Review: UKCPS Silver Anniversary Annual Open Exhibition 2026

After 25 years, the UKCPS is celebrating its Silver Anniversary with its first exhibition at the Mall Galleries.

It's always been an ambition of the UK Coloured Pencil Society (UKCPS) to hold its Open Annual Exhibition at the Mall Galleries. Making it to its 25th Birthday seemed like an opportune time to spend some money and celebrate in style.

UKCPS Annual Open Exhibition
Part of the Hang in the West Gallery

For those UKCPS people not familiar with me or my blog (although I gathered from the PV on Tuesday night that a lot were), I am 

• a coloured pencil addict and a past signature member of UKCPS. I've written about its exhibitions a lot over the years (see the list of blog posts at the end which also give an insight into artwork in past exhibitions)
• somebody who reviews ALL the national art societies which exhibit at the Mall Galleries - and has done so for nearly 20 years. So I've got a very good basis for saying how this exhibition compares with the norm at the Mall Galleries.

History of the UKCPS Society

The Society was founded in 2001 by Bob Ebdon and Pat Heffer.

The UK Colour Pencil Society (UKCPS) was founded in 2001 by Bob Ebdon, spurred by a letter in A&I magazine from Pat Heffer (who became a founder member, enthusiastic supporter and finally President). A few people sharing their interest of colour pencil art, who had never met except via the Internet, started the Society and it was launched at Patchings Art Centre in Nottinghamshire. The Society has grown over the years: the second issue of the quarterly magazine (September 2001) reported they had just reached the 100 member mark, and now there are just over 750 members.

I was also a coloured pencil fan and found them online a little later and subsequently became a member and exhibited with them between 2007-2010. After that I gradually withdrew as a member from all national art societies I belonged to so as to be able to do better reviews of their exhibitions!

The society is different in some ways from other national art societies.

• anybody can become a member
• recognition of expertise and contribution is made through
• becoming a Signature Member (which I became in 2009 - see my blog post Signature membership)
• progressing to Silver Signature status (pictures accepted into 5 exhibitions within 10 years) and Gold status (pictures accepted into 10 exhibitions within 15 years.)
• it holds three exhibitions each year
• an open exhibition for all artists using coloured pencils - which is competitive
• an online exhibition for all members
• members only exhibition held at the Derwent Pencil Museum, Keswick. (This year it will be 31st August to 30th October 2026)

In June 2018 it was granted charitable status - with an objective of:

• promoting the art of drawing for the public benefit through the use of colour pencils
• holding a public exhibition at least once a year to showcase work and provide tuition
• help educate the public how to use colour pencils

The definition of a coloured pencil for the purposes of the exhibition is 

"wood-cased, wax- or oil-based colour pencil"

i.e. pastel pencils are excluded.

The 25th Annual Exhibition of the UK Coloured Pencil Society

Venue: Mall Galleries - West and North Galleries
Dates: Open from Tuesday 17 March 2026 - Saturday 21 March 2026,
Hours: 10am to 5pm

Workshops: click for more information

How the work was judged

• One member and two independent artists selected the artwork for the open exhibition.
• Another artist judges the selected artwork for awards. This year it was Curtis Holder - a leading exponent of coloured pencil artwork.

You can see all the artwork in the exhibition in two ways:

• In the albums of my pics that I've uploaded to Facebook - just click the link in the listing below. BTW, if I like a work I tend to take a photo of it on its own.
• UKCPS Annual Exhibition 2026 - West Gallery
• UKCPS Annual Exhibition 2026 - North Gallery
• Via the UKCPS website where all images of all the artwork are now uploaded

BEST PICTURE IN SHOW

Where ­Time ­Rests by Pauline Stuart

(which I had spotted as a "go back and look again" pic!)

Call for Entries: UKCPS 25th Annual Exhibition 2026 - at the Mall Galleries.

Next year will be the 25th Annual Exhibition of the United Kingdom Coloured Pencil Society - which will be held at the Mall Galleries in March 2026.

Below you can find out how to enter. The closing date for entries is 25th January 2025.

My post covers

• coloured pencils as a medium
• the UKCPS Annual Exhibition at the Mall Galleries 
• the Call for Entries
• what you can and cannot enter
• what subjects I suggest you focus on re entries (ie avoid "same old same old"!
• how to enter
• Practical matters
• images 
• framing 
• delivery
• for international artists: Regulations re VAT, Customs and money laundering 

Coloured pencils are a very contemporary art medium

In the last 25 years, the use of coloured pencils has become very sophisticated.  

