tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20645140.post5549650312335066261..comments2023-06-13T08:29:39.914+00:00Comments on MAKING A MARK: Review - UKCPS 11th Annual Open International Exhibition 2012Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20645140.post-42078802463604726582012-10-16T15:40:05.637+00:002012-10-16T15:40:05.637+00:00Hi all
some wonderful comments and arguments here...Hi all<br /><br />some wonderful comments and arguments here about coloured pencil and style versus technique! ~I need to digest them a bit and then add my tuppence worth. will be back :) Rubyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03663911288355960940noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20645140.post-59192355328302386082012-10-16T10:05:56.858+00:002012-10-16T10:05:56.858+00:00I suppose we can all call our work what we like. F...I suppose we can all call our work what we like. For me, I do drawings, as I have a simple attitude to it all. Paintings are done with paint, drawings with pencil. I know there are others out there who will find subclassifications to cite as a reason to disagree, but I don't think it really matters.<br /><br />Personally, I have no interest in producing realistic work, as that doesn't particularly speak of the things I wish to communicate, although I very much admire the skill of those who practice in this style, and have learned a lot from discussions on technique within the UKCPS.<br /><br />What I do find interesting this year, though, from the evidence of my own entries, is that there does seem to have been a willingness to choose work which steps into less familiar territory. I submitted five drawings to this, my first exhibition. None of them was wholly realistic, as they were mostly free inventions, but they skirted around the edges of the botanic and wildlife categories. In fact, the one which was chosen was the one which I entered as a wild card, not expecting it to find much favour. It wasn't even intended as a picture to be hung, but as an illustration for a book I am writing. Just shows what I know as a beginner!<br /><br />The most significant thing about that is that it has given me immense encouragement to pursue my private path more publicly, rather than hiding my true message for private use only, in the mistaken belief that only certain styles and subjects are appropriate for coloured pencil. This simply isn't true, and I hope this exhibition is going a small way towards demonstrating that. Nevertheless, such an exhibition is always going to reflect what the majority of artists in the medium are doing, and coloured pencil is a singularly good medium for hyper-realistic work, and it would be inappropriate, and undesirable, if that aspect of the art were to be viewed negatively, in a desperate quest for new directions. There should be room for us all.<br /><br />I'm not a great lover of impressionism, myself, and wonder how comfortable coloured pencil would be as a way of recording fleeting impressions. It just doesn't seem to me to be capable of the rapid application necessary for such work, although I do take the point about 'scribbles' being under-employed in serious CP art. I shall be interested to see how artists respond to this in the future, and a good artist should be able to find a solution.<br /><br />In the meantime, I have a year to polish up my technique, which still has a way to go.<br /><br />nicolson brooksBig Billy Goat Gruffhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16280644553764498141noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20645140.post-23569670256764035682012-10-15T15:51:08.078+00:002012-10-15T15:51:08.078+00:00I just want to commend you for the huge amount of ...I just want to commend you for the huge amount of time and energy you use to create these posts. I look forward to them and I receive so much good information.<br /><br />Thank you for your time and efforts.rghirardihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18216281217416683657noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20645140.post-31327962788540253172012-10-13T18:07:26.094+00:002012-10-13T18:07:26.094+00:00Thanks, Katherine for this post and link to the Pi...Thanks, Katherine for this post and link to the Picassa slideshow.<br /> <br />I picked a few favorites and for reasons similar to yours. <br /><br />I liked Chris Francis' 'Rondavel Kruger', and Beverly courtney's 'Indoor Cat' because of evidence of the pencil marks, showing the artist's hand.<br /> <br />Deborah Holman's more realistic 'Ink Pots' caught my attention.<br /><br />The entirety of the realistic work puts me in awe. I don't know how the artists accomplish it.<br /><br />I agree with Bob Ebdon that Realism seems to dominate as CP style.<br />Maybe ofering a special prize for 'colored pencil done in an impressionistic style', or 'colored pencil abstract' to get CP artists thinking along new lines.<br /><br />I have always referred to my colored pencil work as "drawing", though I think some of mine could be considered to be CP art that "looks like painting", or "done in a painterly style". The difference between drawing and painting for me is that one is dry and one is wet. <br /><br />All that being said, what a fine show. Thanks again for the post!Leslie Haweshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17933649274394414938noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20645140.post-62811092619107801542012-10-13T13:59:16.064+00:002012-10-13T13:59:16.064+00:00Back to me - and my response
