Behind the scenes for this week is a handful of studio news items.
May was a busy month. A new dog portrait completed, another issue of the magazine ready to publish tomorrow, and a new gallery.
There’s also news of new possibilities this summer and beyond.
So let’s get to the news!
Studio News for May 2023
Cat and Dog Art Gallery
First up is a new gallery featuring cats and dogs. It includes some of my most recent work, as well as older pieces.
You can view the Cat and Dog Art Gallery here. To see larger versions of the artwork, click on one of the images. You can then scroll through the collection.
Approaching 2,000 Newsletter Subscribers
I don’t spend much time checking stats on the blog, newsletter, or anything else. My goal is not to have a lot of followers or subscribers, but to provide each artist with the best information possible.
But the newsletter is approaching 2,000 subscribers.
I don’t know about you, but that sounds like a milestone.
Approaching 600 Posts
Speaking of milestones, this blog is approaching 600 posts. Where did they all come from!?
I’m not sure what to do to celebrate this milestone or the newsletter milestone, but both seem worthy of celebration. Any suggestions?
Current Works in Progress
Finally, I’ll give you peak at my drawing board and show you the drawings I’m working on.
First is House Lion, a portrait of one of our cats. I’m drawing Max on white Clairefontaine Pastelmat and using nothing but Caran d’Ache Pablo pencils. The drawing is 6×8 inches, and I’m hoping to publish a tutorial when the art is finished.
The second piece is Pasture Patriarch. It’s also 6×8 inches, but I’m using Derwent Drawing Colored Pencils on Canson Mi-Teintes for this one. It’s barely started, but I’m hoping it can be the basis for a future tutorial.
Looking to the Future
Reader Gallery Critiques
In June, I’ll start offering personalized critiques to artists who submit artwork to the CP Magic! Reader Gallery and who would like a critique. I’ll be telling you more about that next week.
Would You Like to Know More about PanPastels?
If you’ve been reading my posts and/or newsletters for any length of time, you know that I’m pretty set in my ways artistically. I have my favorite pencils and paper and drawing methods.
But that doesn’t mean I’m not willing to try new things. Sometimes those things don’t work for me, but sometimes they do. Pastelmat is one of the things that works for me.
Now I’m thinking about trying PanPastels. I’ve even asked a few other artists what they recommend for those who are considering PanPastels but who also can’t or don’t want to buy a full set.
I also have a couple of ideas on color choices for an initial purchase.
But before I buy anything, I thought I’d ask you if you have any interest in knowing more about PanPastels based on my personal experience.
Let me know in the comments below.
What Would You Like to Read About?
As you know, I’m always looking for ideas on what to write about, so I’d like to know what subjects most interest you.
I’m also happy to answer questions, so if you have a question, let me know. Chances are that if you have a question about something, a lot of other readers have the same question. So please ask it!
Got a question? Ask Carrie!
Hi Carrie, would definitely like to know what your thoughts are on Pan Pastels. May want to try them myself at some point. I did just buy a whole set of Nupastel Pastel sticks from Prisma Colors and think they could be used for backgrounds as well. I bought them to go with my other pastel supplies, but they probably could be used with colored pencil as well, for background color.
Gail,
I think you could use any form of pastel for backgrounds. PanPastels are just cleaner and more convenient than chalk pastels and they’re faster than pastel pencils!
Sounds like another good option. Thank you, Carrie.
Your Studio Newsletter is so exciting to read! Sounds like some very positive and exciting things are happening! I can’t wait till I see them all implemented.
The Blog posts have been a tremendous help to me. Having 600+ posts, you had to have covered just about every topic. I do have a question about them. Do you have a search link associated with them that I am not seeing? Sometimes I go to look up a tip to see if you had covered the subject before I write to ask you. I end up scrolling a while, and in most cases I do see a post where you wrote about the topic. It would be easier and faster having a search with the blogs.
Please do more Panpastel work! I have begun using them too. Mostly just used on backgrounds but would love seeing how I can incorporate them more.
One more comment, I see you do beautiful landscapes of trees and fields. Do you ever do mountains? I have been thinking that I might like to do a Mountain and Stream landscape, but I never see any examples in colored pencil. In my research they are almost always done in acrylic or oils.
Sorry for the lengthy comment. You just got me encouraged with this email. THANK YOU!
Teresa,
Thank you for your comment and compliments! They are appreciated.
The only search function on the blog at the moment is the search bar at the top of the page. I try to title posts with titles that are more easily searched for, but that’s not always possible. Your idea is a good one. I’ll have to look into that.
Believe it or not, I haven’t covered all things colored pencil, yet. There’s always something new, and there are a lot of things I wouldn’t think to write about. That’s why I ask readers to ask questions!
I’ll put PanPastels on my list of things to buy.
As a matter of fact, I do have a mountain landscape in progress. It’s been in progress for the last two or three years (or longer.) There’s no stream in it, though, but I need to look that up and finish it!
Thanks again for your suggestions.