There are now many professional coloured pencil artists - working on different subject matter and producing some amazing artwork using a variety of techniques and finish. I now encounter coloured pencil artwork:

• across many other exhibitions at the Mall Galleries and elsewhere 
• in art competitions - used by artists who win major art prizes eg Curtis Holder who won the Portrait Artist of the Year using coloured pencils (see Curtis Holder wins Portrait Artist of the Year (Series 7 Autumn 2020) and PAOTY Commission: Curtis Holder draws Carlos Acosta
• in the botanical artworld - all the time - CP is used extensively because of its scope for amazing control of tone and colour
• by wildlife artists - for reasons similar to the botanical artists

PAOTY Commission 2020: Carlos Acosta by Curtis Holder
(courtesy of Curis Holder)

I was once a member of UKCPS (I adore dry media and drawing) - and I used to exhibit in its annual exhibitions. This was one of my two exhibits selected for the UKCPS exhibition in 2010 (I like abstracting plants!)

Not Quite White
7.5" x 11.5", coloured pencils on Arches HP
copyright Katherine Tyrrell

The Silver 25th Anniversary Exhibition in 2026 

at the Mall Galleries

To celebrate its 25th anniversary, UKCPS has hired the Mall Galleries for their exhibition from 17 - 21 March at the Mall Galleries. 

This is a first for the society. It's been very good at holding its annual exhibition in different parts of the country. However, like a number of the more niche art societies, it wants to celebrate a very special annual exhibition by holding it where the major national art societies exhibit - at the Mall Galleries.

The entry to the Mall Galleries in The Mall

UKCPS Silver Exhibition - Call for Entries

This is an open exhibition; submission is open to all living artists, aged 18 or over. The artist must demonstrate compositional and drawing skills and the ability to use colour pencil.

There is a PDF explaining the Call for Entries and how to enter for this exhibition

This is the webpage which does the same thing.

What follows is my version of it, with notes and tips and recommendations. My version does not include all you need to know so make sure you read ALL of the Call for Entries and Terms and Conditions.

Who can Enter

Any artist working with coloured pencils - over the age of 18 years, living anywhere in the world

What you can enter

Call for Entries: UKCPS Annual Open International Exhibition 2023

This year's Annual Open Exhibition held by the UK Coloured Pencil Society (UKCPS) will be held online opening on 1st August 2023.

Awards

There are a number of awards

• Best in Show: £500
• Second Best in Show : £250
• Best Pure Colour Pencil (no other media used) : £150
• Pat Heffer Award
• The Colour Pencil Shop Award
• People’s Choice: £100

Terms and Conditions of Entry

The call has gone out for submissions to the exhibition.

The deadline for entries is 15th June 2023.

Who can enter?

Any artist can enter this exhibition if 

• you are living
• aged over 18 years old
• you can be any age and live anywhere in the world. It's not limited to artists living in the UK. 

What can you enter?

You can enter up to five artworks. However, no more than two pictures per artist will be shown, irrespective of how many they enter

The artwork MUST be 

• original (concept, design and execution by the artist) 
• at least 50% colour pencil, 
• demonstrate compositional and drawing skills, 
• demonstrate the ability to use the medium of colour pencil. 
• Entries must not have been shown in any previous UKCPS exhibition.
• Each artwork must have a title

AND

• Each work submitted MUST comprise at least 50% dry colour pencil (i.e. wood-cased, and wax- or oil-based colour pencil, including watercolour pencil if used dry). This definition excludes pastel pencils. 
• The remaining 50% of the work may be in any other medium, including any water or solvent used.

Artwork is ineligible IF any one of the following apply:

• Any image produced by drawing over a digital reproduction. 
• Artwork executed in whole or part under instruction and/or in any teaching or workshop situation. 
• Any work copied from someone else’s photograph(s), even with their permission. 
• Use of an individual’s image without that individual’s permission, in accordance with UK privacy laws. 
• Any work shown in any previous UKCPS exhibition. 

By implication it can be an artwork which you have entered into another open exhibition and it was selected and exhibited. So, for example, this amazing work by Curtis Holder which I recently saw in the SGFA Exhibition at the Mall Galleries could be entered. It's also an example of a mixed media artwork.

copyright Curtis Holder 
Coloured Pencil over acrylic gouache

How to enter

You first need to read the detailed pdf about How to Enter - which is very clear and should answer all your queries.

After that, you can complete the online form (2023 Annual Exhibition) 

You will need images for each artwork entered. These must be

• JPG or PNG files only; 
• min. size 1MB, 
• max size 5MB.

