Please not that all the images, artwork, photos and text contained in this newsletter, are the copyright of Teresa Mallen and any artists that are featured. The images, artwork, photos and text may not be copied or reproduced in any way unless written permission has been obtained.

From My Studio...

Happy Spring everyone! It is mud season here but ah the flowers are coming up and the birds are singing, so it's all good.

For those of you in the Ottawa area, I have news regarding classes. A new session of Coloured Pencil Basics has been added. It is being held April 27th and 28th. The big news is that Beyond the Basics has been scheduled for June. This course is usually only offered once a year so don't miss out. See the classes section below for more info.

Did you miss the announcement last month on the on-line art show that you are welcome to participate in? If so, you can find the information below. As well, I have someone I would like you to meet in the new 'Introducing' section. Finally, if you know of someone who is interested in coloured pencil, do tell them about this newsletter.

So off we go...

When you think of art done in coloured pencil, do you immediately think of highly realistic renderings? Let me assure you, coloured pencils can do so much more. I am delighted to feature the art of Chéryl Poulin this month. Chéryl is a talented mixed media artist. In the work she shares with us, you will see art created using various media, including coloured pencils.

As well as being a mixed media artist, Chéryl also teaches decorative painting in her home studio here in west Ottawa. So without further delay, here is Chéryl, her art and her story...

Please note: Chéryl has submitted these images to be included in this newsletter. Please be reminded that these images are copyright protected. Chéryl Poulin owns the copyright and copying and/or reproducing is not permitted.

"I'm an artist who works and teaches from my home studio in Dunrobin, Ontario. Not far from city life…just far enough away that I get to live in the bush, surrounded by trees and wildlife.

I like to think my art journey began as a child. Back then I was going to either be a vet, or an artist. The idea of colouring in my books all day really appealed to me! As it turns out, I get to make art as much as I want. And I keep the local vet in business tending to my menagerie of pets. Does this count as manifestation?"

"Moving from downtown Toronto to rural Ottawa back in 1991 was a bit of a culture shock. I knew a couple people and that was about it. In 1993 I took up decorative arts and quickly mastered innumerable techniques and skills and developed a reputation for my attention to detail. This landed me into a teaching role that I grew to love. I realized early on that by teaching I became a better artist and a better person. I can tell you that teaching was not in my plans! Now it excites me just as much as art-making does!

In 2005 I began to experiment outside of the structures and boundaries of traditional decorative painting. I immersed myself in mixed media and soon understood the meaning of "being in the moment". The idea of combining various media to create a work of art was so exciting to me. That's where coloured pencils began to creep in."

4 Mixed Media, 'Pearls of Wisdom', Collage with Coloured Pencil, each 6" x 6" (number 3, lower left corner is sold)

"After seeing the works of Alison Fagan and other accomplished CP artists, it never dawned on me to use such a (what I thought then) delicate tool for all of the texture I was producing. But, the pencils kept calling. These days, most of my work has coloured pencil in it. Usually I use it on a top layer to create highlights and shadows, particularly in a collage.

My style of art definitely shows some aspects of me I don't mind sharing with the world. My work has been dubbed funky, fearless, down to earth, and joyful. Call it what you will, people seem to like it. Most importantly, I like it.

My work is seldom planned. I prefer to work intuitively and I just let myself be swept away by each brush stroke. As I tear into papers and play with various mediums, and incorporate all matter of things to my canvas, I reflect and I'm deeply grateful that I can do this."

Miixed Media Collage and Coloured Pencil (untitled). With mat and frame each is 6" x 8"

"My teaching studio is tidy ONLY when I am teaching. But left on my own, I cover every table with every bit of art-making goodies I own. I'm definitely one of those stereotypical messy artists." This is Teresa interjecting a brief note...Cheryl isn't kidding when she says she is a messy artist. She attended my mixed media workshop last fall and no sooner were the lids off the paint and she had paint all over the place. But I hasten to add that she did a wonderful job cleaning up! Sorry Chéryl, I couldn't resist! :-) I must say though that I have attended an open house at Cheryl's studio and she has a wonderful, inviting and inspiring teaching space.

"Some of my work can be viewed online in my Virtual Galleries. I have some works on display in local professional offices. As well, I participate in many juried shows in the Ottawa area every year.

Do visit Cheryl's website by clicking here. Browse through interesting sections such as wall mural ideas for a child's play area, a bath makeover, galleries, info on her decorative painting classes as well as mixed media classes.

Thanks Chéryl for being April's featured artist. It is wonderful to see your art! I am sure that your mixed media pieces will inspire readers to think of new possibilities when it comes to their coloured pencils.

*Newsletter Group Members, I need someone to volunteer to be featured in the June issue!

Please drop me a line if you are interested. You do not have to be a professional artist to be featured. Hobby artists and newbies are welcome. My email address is teresa@teresamallenstudio.com . I can't wait to hear from you.

I really like the quote this month: "Art is not what you see, but what you make others see." Edgar Degas

* A new session of my Coloured Pencil Basics Course has been scheduled. It is later this month so don't delay!

This special session of the Coloured Pencil Basics Course will be held during Monday April 27th, 9:30 - 4:00 and Tuesday April 28th, 1:00 - 5:00. As this course is being offered over a Monday and Tuesday, it would be perfect for those of you who work weekends and haven't been able to make it out to my other dates. It is also a good solution for anyone who has to travel from out of town. By getting accommodations for one night, you would only have to make the trip once. To read all of the details about this course please see the classes section of my website. You can also register from that page. Secure on-line payment options are available.

* A new session of Beyond the Basics has been scheduled! This course is only offered once a year so don't miss your opportunity to learn all about cps and colour.

