Something in Color!

"Dupree"
8x8 inches - Colored Pencil
Beth S. Macre  © 2012

Seems that I am always drawn back to color.  I've worked a lot with pen and ink, especially during 2011, but I just finished a colored pencil drawing of a dog!  It was really nice to use some color for a change.  This is a picture of Dupree.  It is 8x8 inches on Uart paper, using Prismacolors.  It was fun to do.  I'm still doing pen and ink drawings, but its always nice to mix it up a bit and have some variety.  I will definitely be adding more color to my palette this year.
Thanks for looking!

Beth♥ 

Yellow Rubber Duck ATC

Yellow Rubber Duck ATC
Colored Pencil on UArt paper
Beth S. Macre © 2009

Just thought I would share a colored pencil piece that I did over a year ago, but never posted it, for some reason.  Anyway, I painted a dog portrait for my niece with the yellow rubber ducky. I enjoyed painting it so much that I drew it for an ATC exchange a while back.    At the time, I planned to do some more things using the Rubber ducky theme, but I haven't gotten around to it yet.  I think I will try to do something with soon.

Have a great Friday!  
Beth♥ 

The Door...

...is from a photo that I took on my trip to France last year.

It was interesting to me because of the colors first and the intricate details of the door. It is attached to the hotel where we were staying, but I'm not sure if it was an apartment, or an entrance for employees of the hotel. I went for a walk to take some pictures. While I was taking photos, I noticed that there was movement inside the door, so I cut my photo shoot short and moved on. I didn't want to seem invasive to whomever was on the other side of the door. So the shadow figure is a mystery as to who it is.

This piece is, like the French Cafe, done with Prismacolor Color Pencils on UArt paper. This will be in a group show with the CPSA Chapter in Memphis starting next Friday.

I haven't been able to think of a title for this besides "The Door"...but anyone has a suggestion, I'm open to them!
~Beth

ATC Exchange and Future Project

We just finished another ATC exchange over at ScribbleTalk** and this is the little piece that I created for the exchange. This one will be going to Nancy. I hope that she will enjoy it. I am also working on a larger version of this door in colored pencil also. I don't have much time to get it finished, so I will be working on it alot this week. That is, if these sinus headaches don't put me out of commission!

**You do have to be a member to see the other images on ScribbleTalk. But it is a great forum to be a member of and the exchange is set up for members who actively participate on ScribbleTalk.

Almost time for School!

School starts back next Wednesday, but teachers started back this past week with in-service workshops. Most of the workshops that we have are pretty long and boring. After 26 years of attending workshops for teachers, I have to say that they get very monotonous. But today was a little different. The district actually planned for the district art teachers to get together and discuss art lessons and issues that we deal with. Being the only art teacher at my school, it is nice to get with other art teachers! We had a lot to talk about. It is very motivating to get with the other art teachers and I'm beginning to be ready for the new year. I just don't understand how the time during the summer just flies by!

So after sitting in meetings for the past 4 days, I am exhausted from meeting. So I didn't feel up to working on my Paris Cafe drawing today, but I did work on it some during the week. So I will show an update and hopefully by the end of this weekend I will have more progress to show.

♥Beth S. Macre © 2009♥

No title yet, but I'm thinking about it!

I will be working on this today, because next week I probably will not have the time or the energy to work on it. I am having fun with this and wish I could just work on it all the time! I will definitely be using the UArt paper more.

Have a great weekend!

~Beth

A New Colored Pencil Painting...

...is on the drawing table! Finally...at last!

I took the photo reference when I was in France last summer and have been wanting to do this for awhile. It may take me awhile, with all of the interuptions and responsibilities that seem to creep into my life. But it is started and so far I am pleased with my results. So I will post the first couple of steps now and hopefully sometime over the next month or so, I will be able to work on it. Next week I will be attending the annual CPSA convention and exhibition, so I will not be able to work on it then.

This drawing is on UART 500 13" x 15" approximately. It may be larger or a little smaller. I will be using Prismacolor pencils.
I hope you will follow along with my progress and push me for updates for motivation! I tend to get distracted on other little projects.

