Colored Pencil Demonstration 117pets and musical themes and even
some abstraction. I enjoy working with
a client to translate the ideas in their
head successfully to a nished piece on
paper or stone. is usually involves
several meetings, sketches and changes
on both sides but is exciting when the
nished work is just what they wanted.
In preparing a drawing, I typically
use several reference photographs, an
actual object or two, and some artistic
freedom to ll in the blanks. I do not
attempt to create photorealistic or
scienti cally correct representations.
I will frequently use Photoshop
to edit, manipulate, cut and paste
pieces of reference photos to create a
composition. I move things around,
change colors and simplify some
sections while emphasizing details in
other areas. is draft is then used to
sketch the image that will be used for
the nal colored pencil drawing.
Many of my drawings have an
unde ned, irregular edge or may have
elements of the drawing breaking
the border and creating an e ect of
3-D and depth. e claws of a Gila
monster may be hanging out over the
lower edge.
I create drawings on a variety of
surfaces but some of my favorite
pieces are the ones that use travertine
stone. My rst stone piece was
inspired as I was watching a large,
colorful chuckwalla lizard looking
out over the top of a boulder in my
yard. I was reminded of gargoyles
perched on ledges of stone buildings.
To capture that feeling with colored
pencil I felt that bringing out the
lizard’s image on rock would be
natural and tting. I have continued
to depict these lizards, tortoises,
snakes and Gila monsters living
among the rocks in a series of stone
drawings. I enjoy harmonizing the
subjects with their natural rocky
habitat.
I use travertine stone because I enjoy
the uniqueness of each piece; there are
no two stones alike. Often, changes
in color and texture become evident
as you are coloring a section. It goes
from smooth to grainy or to a change
in minerals that resists pigment almost
entirely and can make you rethink
your plan. Travertine stone may be
lled and honed; meaning that the
holes and pockets have been lled
and leveled to a smooth surface, and
the edges may be straight cuts or achiseled edge.
If necessary, I may use some sand-
less grout to ll some unwanted holes,
and sand it smooth after it dries. If
the stone seems too smooth or slick to
grab the pigment, I sand it to provide
a tooth to the surface before starting.
Luckily, the slab of travertine used
for Inner Beauty, my demonstration
drawing, did not need any special
preparation. ere were small holes
and odd patterns but they only
enhance the natural look, tting for
our cavescape.
As mentioned above a lot of desert
reptiles and animals and sometimes
cactus or wild owers nd their way
into my work. However, for our
demonstration I was inspired by a
visit to Kartchner Caverns here in
Arizona. Kartchner is an incredible
cave with beautiful formations and a
great backstory of its discovery, secrecy
and protection. How appropriate to
use travertine stone as a surface to
create images of limestone stalactites,
stalagmites and other subterranean
formations. So, I dug into my personal
old photographs taken while caving
years ago trying to nd some references
for a drawing.Fragmented, colored
pencil on paper,
16 x 27" (41 x 69 cm)
It has been fun to work
with abstraction and
to listen to how others
interpret the piece.
Some see butterfl ies
or shattered glass,
while others perceive
neurons. It actually
began life as a broken
rock wall on a beach
in California. Some
cropping, stretching
and experimenting
resulted in this
composition.