pastel pencil on colored paper, 6″ x 4″

One of my drawings, “Running Free,” was selected for a juried exhibition at the Pacific Art League. It is called “Fur, Feathers & Fins.”

The exhibition is open from June 3, 2011 till June 23, 2011.

Pacific Art League is located at 668 Ramona Street, Palo Alto, CA 94301-2545.

I will be at the reception during the Palo Alto First Friday Art Walk. It’s on June 3, 5:30 p.m. – 8 p.m.

Running Free – pastel pencil on colored paper, 12″ x 9″

Finally, a miniature on a digital canvas that was not a struggle:

colored pencil on canvas, 3.5″ x 2.5″

I noticed that colors almost do not smear at all on this type of canvas and put dark branches first, then moved to the clouds. It worked – branches stayed dark, clouds stayed clean, no mess at all. And it probably helped that I used harder Derwent pencils for the branches and my usual Prismacolor ones for the rest.

Very nice drawing and a wonderful subject:

colored pencil on canvas, 3.5″ x 2.5″

That’s the pleasant part, always good to finish even a little piece. Now, the unpleasant one: this miniature, like the previous two, was done on a digital canvas, and apparently it has a shorter patience with multiple layers of color than a traditional canvas does. In the process of “thinking” about earth colors right on the canvas I found out that I better make up my mind quicker, or the color will start to chip off. It didn’t really come to chipping off, but from my previous experience with paper I know the feeling that the pencil gives you right before the surface gives up. That’s a little disappointing, or maybe it’s a good opportunity to learn how to be more decisive.

charcoal, 6″ x 4″

It was meant as a source of inspiration for designers, but the collection can do good to any person.

Mix Collection of 99 Brilliant Photographs to Refresh Your Mind

That’s right, this little piece went with me over half of the globe and back. I had big drawing plans while visiting with my family and friends in Russia, and as it usually happens very little of it got accomplished. In fact, this is the only thing I managed to finish in 3 weeks, all done either in flight or in airports. Yay for working small.

colored pencil on canvas, 3.5″ x 2.5″

I will be showing during all three weekends of SVOS at the following locations:

Weekend 1
May 7 – 8, Site 539
Graniterock Design Center
1505 So. De Anza Blvd., Cupertino, CA 95014
See the map

Weekend 2
May 14 – 15, Site 501
Fongwei Liu Studios
3754 Pruneridge Ave , Santa Clara, CA 95051
See the map

Weekend 3
May 21 – 22, Site 481
Carolina Mueller Studio
10823 Wilkinson Avenue, Cupertino, CA 95014
See the map

All sites are open 11 am till 5 pm.

Join me and other artists for three weekends of art and fun. Come to chat, enjoy refreshments, and see the newest original art, prints, cards, and gift items.

My page at SVOS.org:
http://svos.org/artist.php?id=1907

As much as I enjoy the gessoed canvas, it has one serious problem when it comes to colored pencils: the unsupported area inside the mini stretcher bars. I found two workarounds: working with a very sharp point that does not require much pressure and keeping a finger against the back of the canvas when I need to burnish. Unfortunately, burnishing does not happen without pressure.

Slava suggested to try a digital canvas on a piece of wood. We had a few samples left from the time when he was in the process of finding the best canvas for his photography, and he stretched one for me. The sunset above is my first mini landscape on the new surface. Lessons learned:

- a digital canvas is finer and more dense
- it has more “tooth” (or what should it be called in this case?), and even a slightly dull point will leave white gaps on it
- it is not possible to correct small mistakes with a white pencil on a digital canvas
- all strokes, even those made with a dull point, look harsher on a digital canvas than on a traditional one

It feels like a good surface, I just need to adjust to it.