Poorly presented images, especially those that are out of focus, badly lit or pixelated will affect your chances of success. Each entry will be judged on your submitted image(s) alone. It is therefore very important to represent your work as best you can

You can find advice and information for how to take a good photograph of your artwork on my Art Business Info. for Artists website - see How to photograph art - for Artists

Entry fees are as follows

• UKCPS Members: 1st entry free, additional entries £10 each 
• Non-Members: £20 per entry

All fees are non-refundable. Entries are not complete until payment has been received

Selection

The pictures to be exhibited are chosen by an independent selection panel, who will be asked to select works to produce a varied exhibition showing the full range of capabilities of the colour pencil medium. All submitted images will be presented to the selection panel anonymously. No personal data, including name, will be given during the selection. 

21st UKCPS Annual Open Exhibition 2022

The 21st Annual Open International Exhibition (2022) of the UK Coloured Pencil Society is now online. 

It's particularly interesting for me as I was one of the Judges this year in terms of reducing 250 images from coloured pencil artists from aropund the world to the 83 images in the exhibition which can now be viewed online. All we get as Judges was the digital image (online), the unframed dimensions and a spreadsheet to include our marked for each work. The other Judges were

• Richard Rees PPS - President of the Pastel Society
• Nuala Henry - UK Marketing Manager, Hahnemuehle

Alyssa Tidwell - Editor of International Artist magazine was the Judge making the awards

YOU too can be a Judge and VOTE for the image you think deserves the People's Choice Award. All you need to do is:

• click the images to see a larger version of each image
• complete the form on The People's Choice Award Page - and then click the submit button

The 21st UKCPS Annual Open Exhibition Award Winners

Links in the artists' names below go to their websites where you can see more of their art.

Best Picture in Show 

Best Picture in Show - Black Sea by Megan Seiter (Pic No. 241)

Megan Seiter is an American artist specializing in colored pencil still life drawings. Originally from Rhode Island, she received her BFA from Maryland Institute College of Art, and in 2009 moved to California. Megan has shown her work internationally, in galleries and juried exhibitions hosted by the International Guild of Realism, American Women Artists, the Colored Pencil Society of America, and the UK Colored Pencil Society, among others.

This for me was the standout drawing in the show in terms of its HUGE impact and technical proficiency. I remember looking at it very, very closely to check it wasn't a photograph!

Reserve Best in Show

UKCPS 15th Annual Exhibition 2016 - review and prizewinners

Ann Swan UKCPS SBA GM was awarded the top prize at the 15th Annual Exhibition of the United Kingdom Coloured Pencil Society last night.

I went to the preview and prizegiving last night. I personally love using coloured pencils so it's always special to see what work they have in their exhibition.

The Exhibition

This year the exhibition is on both floors at the Menier Gallery at 51 Southwark Street, London SE1 1RU. It opens to the public  every day - between 11am and 6pm - until 3pm on 13th May (but closed on Sunday 8th May).  There are also demonstrations and workshops on most days (details below).

This year:

• There's been a noticeable change in the range of subject matter tackled by artists. There's less photorealistic work and evidence of a greater range of artistic expression and more creative work in terms of selection of subject matters, design and composition and overall presentation.
• The standard of work on show has generally improved
• The presentation and hang is much improved. Hanging the works in their categories of entry creates a better unity and context within the exhibition and also shows individual works to best effect. I loved the two rows of portraits downstairs which were staring at one another!
• While much of the pricing of work in the show is very realistic, I was absolutely amazed by some of the prices which I would characterise as 'ambitious'. As always the price asked is not always the same as the price achieved. Some made me wonder if:
• certain artists are unfamiliar with prices charged for works on paper by celebrated artists for works on paper. (see yesterday's post for an example of the pricing of a Wolf Kahn drawing)
• whether or not artists had previously sold at this level; and/or 
• whether they thought this was the right point at which to pitch within the context of 'London pricing'.  (In which case I'd suggest visits to a few more galleries in London!)
• The answer is often provided by the website, where the artist lives and an artist's past track record. I may go back towards the end of the exhibition to take a look at what has sold....

The exhibition is celebrating its 15th anniversary this year and has made a significant effort. Some of the past winners are on show again and for many this would be a good enough reason on its own to visit the exhibition.

A poster print has also been made that includes images of past winners of prizes in the first 15 years of the exhibition.