Oh and by the way, the 2 photo, the 1st drawing photo, is a little crooked. Please excuse that. I will try to shoot the rest of them straighter. My little easle slants a little and I forget about that!

So, what it on your drawing board or craft table?
~Beth

New Artwork...

I 'Hare' You!

Colored Pencil on Uart Paper 400

Beth S. Macre 2009

ScribbleTalk Exchange

I have two pieces that are done and ready to be delivered, but I couldn't post them until the recipients saw them first. The rabbit is for the ScribbleTalk ATC exchange, and the other is a painting for a friend. The rabbit will be heading out to Arizona next week, to my online friend, Toni. She is a wonderful artist, mentor, and a funny lady!

The painting was delivered today to Emerson and her Mom, Leigh. You can read about their adventures here. Toddlers are so cute! I wish that I had this blog technology when my kids were little. There are so many things that would be cool to remember and let them read about. My journal on paper is just not the same. Sorry the picture here is dark, but I delivered the painting before I looked at this image on the computer. This painting matches little Emerson's bedroom with the pink and green and lots of polka dots! Its really cute!

Spring break has been very nice, both in my time in the studio and weather wise...so far. It has rained quite a bit, but its been at night and sunny during the day! But Monday we go back to work and start working towards the end of the school year! My advanced art classes will be working with clay, so that means I will have some new clay work to show.

Have a wonderful day!
~Beth

Pair of Love Ducks!

" Pair of Love Ducks"

Beth S. Macre © 2009

Colored pencil on Uart

ACEO ~ 2 1/2" x 3 1/2"

I had so much fun drawing the last Yellow Rubber Duck that I decided to draw a pair of ducks for Valentines Day. Valentines Day is next Saturday. These holidays always sneak up on me!

This drawing was started last week when I had no electricity. The few hours in the middle of the day, when I had enough light through the window, I spent drawing. I had nothing else to do and would have drawn more if I had more light! I don't know how artists worked before electricity!

So, have you thought about Valentines Day? How do you honor your special loved ones?

~Beth

Back to Work...

Love that Yellow Rubber Duck!

Prismacolor Pencils on Uart ATC

Beth S. Macre © 2009

...with colored pencils. This is one of my latest colored pencil drawings done for the ATC (Art Trading Card) exchange over at ScribbleTalk. I used a sample of the Uart paper with the 500 grit. I really liked this grit. It has just enough texture to really grab the color. You do go through the colored pencils with it, but the color goes down pretty fast. I did another one on 600 grit, similar to this one, but I think I like the 500 better.

By the way, this Yellow Rubber Duck ATC is going to Timbo from hambostamps.blogspot. Timbo is part of the creative team from 'Talk to the Ham'. Timbo and his wife sell stamps and have lots of creative ideas of what you can do with those stamps! So please check out their blog.

...After being out of school/work for 4 school days because of the ice storm, we went back to work today. It was a pretty normal day except many of our students, teachers, and administrators still do not have power at home. Everyone understands how they feel. All of us have been there. We all have our power outage experiences. I think we've all learned to appreciate the conveniences that we expect to be available to us any time. Although I love the convenience and connections that come with the internet, that is one that I could do without...if I HAD to, but heat is one of those conveniences and comforts that would be difficult for me to do without!

What convenience or comforts do you value the most?

Hope you are warm and cozy wherever you are!

~Beth

The Lone Cherry

" The Lone Cherry"
Prismacolor on Ersta Paper

Last summer I took a workshop at the annual CPSA convention under Linda Lucas Hardy. She uses an artist sandpaper for many of her beautiful colored pencil paintings. Part of the day, we worked on these cherries. I loved working on this paper and was pretty pleased with the results of my cherry. I plan to do some more cherries sometime, so my cherry will not be so lonely anymore. Hardy used to use Ersta paper, but now uses an archival version of this paper from the same company. The new paper is called Uart . This paper comes in different grits.

This week has been busy at work, so I don't have an update on the previous post yet, but I hope to have one this weekend. Thanks for stopping by!