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WHAT IS A COLOURED PENCIL ?

WHY COLOURED PENCIL ?

WHAT IS ‘PURE’ COLOURED PENCIL and why are we bothered ?

Is it DRAWING or PAINTING ?

Are they CHILDREN’s Playthings or ARTIST’s Media ?

A Coloured Pencil is a convenient medium for producing a work of art. Coloured Pencils can have a layer of wood to support and protect the core of pigment which can be quite soft,  or they can be without any wood and merely have a paper or varnish cover (when it is commonly referred to by the French word ‘crayon’).  It is a linear medium and as such, is at its best when showing lines. Subjects involving fur and hair are where it excels, so animal studies are natural territory.  Some brilliant work is to be seen, though, from skilled artists showing subjects of all types

Why use coloured pencil rather than any other medium?

For the artist working in short spells in a home environment, pencil offers the ability to pick up the thread and continue from a previous work session with a minimum of trouble.    

The medium is clean and immediately available. If you work from a box of pencils and start your picture with each pencil in the box facing the same way, you can return each worked pencil to the box the ‘wrong way round’ and then, once you have packed up for the day, your worked pencils are there, already identified, waiting to be picked out and up next time you open the lid.

The pigment goes down in a reliable way and there are very few surprises

.................. Pictures do tend to take longer than other media though !

The Coloured Pencil Societies ( UKCPS in the UK,  and CPSA in USA ) hold exhibitions each year for ‘Pure Coloured Pencil’ works, and specify quite strict conditions for the exact types of media that can be used.  This is not out of a wish to be ‘difficult’ but merely as an effort to push the boundaries on what can be achieved with a special medium.

Both Societies also hold other exhibitions where mixed media pictures - which include Coloured Pencil as a majority ingredient - can be shown

Pure Coloured Pencil is considered by the Societies to be any wax or oil based Pencil, soluble or not, including watercolour pencils and wax based crayons (but not pastel pencils or coloured graphite).

These may be used on a purchased surface,  so surfaces pre-coloured by the artist with other media such as traditional watercolour, acrylic paint or ink are excluded, as are Coloured Pencil worked over collage etc.  If the artist wishes to colour the paper or board surface then pigment from a Coloured Pencil may be used with solvent or water.  More precise details of the entry conditions are available from the Society Exhibition Directors.   There is debate at present over how a ‘purchased surface’ is defined and it may be that surfaces prepared with a layer of gesso or primer in a single colour will be allowed in future as a base.  This is so in the UK but I have no information about the USA Society ruling.

We are ‘bothered’ about definitions and entry terms because the two societies uphold the banner for Coloured Pencil as a Fine Art Medium, and promote the use of pencils. There are a number of other graphic based societies, but they all take a wider view and do not specialise in Coloured Pencil.   By the dedicated Societies laying down strict rules, the development of Coloured Pencil techniques is encouraged.

These rules apply only to competitive exhibition entry, however.

The fact that the Societies apply strict control on what is allowed for Pure Coloured Pencil Exhibition does not in any way hold back developments in the handling and use of Coloured Pencil - either alone or with other media.  There are some very interesting ideas circulating and you should not be discouraged from trying out new ideas and techniques with other media.  This site shows some images which are from professional artists who use Coloured Pencil (CP) with a variety of other media, and the site also covers Pastel Pencils which are not admissible by the two societies.

Drawing or painting ?  

Drawing with a pencil or pen produces a line.  

A drawing is an image made up of lines and is a representation of the subject which may - or may not - be photo-realistic.

Painting is the laying down of blocks or layers of colour to produce a more realistic interpretation than a drawing.  

Work in Coloured Pencil can be either, but most work that is exhibited fits readily into the category of ‘painting’.

Plaything or serious medium ?  in a word, ‘Both’.  

As an introduction to the world of art, coloured pencils offer an unrivalled medium for children.  If they can be taught the modern techniques for applying colour from a pencil, which have been developed over the last 15 or so years, those children will be the artists of tomorrow.  As for the artists of today, Coloured Pencil has every right to be taken seriously as a professional medium.

The pencil has for far too long been referred to as ‘humble’.  

It is time for the Coloured Pencil to stand up, wave, and be noticed.

INTRODUCTION

SCRIBBLETALK is an Internet Forum offering members the chance to discuss and learn from each other’s work.  Registration is free, and the people using the site are friendly and full of advice for those who are just starting out on the Coloured Pencil Trail.

Apart from Coloured Pencil, there are discussion forums for Graphite, Pastel and Mixed Media, and artists who major in Portraiture and Animal studies ( topics that do not appear a great deal on this site where the trend is to landscapes ! )

Scribbletalk is owned and operated from the USA, but membership is worldwide and if you read through the sections you will see a lively contribution from Europe to most threads

Have a look at Scribbletalk. It will be worth the trip !

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WWW.SCRIBBLETALK.COM

Latest revision March 2011