Past Winners of the first 15 years of the UKCPS Annual Exhibition

I very much liked the catalogue also. Works are listed with an image as well as the name of the artist, title and price. However this year I can't find the images in the Picasa folder which has been used in the past - so you only get to see the images in the exhibition or catalogue and not online.  (Note: I was rather surprised to see the names of the prize sponsors omitted from the catalogue. I'm sure they've been included in the past)

The labels in the exhibition are much more informative than a lot you get in exhibitions of this sort. These state precisely - where the artist has provided the information - the brands of pencils and paper used which I'm sure will be very helpful for the students of coloured pencil art who will doubtless visit the show.

The Judge for the Prizes was Henri Price who is an independent Retail Adviser - a good person to know for all those seeking representation for their artwork within the commercial sector!

I'm assuming the prizewinners will be listed in due course on the website - in the meantime I'm listing them below.

I'm not sure I agree with which works won particular prizes - there again prizegiving is so often such a personal choice when you have just one judge for the prizes!

Having said that this is more about outstanding works which didn't win a prize!  One of them is getting a blog post to itself next week!

Prizewinners

The prize, title of the piece and the winners are noted in the captions underneath the images.

Derwent Award for Best in Show
AND Lyra Rembrandt Prize for Best in Flower/Fruit or Vegetable
Larger than Life -  Nectarines (£850) by Ann Swan
Faber Castell Polychromos, Prismacolor Premier, Tombow Irojiten
and Caran d'Ache Luminance on Fabriano Classico 5 (300gms)

This is another one in Ann Swan's new series of oversized drawings of plants, fruits and vegetables.  All drawings in the 'Larger than Life' series are at least three times larger than life size.

She gets the intensity of colour by using a little bit of liquid paraffin wax with her pencils. Ann will be demonstrating her techniques and providing tips at a workshop on Wednesday 11th May.  There are just two places remaining!

Here's a view of some of the other entries in this category

Some of the other works in the Flowers, Fruit and Vegetables Category

UKCPS Annual Exhibition 2015

Last week I attended the Private View of the Annual Exhibition of the UK Coloured Pencil Society. This continues at the Menier Gallery on the South Bank until 16th May.

This is an exhibition of work in coloured pencils - according to the rules

The work must be original (concept, design and execution by the artist), at least 50% coloured pencil, demonstrate compositional and drawing skills, and ability to use coloured pencil. Entries must not have been shown in a previous UKCPS exhibition.

As a coloured pencil artist, the world has certainly moved on since I first started in coloured pencils. I haven't seen a UKCPS exhibition in person for a while - and now only see it when it comes to London. It was certainly good to see the exhibition filling the ground floor gallery of the Menier Gallery. It's so much bigger than the very first exhibition I visited at Patchings and progress has been made in terms of it growing in stature as well as size!

However, from a personal perspective, there are still very few large landscapes and too few portraits and figurative works for my liking compared to the huge number of drawings of animals (cats x 5; dogs x 2; birds x 7; cows x 1; wild animals/insects x 5 = a total of 20 or 25% of the exhibition!).   You can see David Lewry's portrait of a Timber Wolf Where is she Going? which won the Great Art Award for Best Animal on Picasa.

What that means is that works which are really different really stand out.

Such as this one.

They stayed until sundown £560
watercolour crayon & gouache, 39 x 45 cm
Angela Brittain

This work by Angela Brittain was one of the works I thought most innovative and original. If it had slightly better executed in terms of use of coloured pencil and had also been bigger it would have really dominated this exhibition because of its artistic content.

Angela is an interesting example of an artist I don't often see in this exhibition - but would like to see more of. She is an experienced professional artist who produces contemporary narrative paintings - something we see too little of in my opinion. It seems to me that with this work she was looking for a way to add coloured pencil to the range of media she works with. Her experience certainly shows in terms of the artwork on her website. I hope we can see more artists identifying the scope to use coloured pencils in their work - and adding CP to their media repertoire in future - and their work in this exhibition!

Here are some views of the exhibition.

Nicely hung at eye level with most frames conforming the neutral mat and colour of frame
preferred for contemporary art society exhibitions in London.

The exhibition matting and framing has certainly changed over the years!
This 'white wall' was looking very attuned to London and brightened up what could have been a dark wall.

The smaller paintings are hung in two rows
This wall indicates a greater mix in terms of matting and framing.

Now for the award winners.

2015 Exhibition Award Winners

One of the things I'd recommend UKCPS members do is check out the size of some of the prizewinners. It's the case in the exhibition that a number of the prizes have gone to larger artworks. It's not only that creating a larger artwork takes more time and effort. They also have much more impact on a room. They have a larger quotient of "look at me" if you like!  It works with judges just as much as it does with buyers!