+++++++++++++++++++++...Back to me - and my response<br />+++++++++++++++++++++<br />OK - so maybe painters use the odd spatula as well! ;)<br /><br />I totally agree we're all pigment pushers at the end of the day - which is what makes me wonder what on earth is going on with some of the new definitions of "what is a coloured pencil"?<br /><br />When water soluble coloured pencils without a wood casing are ruled out and solvent applied with a brush is allowable then something has gone wrong! <br /><br />You'll appreciate that this is not a comment which is specifically relevant to UKCPS - not lease because I'm struggling to find ANY coherent definition of coloured pencils on the UKCPS website. The preface to the Exhibitions Page (ie "pure coloured pencil" completely contradicts the awards on the 2012 Exhibition page "Mixed Media Award"<br /><br />It's not until we get to the entry form (offline and a pdf form) that we begin to get some clarity (and that's only there because I pointed out a while back that there was nothing on the website to tell people what to do if they wanted to start an artwork for next year's competition! :)<br /><br /><i>"There are 2 categories for which we are inviting entries: <br />* 100% coloured pencil <br />* Mixed Media (coloured pencil with other mediums)."</i><br /><br />I absolutely agree that "look at what can be done with CP" is very much a laudable aim. However it's only really meaningful if the complete range of things you can do with CP are explored and presented for people to look at. An exhibition which is biased towards one 'take' on CP art inevitably has the potential to influence a whole generation! But I think we're in agreement on this! :)<br /><br />I do very much approve of the notion that it is permissable to submit both pure coloured pencil work and mixed media work to this exhibition - and then separate out the prizes for the top awards so people are clear which is which. This is a very positive move forward in my view. It also seems to have incentivised a few more artists to exhibit with UKCPS.<br /><br />UKCPS is only just starting out with mixed media - and it would be unfair of me to compare the results this year with the nature/quality of the artwork (and associated media) which has been submitted to the CPSA Explore This! shows in the past. However next year I'm hoping people start to get a tad more adventurous! It's worth taking a look at the artwork which has received <a href="" rel="nofollow">past CPSA eXplore this Awards </a>Making A Markhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13509483023337008890noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20645140.post-28356840089886899762012-10-13T13:36:50.729+00:002012-10-13T13:36:50.729+00:00FOLLOW UP FROM BOB EBDON
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W...FOLLOW UP FROM BOB EBDON<br />++++++++++++++++++++++<br /><br />We are basically in agreement Katherine. We differ in what we would call some CP works - and to me that is not important ultimately. That argument can be resolved in many ways - by calling them "works in Cp", by agreeing that "drawing" and "painting" represent ends of a spectrum with many works somewhere in between, or by agreeing that I am right! But I do not believe CP artists are trying to deceive. They are saying "Look what can be done with CP - whatever you want to call it". There is surely no desire to stop artists working in a realistic style because it looks like a painting. What I agree we must do is to show everyone this is neither the only nor necessarily the best way to use pencils. You are absolutely right about technique being a tool for producing art, not the end itself.<br /><br />And "paintings are things produced with brushes!" - come on! Palette knives, drip buckets, spray cans, hands, sticks, sponges ........ How the pigment gets onto the support does not define what the work is called!Making A Markhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13509483023337008890noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20645140.post-66898434016194543222012-10-13T12:08:48.750+00:002012-10-13T12:08:48.750+00:00Now for my response to Bob re the "masqueradi...Now for my response to Bob re the "masquerading" comment.<br /><br />There are two things as the back of this. For me paintings are things produced with brushes and, if they "look like oils" (or acrylic) they're hung without any glass.<br /><br />I've always been uncomfortable calling my work "paintings" whether in coloured pencils or pastels. I tried it, didn't like it and switched back to calling them drawings.<br /><br />For me media ought to be honest about what it is - and it upsets me that people doing pencil art somehow want to obscure that fact it's made using pencils. <br /><br />Maybe "masquerade" is too strong a term? I'm trying to think of another which will convey my stance while being less offensive to those who like to cover every last bit of their paper.<br /><br />Incidentally botanical artists working in a variety of media - including those wielding a brush and calling their work paintings - have NOT been covering large parts of their paper for centuries! I just wish they'd tell me how they manage to keep it so immaculate!<br /><br />Coming to your last point - technique is certainly important and a very proper focus for those learning their skills - however it's not art. Art is about so much more than pure technique.