Hogan, "Catbells"

Our friends at the Cumberland Pencil Museum in Keswick have asked me to let you know that they have a series of events planned for the month of May. The demonstrations are suitable for beginners and intermediate levels, and are being offered Free as part of the Open learning Package at the Museum.

To kick off the month Robin Evans will be demonstrating with Graphite, Tinted Charcoal, and Ink. Robin is a highly talented illustrator and sketch artist, also known as “Evsie”, and has been living in Kendal since 2003. Robin has already established a client base and reputation in Kendal as: The Cartoonist. Robin is also a favourite at local outdoor shows, where he says his ambition is to “keep drawing and amusing people until I am 92, and then I might retire”. Robin will be at the Museum on Thursday 8th and Friday 9th May and the demonstrations run from 10am – 4pm.

On Wednesday 14th and Thursday 15th May Coloured Pencil Artist Jenny Hill, will be teaching techniques specialising in Wildlife and Botanical drawing. Jenny concentrates on commission art, and will be teaching how to create animal features and tone and depth of a subject.

To finish the series, Professional Artist Tony Hogan, will be running a three day demonstration in the use of Pastel Pencils and Tinted Charcoal. Tony Hogan is a long established artist and is recognised for his “stunning paintings” of the Lake District, and his relaxed and easy way of teaching. His demonstrations are ideally suited for the beginner, who would like to learn the art of Pastel Pencil techniques. The demonstrations run from Tuesday 27th – Thursday 29th May.
Tony Hogan will also have a series of original framed paintings for sale in the Museum Gallery.

Please contact The Cumberland Pencil Museum, by e-mail from their site, or call 017687 73626 for further details.

Books and a Course

A couple of books in the "Bible" series by Search Press are being released and may be of interest to our members. The first of these to come out is the "Landscape Artists Drawing Bible", by Hazel Harrison, which features work by our members Graham Brace, Peter Woof and Robin Borrett, and in May the "Coloured Pencil Artists Drawing Bible" by Jane Strother, will be released. Robin also has work in this, but I have yet to hear of other members who do - I am sure there will be some, as the publishers used the UKCPS site to contact several of our members. The value of our Members Gallery pages asserts itself again - a gentle reminder to those who have not yet availed yourselves of this opportunity!

The other thing I wanted to mention in this blog is that Jonathan Newey has some spaces left in a 'Drawing landscapes with coloured pencil' course at the Preston Montford Field Centre near Shrewsbury on the weekend of 16-18 May. Please contact Preston Montford Field Centre, Montford Bridge, Shrewsbury, SY4 1DX Tel:01743 852040 if you are interested.

Keswick "World of Coloured Pencil" Exhibition

Entries have been slow this year, and there are still some places available for the Keswick Exhibition in June. Please contact Pat Heffer if you are thinking about entering a picture. Remember that prizes are available, and we can usually work out some way of getting your picture there and back if this is a problem. Remember also that this does not have to be a pure coloured pencil work, as long as coloured pencil is the main medium.

This exhibition is designed to show the range of work that can be done with coloured pencil, and the range of abilities within our Society, and will be seen by thousands of people who visit the Pencil Museum in June. To encourage beginners, there is a special "Newcomers" prize, sponsored by Leisure Painter magazine, so please don't be put off if you are new to coloured pencil. It would be a shame to miss out on this opportunity.

Bits and Bobs from Bob

Richard Childs, "Hope of Sepilok"

Several short pieces in this blog. Let us start with several big congratulatory cheers, with possibly more to come! First, for members Richard Childs and Jonathan Newey, who have both been accepted into the Mall Galleries Exhibition for the Wildlife Artist of the Year, run by the David Sheppard Wildlife Foundation, between 24th and 28th June this year. The final winner will be announced on the Preview Evening - we are keeping our fingers crossed for both members. Richard's piece is "Hope of Sepilok", which was a prizewinner in the 2008 UKCPS Exhibition, and which has been instrumental in raising a good sum for the Orang-utans in Borneo.

Graham Brace, "Dancing Trees"

Next, congratulations to member Graham Brace, who has a five page article in this month's (May) Artist and Illustrator magazine, with several examples of his beautiful work. Also in this magazine is a reference to the UKCPS Colour Comparison Charts, so we hope for more orders of those.

Next, a request from one of our members, Karen Coulson, to publicise her local art shop, which, despite the name, is in Lymington, Hants! Happy to do so, on recommendation of our members. This very friendly store may soon be stocking the new Luminance pencils from Caran d'Ache that are causing a stir at the moment, but it already has a good stock of Derwent and Caran d'Ache as well as some harder to find papers like the Art Spectrum Colorfix. Clicking on the picture above will take you to their site. See what Peter Weatherill, Nicole Caulfield and others think of Luminance here. While on the subject of members recommendations, if we have any members in North Queensland, Australia - and yes, we do have some in the Antipodes! - they might be interested in contacting Frieda van Aller to talk about visiting artists in the Port Douglas region.

Finally, if you have not already done so, get this book. Arlene Steinberg, known to many of us through "Scribbletalk", has written what I feel sure will become a standard in the coloured pencil world. I received my copy yesterday, and devoured it in one sitting, and am now going through it again to savour it. The best way I can sum it up is to say that Arlene does not just teach you how to become a coloured pencil artist - she shows you how to be an artist. And remember if you buy this book through the Society Book page, we benefit by a few pennies - which we can do with!

UKCPS at the NEC

The UKCPS at the NEC 2007

Members will know that for the past three years the UKCPS has had a very successful presence at the NEC, Birmingham, at the Art Materials Live Show in November. We are happy to confirm that we will be repeating this in November 2008, from 13th-16th November - providing we get the support we need from you! Please contact Rachel Stirling - shows[at]ukcps.co.uk - to offer your help on the stand. We need demonstrators, general helpers, people to run the workshops, people to help set-up or take down - just a few hours, half a day if you can manage it would be great. The sooner we can get a list of helpers, the better Rachel will like it. This really is an excellent show, and the publicity it gives the Society is invaluable.