Caran d'Ache Award - Best in Show

I'm afraid I can't show you a photograph of the winner as the reflections just killed it. I suggested maybe it could be rehung in a better place but I don't know if this happened.

However you can see a very good image of it in the Picasa Gallery here - Przewalski wild horse - critically endangered ;(71 x 53cm) by Pamela Preller (https://www.facebook.com/pamela.preller). Pamela is a South African artist who specialises in wild life and volunteers at  Battersea Dogs Home. A percentage of her profits always goes to the conservation of the particular species she is working on.  She priced her work at £1,750.

She's also got a very good track record across a range of societies and exhibitions - which is something I invariably find points to success as an artist.  I've previously noted her work in my Review: 2012 Exhibition of the Royal Society of Marine Artists.

Since embarking on a full-time career as an artist in 2011 my work has been selected for several high-profile international exhibitions amongst which are The David Shepherd Wildlife Artist of the Year 2015, 2014, 2013; The Royal Society of Marine Artists2014, 2013, 2012, 2011; The UKCPS 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011 where I am a signature member of the Society having achieved Silver status; The Chelsea Arts Society 2013, 2012, winning the Heatherleys Prize for Drawing; The Society of Equestrian Artists 2014.

Faber Castell Best Pure Coloured Pencil Award

I loved the way Dan Des Eynon chose to display his drawing of Cicadicae sp. I've never seen anyhting like it before and the glass sandwich ideally suited his subject.  It's a very well executed drawing and given the method adopted for its display I could well imagine this piece being hung in any number of contemporary art galleries in London.

Dan has a BA (Hons) Illustration - First Class Honours (Falmouth University) 2014 (which incidentally has a great reputation for its illustration course) and is currently a freelance Artist and Illustrator living in South Wales. He knew all about my blog in relation to the BP Portrait Award which he had also entered. He's certainly working hard at getting his work exhibited as his Facebook shows - see https://www.facebook.com/ddeynon. This is a nice article about him and his work.

I advised Dan to raise his prices and submit his work to the Annual Exhibition of the Society of Wildlife Artists!§

Faber Castell Best Pure Coloured Pencil Award
Cicadicae sp. £180
Dan Des Eynon

Fisher 400 award for Best Portrait

UKCPS Open International Exhibition 2014: Call for Entries

The deadline for entries to the 13th Annual International Exhibition of the UK Coloured Pencil Society is 5th February 2014.

The exhibition will be held between 28th April - 10th May 2014 at the RBSA Gallery, 4 Brook Street, Birmingham, B3 1SA.


The rules changed last year - with respect to the nature of the work that can be entered - and I'm not sure everyone is aware of that.

Here's a summary of what you need to know and do to enter.

Who can enter

This exhibition is open to all living artists who can demonstrate compositional and drawing skills and the ability to use coloured pencil..

That means:

• no age constraints
• no geographical constraints (beyond your the size of your wallet and the cost of shipping artwork to and from the UK!  See How to pack, post and ship art - Resources for Artists)

What you can enter

The Hang - UKCPS 12th Annual Open International Exhibition 2013

Further to my Review - UKCPS 12th Annual Open International Exhibition 2013 - one of the comments I made was that it was a pity there were no photographs of the hang of the exhibition on the website.

I take that comment back! I've now found the UKCPS's Facebook Page and the Gallery of 16 photos which display the hanging of the exhibition in the Pavilion Gallery at Patchings.

Gallery of 16 photos of the UKCPS Exhibition at Patchings on the UKCPS Facebook Page

I still think it's a pity that the same photos aren't also available on the UKCPS website - however since this is a Facebook Page the content is public and can be viewed by all members and anybody else who would like to take a look. 

It just goes to show the value of an Art Society having a Facebook Page!

I'm not going to comment on the hang - I'm on my way out the door for a day's sketching (in coloured pencils of course!) on Hampstead Heath - but I would encourage you to take a look and see what you think.  

For me it certainly highlighted a few works which caught my eye.  Size as always helps. Matting and framing make a very big difference to presentation. I was particularly impressed by the presentation of Kate Clarke's work which looks very pleasing - and innovative.

Regular readers will be aware that one of the things I do in reviewing annual exhibitions is highlight "the look" in terms of current trends in hanging - and also how work is hung.

I think it's about time I pulled together the themes which run through those posts - and I must get on and do a series of posts about matting, framing and hanging artwork in exhibitions.  They've been on my "to do" list for too long!

