CP Wizard of Oz

Dear Art Blog Friends

I am in awe of all coloured pencil artists around the globe who like myself persist in their love of rendering CP images. Favourite fellow artist in Australia is Karen Hull. Known as a hyper-realist for producing some amazing photorealistic work, she uses mostly coloured pencil as her preferred medium, but (and get this too!) she has worked in none other than pyrography, CP on scratchboard and some acrylic enhancements in her mixed media work. With a wealth of tutorials and kits explaining how she applies CP, she has recently started to render it in 3D – how amazing it is!

My husband, Michael was lucky enough to interview Karen last year, via email and Facebook, for a CP article which never made it into the public domain due to unforeseen circumstances. Imagine my delight, therefore, when he mentioned that he still has the draft copy?

So for today only I’m going to hand over to my partner. He can take the blog’s reins and I hope that you, like me, will enjoy reading about Karen’s progress as a professional CP artist in Australia.

Best Wishes

JAM

CP Wizard of Oz

Residing down under in the hot Australian sun, writes Michael Maguire, is professional CP artist with an impressive portfolio, Karen Hull. Refined in artistic skill, yet with a compelling passion for coloured pencil, this article reveals some of her outstanding progress as a CP Wizard of Oz.

Tell us a little about yourself and your life as a CP artist down under?

I am a full-time artist, illustrator and mum to four wonderful boys. I have been working full-time as an artist for about six years now and over that time, my goals and the projects I work on have evolved quite a bit. I started out selling small ACEO (Artist Cards Editions and Originals) on Etsy and Ebay, before moving onto doing commissions for people. At that point, I decided that I would also like to do illustration work and longed to illustrate a children’s book. Several years later, and after illustrating a couple of children’s books and doing numerous other illustrations, I decided that it was time to create for myself. It can be extremely fulfilling doing commissions and illustration work, but you are always trying to visualise what the client would like you to create. I love the freedom of drawing exactly what I want to draw in the way I want to do it. Because I am constantly pushing the boundaries of coloured pencils, trying them out on different surfaces and in combination with other media, I am often contacted by other artists seeking information about my techniques and it is was in response to this that I started to create a series of Step by Step tutorials. There are now more than 25 tutorials available from my website with new ones being created at regular intervals. Whilst doing commissions and illustration work, I often worked 8-12 hour days and sometimes 7 days a week. I now have much more balance in my working week working 6-8 hours a day limiting it to 4-5 days a week. When your job is also your passion, it can be difficult to strike a happy balance, but I have found that I am much happier and more creative if I walk away from the art every now and then. I do exhibit here and there, but find the majority of my pieces sell via the internet and the various online sites that I post my art to.

How did your interest in CP drawing initiate?

I loved coloured pencils from the moment I could hold them as a little toddler. My favourite Christmas present was always a new tin of Derwent pencils. Over the years I have tried almost all the other media, both wet and dry, but no other media gives me the portability, versatility or reliability that coloured pencils do.

Do you have a favourite animal, portrait or landscape you prefer to draw?

I love doing emotive portraiture and combining little critters into Trompe L’oeil * pieces. If I have a favourite animal to draw, it would have to be the cat and in particular cats with amazing eyes.

Have you got 3 simple tips you can provide new/fellow artists for drawing in CP?

Buy a couple of pencils from each of the main brands and try to get samples of a range of different papers and surfaces and draw and play and experiment. If there is one question I see come up more than any other, it is which is the best brand of pencils and which is the best type of drawing paper and there really is no simple answer to this because we all work in completely different ways, using different techniques and with different expectations and you need to find your own Best Pencil and Best Surface.

Do what I never did – have a visual diary, take it with you everywhere and draw from life all the time. I wish I had started this habit early in life as I think nothing else develops your imagination or skills more as an artist than drawing regularly from life.

Ignore the knockers. Everywhere you go, you will come across people who tell you how things should be done – don’t trace, don’t use black, and don’t use solvent. The most important thing is that you enjoy your art and drawing. Use the resources around you, research other artists, read art books, but in the end, find what works for you and allows you to create what is in your mind’s eye and expresses your individuality.

What advice can you offer new artists wanting to draw in CP?

The most common mistake I see with new artists to coloured pencil is that they call the artwork “completed” too early. Just a few more layers and it can transform a mediocre piece into a masterpiece. Patience is the key and layer and layer and layer, because this is what will give your artworks depth and vibrant colour.

How successful is your CP work in the Australian art world?

Most of my success comes from outside Australia because of my online exposure and the fact that I don’t regularly exhibit in the larger, more well-known exhibitions within Australia.  I have had quite a few articles published in the various Australian Art Magazines and have won numerous awards in some of the local exhibitions. Whilst we do have an online Australian Coloured Pencil Network, the geographical distance between all our members makes it almost impossible at this stage for us to have our own Coloured Pencil Society, but this is something we would love to see eventuate in the years to come.

Does CP attract equal attention as other popular media in Australia?

Attitudes are very slowly changing within Australia, however, I still find in most exhibitions that I am one of very few coloured pencil artists exhibiting.

What’s your favourite genre?

I don’t have a single favourite genre. I love hyper realism, but am inspired by creative fantasy and surreal pieces as well. Trompe L’oeil intrigues me; emotive portraiture, especially of elderly people moves me; and I love pieces that are unique and different, because this is an area I struggle with. I personally love creating artworks that combine realism with humour and a quirky twist that brings the viewer in for a closer look and leaves them walking away with a smile on their face.

Which industry did you work in before deciding to become a professional artist?

I was a Registered Nurse for 25 years. In 2007, my passion for drawing and art was reignited and over the next few years, I found that I was spending more and more time doing art and was getting a lot of requests for commissions, and so with the encouragement of my very supportive husband, I decided to leave nursing and pursue art full-time, and have never looked back.

UPDATE: When she produced illustrations for her second published children’s book called Love You Mum, Karen’s husband sent a copy of the Glenmore artist’s book to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge at Buckingham Palace as a gift for Prince George.

* “To fool or trick the eye”