B is for Blending Beautiful Blues

One of the challenges of working in colored pencil, which is what I am currently doing (because I am enrolled in the only class that fits my schedule), is working in my abstract style.

The other artists in my class, some of whom are world class impressive, work realistically. They are rendering skin tones in lovely portraits, creating incredibly detailed landscapes, and duplicating photos to perfection. I don't want to do that. I know how to copy, but at this time my interest is in creating work that has MY own look and feel.

I find that it is fairly easy in pastel or caran d'ache to create my imaginary worlds and abstract flowers, but color pencil is slow and detailed. So, I am trying to figure out what I can get from them that speaks to my style.

Which brings me to color. I must say that I am enjoying the process of layering colors and blending them together to create depth and dimension. The image on this page is actually copied from a photo of a Pacific Island seen from above. I spent hours just building the colors and finally arriving at something that feels both abstract and familiar. A map perhaps? I used numerous blues and several blenders to create the effect.