Link: United Kingdom Coloured Pencil Society

Review - UKCPS 12th Annual Open International Exhibition 2013

Lesley Sharman has won the top award for pure coloured pencil artwork at the UK Coloured Pencil Society's 12th Open International Exhibition 2013.

This opened on the 1st September in the Pavilion Gallery at Patchings in Nottinghamshire and continues until the 6th October 2013.

This post:

• details the awardwinners and provides links to both the artwork and artist's websites
• comments on the exhibition and its implications for the future of UKCPS.

Best in Show on the UKCPS website

UKCPS 12th Annual Open International Exhibition 2012 - Award Winners

You can find the Award Winners on the UKCPS website. I've also got them listed below along with links to their websites and artwork.

I was sad to see that the Prize for Still Life which memorialised Peter Woof is apparently no more.  I also note that the award for more abstract art has morphed into "most modern interpretation" whatever that means!

Name	Work	Prizes
Lesley Sharman UKCPS	Blue Door	UKCPS Award: Best in Show (£300)
Malcolm Cudmore UKCPS	Happy As……	Great Art Award, Runner Up to Best in Show
Irina Garmashova-Cawton UKCPS	Black Moon	UKCPS President’s Award
Martin Vela	The End of the Queue	Bruynzeel-Sakura Best Pure Coloured Pencil Award
Sue Andrew	John Andrew	Pencil4Artists Award for Creative Use of Colour AND Caran d'Ache Award - Best Portrait
Jean Canter UKCPS	Snow on Epsom Common	Peter Weatherill Award for Best Landscape/Building
Kris Owen	Pleasant Pheasant	Creative Suppot Art Shop Award for Best Wildlife Animal
Beverley Courtney	Lacylu	RK Burt Award for Best Domestic Animal
J Y Chang UKCPS	Harmony	St Cuthberts Mill Award for Best Modern Interpretation
Suzy Herbert UKCPS ASGFA	Just Two Pairs	Derwent Award for Best Botanical
Morryce J Maddams UKCPS	The High Street	Highly Commended
Kate Clarke UKCPS	White Rabbit (Miniature drawn onto a gold watch)	Highly Commended
Amy Horton	Free Range	Highly Commended
Hazel Tucker	Nosey Cow	Highly Commended

You can also see all the images of work selected for a show in a Picasa album.  I urge you to view these in the slideshow option as the quality seems to be slightly better.

I have to say I'm somewhat surprised by the selection made for some of the prizes.  I'm also guessing I might not be alone in this view. To take an obvious example, I find it very odd that last year's "best in show" winner didn't figure among the prizewinners or Highly Commended this year despite submitting two excellent portraits.

Review of the exhibition

Selected Artists - UKCPS 12th Open International Exhibition 2013

The United Kingdom Coloured Pencil Society have announced the names of the artists whose artwork has been selected for the UKCPS 12th Open International Exhibition 2013  are as follows.

• the link in an artist's name is to his or her website
• links to a UKCPS gallery page or other related website are noted separately
• I'm also including Facebook pages where these are evident

Exhibition: UKCPS 11th Open International Exhibition 2013

Where: Patchings Art Centre, Oxton Road, Calverton, Notts, NG14 6NU
When: 1st September to 6th October 2013

Selected artists

A

Sue Andrew
Elisabeth Aubury UKCPS Silver UKCPS Gallery Page

B 

Marilena Balint UKCPS Gallery Page 

Angela Bartlett
Elizabeth Barton UKCPS
Alexandra Bastien UKCPS Facebook
Karen M Berisford Blog
Mishu Bogan
Christine Bozier
Linda Brand UKCPS
Nicolson Brooks UKCPS Gallery Page Facebook

Colin P Brown
Tiffany Budd UKCPS Silver  Blog

C 

Jean Canter UKCPS Gold related website
Angela Cater UKCPS Silver
JY Chang member of CPSA - District Chapter 210 San Francisco, CA
Kate Clarke UKCPS Silver
Sue Clinker UKCPS Silver
Beverley Courtney UKCPS
Sarah Cronin
Malcolm Cudmore UKCPS

60 x 90cm pure CP (Derwent Artist and Studio) on cradled wooden panel prepared with gesso

© Malcolm Cudmore

D

Mike Daniels
Kathy Dennett
Sandra Dewsberry UKCPS Gallery Page 

Gaynor Dickeson 

E 

Roy Eaton
Margaret Edwards UKCPS UKCPS blog interview

G 

Irina Garmashova-Cawton UKCPS UKCPS Gallery Page
Antonio Sanchez Gonzalez
Jo Goudie UKCPS Silver