<br /><br />Technique is a necessary pre-qualification rather than what makes a drawing or painting special in my book. Just as you don't need to be the best painter to win the big prizes but you do need to produce the best art (in the eyes of the judges!)<br /><br />I'd love to see a real emphasis on the art and not the technique. Maybe we could work towards a new definition of the UK model of coloured pencil art?<br />Making A Markhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13509483023337008890noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20645140.post-58403350045228939142012-10-13T11:50:46.334+00:002012-10-13T11:50:46.334+00:00[PART 2 of Bob Ebdon's comment as emailed to m...[PART 2 of Bob Ebdon's comment as emailed to me] <br />++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++<br /><br />The other factor here is of course the insistence that pictures in this exhibition shall be pure CP only. Personally I would not like to see this change - I believe it is the USP for our Society, and asking artists just once a year to show what can be done with just CP is not too onerous a restriction. But it is certainly a lot easier to paint smooth washes of colour for skies, or to use an acrylic underpainting for foliage than it is to do this in pure CP. So artists like the superb Graham Brace, whom I have known for several years now, tend to do landscapes in mixed media, using whatever is appropriate to the subject matter, and using pencils for details. I love to see CP used like this, but still feel that in the main exhibition of the UKCPS I want to see just CP work.<br /> <br />You also had one comment that I am afraid I took mild exception to - "masquerading as a painting". I know what you mean, and where you are coming from. You see CP as a drawing medium, and the most important feature of a drawing is the marks, the lines. This is for me what makes a drawing a drawing. So for me, realistic CP work is not masquerading as a painting - it is a painting. That is my definition anyway, and we can certainly agree to differ on that. What I don't like is the negative connotation of "masquerading". They are not pretending to be something they are not - they are what they are, which is very detailed and comprehensive application of pigment to a support in such a way as to completely cover the support and leave no marks showing. Nothing wrong with that, botanical artists have been working like that for many years. But I do agree with you that this does not represent everything that is possible with CP, and large areas of art have been under-represented in our exhibitions because of the prevalence of the American model and because of valuing technique above all else. We need to redress that imbalance, and hopefully the award of the first prize in this year's UKCPS show will begin to do that.<br /> <br />Please feel free to repost this if you wish.<br /><br />Bob Ebdon<br /><a href="www.bobebdon.co.uk" rel="nofollow">www.bobebdon.co.uk</a>Making A Markhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13509483023337008890noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20645140.post-39358464925288067152012-10-13T11:47:24.106+00:002012-10-13T11:47:24.106+00:00Bob Ebdon emailed this comment to me as he was una...Bob Ebdon emailed this comment to me as he was unable to post it. <br /><br />There's no need to have a Google Account or to be a blogger to post. Just sign up with OpenID http://openid.net/get-an-openid/ <br /><br />I need to post it in two parts as it's long!<br /><br />+++++++++++++++++++<br /><br />Hi Katherine,<br /><br />I tried commenting on your Making a Mark blog but I can never remember my password so I cant sign in. Just wanted to register a few comments on what you wrote - most of which I agree with.<br /><br />When I finally saw the online exhibition, there was just one artist I went back to and looked closely at all of his work - yes, a deserved winner IMHO, very reminiscent of Old Masters Conté pencil sanguine drawings, and yet of Bernard Poulin's work too. This guy can draw, and I liked his subject matter as well. Like you I didn't recognise a lot of the names in this exhibition, which is great, it is always good to see new talent coming along. Like you, I was worried about the quality of some of the work - always a problem where you have a large gallery space to fill.<br /><br />You had a couple of comments that I agree with, about a lack of landscape work, and a lack of impressionistic work. These deficiencies have been evident from the start of the Society. This comes from America, I believe. The models that we all have of what constitutes "good" CP art tend to be American - Ann Kullberg, Arlene Steinberg, Gary Greene and so on - and tend to be realistic. Despite the odd impressionistic picture getting into the CPSA exhibitions, most of the prizewinners and all of the books show realistic work. When you try to do landscapes like that - and these artists don't! - it is actually very hard to do. So we don't tend to get landscapes entered for the exhibition. I guess the answer to this is that we need new models. We need an artist somewhere to produce amazing work in an impressionistic style that we can all aspire to, in pure CP. Over to you? We need to somehow get art work that is valued for its subject matter, its style, its communication with the audience - rather than its technique - hung in our exhibitions. We need a CP Monet!<br /><br />[part 2 follows]Making A Markhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13509483023337008890noreply@blogger.com