Some time ago, I wrote a fun post called 12 Reasons to Love Colored Pencils. Today, I thought I’d list a few more reasons to love colored pencils.
More Reasons to Love Colored Pencils
All Those New Pencils
Colored pencils have come a long way since I started using them in the mid 1990s. New brands have entered the market. When I started there was only Prismacolor (so far as I knew.) Now beginners can chose from dozens of brands.
And yes, most of them work well with all the others.
New Drawing Surfaces
Pencils aren’t the only things being updated and improved. Drawing surfaces continue to develop too.
As of the writing of this post, Brush & Pencil has launched a brand new, fully archival sanded art paper that takes sanded art paper to a new level. Lux Archival is the latest product from this artist-run company and it’s getting rave reviews.
New Accessory Products
New products are now available that make painting with colors pencils more like painting with colored pencils. I refer, of course, to Brush & Pencil’s texture fixative, which is sprayed over a work in progress to restore tooth. Back in the day, there was only workable fixative and it was usually unsatisfactory.
And you simply can’t beat Titanium white mixture for adding bright white highlights to colored pencil.
Actually, Brush & Pencil has become one more reason to love colored pencils for a lot of artists. Their fully archival line of products transformed colored pencils in a big way.
(No, this isn’t a sponsored post. It’s just Brush & Pencil has developed so many great new products in the last few years that it’s impossible not to find one that excites you!)
Exploration is Easier
And usually more fun, too.
I’m not sure why that is. All those years (over 40) that I created horse portraits in oils, portrait work is about all I did. I had no interest in landscapes, still life paintings, or just playing with the paint. About the only time I did anything different was when I got so disgusted with a piece that I slapped paint all over it and made an abstract out of it.
But put a colored pencil in my hand, and all that changes!
In the last few years, I’ve drawn a still life or two, food, and fabric. I’ve drawn from life (something else I never felt the need to do with oils.)
I’ve even dabbled with mixed media by doing watercolor under paintings!
It’s Easier to Have Fun
It’s also easier to just have fun with colored pencils. I do understand that. It was next to impossible to carry oil paints, brushes, and cleaner with me all the time. Painting was always in the studio, so it was always work.
But I keep a few pencil stubs in my purse all the time and also have a field kit that’s more completely stocked. That means I can draw wherever I happen to be, and that makes it fun!
There’s So Much Great Colored Pencil Art Out There
Finally (for today,) there are so many wonderful artists creating great colored pencil art that it’s easy to be motivated to create my own. Subjects are as varied as the artists and so are their drawing methods. There’s always something to learn from each one, and that’s the most exciting reason of all to love colored pencils.
So there are a few more reasons to love colored pencils.
What are some of your reasons for loving colored pencils?
Hi Carrie, thank you for the article. In the last week or two had run into a colored pencil “how to” and they had mentioned Titanium White which I had never heard of before. Thank you for giving a link to explain it and get it. Do you think it is better then using a white jelly roll pen for highlights?
Gail,
Titanium White is more archival than a gel pen. It’s made for use with colored pencils and was developed by a colored pencil artist, so you can use it with the confidence that it will not damage your work or flake off (as gel pens sometimes do.)
It is more expensive than gel pens, but a little bit goes a long way, so it may actually end up costing less than gel pens in the long run.
Awesome! Nice to find something that works with CP for super bright highlights, without flaking.
Have you never heard of Crayola?
Yes, I have heard of Crayola. I have a set of 96 Crayola crayons. I don’t use them, but I love the smell of them!
Crayola makes colored pencils, but for scholastic use. Their target market is grade school and below, so they wouldn’t be a good choice for fine art.