H 

Davina Halliday
Angela Hammond UKCPS
Judith Heilbronn-Crown UKCPS Silver
Suzy Herbert UKCPS Gold UKCPS Gallery Page
Cathy Holtom UKCPS
Amy Horton UKCPS Gallery Page
June Horwood 

Denise Howard Blog |  member of CPSA - District Chapter 210 San Francisco, CA
Maureen Howard
Diana Hudson

J 

Julie Jenkinson
Betsy Jones (moderator of the Colored Pencil Artists and Lovers on Facebook group)

L

Roger Lewis UKCPS Silver related website
Bev Lewis UKCPS Silver
Pauline Longley UKCPS Silver

M 

Morryce Maddams UKCPS Gallery Page
Alan McMahon UKCPS Gallery Page
Liedia van de Mortel UKCPS
Lesley Moyer UKCPS Gallery Page
Barbara Murray 

O 

Ryoko Ohara
Sylvia Oliver-Smith
Kris Owen 

P

Victoria Parsons UKCPS
Alison Perkins
Rachel Pesterfield UKCPS UKCPS Gallery Page
Janie Pirie SBA UKCPS
Susan Poole
Pamela Preller
Vivienne A Priest 

S UKCPS Gallery Page

David Sandell
Judith Selcuk
Lesley Sharman UKCPS
Celia Smith
Janet Suffield
Ron Swainger 

T

Hazel Tucker 

V

Martin Vela
Maria Villioti 

W

Isobel Wardley
Ruth Whitington
Ursula Williams UKCPS
Helena Wilsen-Saunders
Lesley Woodhouse

Judges

This year's judges who selected the artwork for the exhibition are:

• Liz Wood from Patchings
• John Hope-Hawkins - Chairman of the SAA
• Lesley Crawford UKCPS Silver - founder member of the UK Coloured Pencil Society

Stephen Ashurst - a local artist - will decide the Exhibition Awards

Links:

• UKCPS website http://www.ukcps.co.uk
• UKCPS News Blog http://ukcps.blogspot.com
• for more about coloured pencils see my website Coloured Pencils - Resources for Artists

Review - UKCPS 11th Annual Open International Exhibition 2012

David Sandall has won the top award for pure coloured pencil artwork at the UK Coloured Pencil Society's 11th Open International Exhibition 2012.  This opened last Saturday at the Nuneaton Museum & Art Gallery.  The exhibition continues until 25th November 2012.

UKCPS 11th Annual Open International Exhibition 2012 - Award Winners

You can find the Award Winners on the UKCPS website.  I've also got them listed below along with links to their websites and artwork.

What's noticeable this year is that many of the top award winners have not won a prize with the Society before.  Indeed I don't know a number of the names which suggests they've not exhibited with UKCPS before.

I found it interesting - and very exciting - that the top prize went to a coloured pencil drawing of people.  All David Sandall's work on coloured paper are self-evidently drawings.  He chooses to refrain from filling all the background.  His work in no way attempts to masquerade as a painting.

I note that the Awards have also moved on again and that there is now an award for still life which memorialises Peter Woof who died on September 27 2011, aged 55, just before the last annual exhibition.  Still life was an aspect of coloured pencil art which Peter made his own!

Name	Work	Prizes
David Sandell	After Lunch	Derwent Award: Best in Show - Pure Coloured Pencil
David Pritchard	Fox and Cub	Derwent Award: Best in Show - Mixed Media
Deborah Holman	Black Vase (Self- Portrait)	UKCPS Runner up, Best in Show - Coloured Pencil
Chris Francis	Rondavel Kruger	UKCPS Runner Up Best in Show - Mixed Media
Cathy Holtom (Down a Dusty Lane)	Endymion and Aglaia	Third Best in Show
Morryce J Maddams	Red Lion	UKCPS President’s Award
David Sandell	Revising	Ann James Massey Award for Excellence in Drawing
Janie Pirie SBA GM UKCPS	Life is just......	Peter Woof Award for Best Still Life
Jean Canter UKCPS	Surrey Autumn - Ranmore Common from Polesden Lacey	Peter Weatherill Award for Best Landscape/Building
Beverley Courtney UKCPS	Indoor Cat	Faber Castell Award for Best Animal / Bird
Nicolson Brooks	Portrait of my Grandfather in Words and Colour	Caran d'Ache Award Best Abstract/Fantasy
Suzy Herbert UKCPS ASGFA	Freedom	SAA Award for Best Botanical
Janie Pirie SBA GM UKCPS	Clare	Kate Clarke Award for Best Human Portrait
Jackie Cox	The Pool	Jackson's Award for Creative Use of Colour
Irina Garmashova-Cawton UKCPS	Strawberry	Highly Commended
Chris Francis	Profile Karin	Highly Commended
Denise Howard	Better Days Behind	Highly Commended
Deborah Holman	Ink Pots	Highly Commended

Artwork I liked

Here's the artwork I liked - based on the Picasa slideshow which gives you an excellent view of all the artwork in the show.  I've included links to artists who have not been mentioned above.

