Bougainvillea in Colored Pencil

I really need to get some new reference material!  I love bougainvillea but I think I've painted them enough!  We have been traveling and I needed something to work on while on the plane.  Colored pencils are the best medium for me in this instance because it doesn't take much space and if there is turbulence, there are no spills.  There were a few pencil skips during turbulence but it worked out okay.

I am so amazed by artists that use colored pencil as their primary medium.  It is a very time consuming process and being stuck on a plane is about the only time I have enough patience to work with them.  It sure makes me appreciate the skills and time needed to finish a colored pencil painting.  This is a small one and it took many hours more than if it was done in any other medium that I use.  Even though I really like the look of colored pencils that have been burnished, I didn't burnish this one because there was a bit too much texture in the paper, even though it is a hot pressed watercolor paper.  I usually like using smooth Bristol paper for colored pencils.  This paper did have a little more tooth to hold more layers of color, which was nice, so I guess each type of paper has its pros and cons.

Bougainvillea in Colored Pencil
Image Size 7" x 10"
Colored Pencil

Succulent sketching

This has been a busy, very fun week with house guests but not much time for artwork.  I used the little time I had to do a colored pencil and ink sketch for the inside of the Tustin Garden Club yearbook.  I do the artwork each year for the cover and also 2 simplistic sketches for the inside.  So now I only have one more sketch to do and that one is almost finished.  The cover will be "Graptoveria" from a couple of weeks ago so I wanted to do different succulents for the inside.

It was fun working with colored pencil again with some ink but I really prefer doing more realistic pieces with colored pencil. Unfortunately I find that I really don't have the patience to spend the time that is required to do that.  I'm always in awe of artists that do such detailed colored pencil art.  If you want to see some incredible examples of realism in colored pencil, visit the Colored Pencil Society of America website.  So many beautiful art pieces make me both frustrated and inspired.

coconut cluster

This is the second ACEO that I've done. I had so much fun joining ebay and doing my first posting that I decided to do it again.

Image size 2.5" x 3.5"
Colored Pencil
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Succulent 1

Nothing like going from one extreme to another. Last week's painting was 4 feet by 8 feet. This one is 2.5" x 3.5". It is an ACEO which stands for artist's cards, editions and originals. These are artists trading cards which are a good way to collect different artists original works in a small, inexpensive way. I did this one while I was sitting by the pool in Mexico. You can't get much more relaxed than that. It is done with colored pencils on a smooth bristol board

Succulent I
Image size 2.5" x 3.5"
Colored Pencil
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