• Nicolson Brooks ~ Portrait of My Grandfather 30x25cm (mixed media) Good to see somebody telling a story; using text within a drawing and drawing a subject with emotional content
• Chris Francis's two works - Profile Karin and Rondavel Kruger - At last some scribble makes its way into the UKCPS exhibition. Pencils are made for scribbling and some of the very best artists have used looser mark-making to create great drawings
• Suzy Herbert ~ Freedom 22x20cm I'm always intrigued to see what visual joke Suzy will come up with this year. Humour most emphatically has a place in art.
• Suzy Herbert ~ Mellow Fruitfulness 19x23cm I personally would have placed this work by Suzy higher in the running for the Best Botanical Art in the Show
• Denise Howard ~ Better Days Behind 40x30cm I thought this piece was stunning. 
• Karen Musgrave Hill ~ Dancing Chillies 34x25cm I really like the simplicity of different views of the same simple subject on a completely plain background. This artist has really looked at that chilli.
• Kris Owen ~ Best Mates 37x29cmIt took a while a little while to work this one out. I like artists who don't spell it all out to those viewing - a conundrum draws you in and gets you involved with the work.  I also like the fact the foreground and background complemented rather than competed with the real subject of this drawing.  Plus there's character in there even though they both have their eyes closed!
• Janie Pirie ~ Lilac Blossom 50x45cm Janie does stunning botanical works - simple as!  That lilac colour is the most difficult colour to get right.  Janie has captured all the nuances which exist in real life.
• Pamela Preller ~ For Once There Was 37x46cm Different!
• David Pritchard ~ all his animals are excellent!  I don't ever recall seeing his work before and wonder where he's been hiding!
• David Sandell - again all his drawings are excellent - simplified and unified they must pack some punch
• Ranjini Venkatachari ~ Epiphany 45x61cm (mixed media) - I liked the visual pun in this one.  It's certainly not a subject I've seen before.

Observations about the exhibition - an alternative perspective

I've not been to Nuneaton so these observations are done from the perspective of the online exhibition of all the work selected for the Exhibition.

I have to say I found the works selected for the exhibition both pleased and disappointed me.  It's good to see some new and more professional artists getting involved with the society.  It's good to see some new styles and some excellent quality.

At the same time it's disappointing to observe that the Society still has some way to go before there's a greater congruence between the artwork selected for this exhibition and the type of artwork I see at the exhibitions of other national art societies.  For example, as always there is a huge emphasis in the UKCPS exhibition on highly realistic artwork and very little painterly or impressionistic work.  Elsewhere I see a much greater range of styles - even by those relying on photos for references. Maybe some coloured pencils artists don't submit such work on the basis of what they see in the exhibition online?

It's good to see some evidence this year of the beginnings of new styles and approaches to making art with coloured pencils.  However I see very little change in the subject matter.  At no other national society do I see more than 30% of the artwork in the exhibition portraying animals.  (Can I emphasise at this juncture that I like good wildlife art - however I also enjoy landscapes, botanical and still life). Elsewhere it's typical to very usual to see landscapes accounting for a significant proportion of an exhibition - however at UKCPS for some reason this year landscapes make up less than 10% of the works selected.

Also while the standard at the top end is going up I personally feel that some of the work selected falls far short of the quality I've seen in previous exhibitions.

My view for some time has been that UKCPS will only 'come of age' when it embraces more styles, more subjects and more different approaches to making art with coloured pencils.  Recent changes are encouraging but to my mind there's still quite a considerable way to go.  (Please bear in mind I see the annual exhibitions of virtually all the major art societies in the country - and have done for some years)

A lot of people won't agree with what I've said.  Others may observe that it needed saying.  Now I've got my head above the parapet, I'd just observe there are lots of different ways of making art - as artists from other art societies have already shown us.  I'd just really like to see coloured pencil artists exploring their medium more.

Links:

• Selected Artists - UKCPS 11th Open International Exhibition 2012