If you have been waiting for this course to be offered, now is your chance to take it. The course shall be held over three Saturday mornings in June, the 13th, 20th and 27th. The class size is limited so please register early to avoid disappointment.

This course is primarily about creating colour with your coloured pencils - how to use complementary colours in a unique way, different methods for creating values, how to 'see' colour, exploring warm and cool colours, etc. To read all of the details about this course please see the classes section of my website. You can also register from that page. Secure on-line payment options are available.

Newsletter Group Members, don't forget to start working on something for this Fall's on-line show. The show is scheduled to be posted in October 2009.

- your work can be done in any medium, of course coloured pencil would be preferred

- you will submit via the computer so slides etc. are not required (you can scan your work or take digital pictures)

You have several months to get something ready so I do hope you will participate. Remember this is open to everyone and you can submit anything, from graphite drawings to pastel to cp mixed media. As the focus of this newsletter is coloured pencil, I hope to see lots of work done with cps. Right now I am limiting the number of pieces to two per person but if there are just a handful of participants this restriction will be lifted. If I am flooded with hundreds of images, then the number may drop from two to one. Please note, if you only have one piece to submit, one is fine. I will keep posting reminders and if you have any questions, please contact me.

The purpose of this show is for you the Members to have a chance to show your work. I look forward to seeing your art!

I will post details in later issues on how to submit your images and what info to include.

This month's question comes from Jan Kellis who asks: "I notice that you have worked on Pastelbord. I would like to try it but my local art store doesn't have any. Can you tell me where to buy it?

For those of you that are not familiar with Pastelbord, it is a product made by the Ampersand company. You can visit their website by clicking here. Pastelbord is a lovely surface for pastel work (hence the name) yet it is also liked by a lot of coloured pencil artists. The surface is sanded. A kaolin clay ground is hand applied and it is textured with fine marble dust granules. Pastelbord is a 1/8" (3mm) thick panel and it is pH neutral, acid free and available in white, gray, dark green and sand. A feature of creating work on this panel is that as it is a board, you can frame your work like an oil painting without the need for glass. You should spray your cp work with a suitable varnish as you would a painting.

Here is a photo of three of my 8x10 panels, and my tomatoes were done on Pastelbord. (image copyright of Teresa Mallen)

Jan is writing from Edmonton Alberta and to my knowledge, Pastelbord is not sold in Canada. I have researched several on-line Canadian companies and while certain Ampersand products such as their Claybord are available, I couldn't find Pastelbord. The Ampersand website info does not indicate that it is available here. Fortunately there are American on-line companies and in the past I have ordered Pastelbord from Dick Blick. You can visit their website by clicking here. I hope you like working on it. If you haven't tried working on a sanded surface, you might wish to try working on sanded pastel paper (readily available in art supply stores) before ordering the Pastelbord. One brand you might wish to look for is Colourfix. While working on Pastelbord isn't exactly like working on Colourfix, you can get an idea of what it is like to work on a gritty surface.

Thanks for you question Jan. If you have a question you would like me to answer, please email me at teresa@teresamallenstudio.com.

If you are interested in nature art you will like the Artists for Conservation Foundation website. This group is a non-profit, international organization dedicated to the celebration and preservation of the natural world. There are lots of artists you can check out, you can sign up for their e-newsletter and you can check out the art for sale. Proceeds will support conservation. Click here to have a look.

For those of you who are bloggers, you are probably familiar with the art of Gayle Mason. For those of you who haven't encountered her work, you can visit her website by clicking here and her blog by clicking here. Gayle specializes in animal art and she works in coloured pencil as well as with other media. If domestic and wild cats are your favourite subjects, you will find a link on Gayle's blog that links to her Squidoo Lens. Here she has info on how to draw and paint cats.

Any Newsletter Group Members need help with a piece? This section has been very quiet in past months. If you are shy, please note that you can remain anonymous. If anyone would like to take me up on my offer to help, just send me an email.

If you are new to my newsletters and you would like some help, here is how it works. It is really quite simple. If you are a Newsletter Group Member, you can obtain free, helpful advice right here! Perhaps you have a piece that you would like me to review and to give feedback on. Perhaps you have just started something and you are unsure if you are heading in the right direction. Maybe you have a photo picked out and you are wondering if it would make a good painting. We learn from following another's process and this feedback is being offered as a way for members to learn from each other. If you have something you would like help with, email me a photo or a scanned image and we will go from there. You can also remain anonymous in the newsletter if desired. I look forward to hearing from you.

New Newsletter Group members, if you don't already know, I have an art journal blog. In my blog I post pictures of my works in progress. I talk about what inspires me and I share details of my process. There is lots of other info on my blog too. I have been blogging for over a year now and I have written a lot of posts. I have recently added a new section to my blog, entitled Featured Writings that I hope you will find helpful. I have compiled some informative blog posts from the past year (topics include getting into galleries and marketing art). These featured writings can be found in the right hand side bar. Just look for the artsy buttons!

You can check out my art journal blog here: www.teresamallenstudio.blogspot.com. If you like what you see, why not sign up to subscribe via the RSS feed or via email? Just look for this info on the sidebar of the blog. You can also become a follower of my blog. I have recently added the 'follower' widget to the sidebar on the right.

Are you reading my blog and would like to share your thoughts? You can click on the comments section at the end of each post to read what others have written. If you have a google account or are willing to open one, you can also leave a message. If you would like to make a comment but you don't wish to leave a message on the blog, why not write me an email? I would love to read your comments, no matter how they reach me.

Motivation Monday is a series of writings on my blog in which I hope to encourage you as you work at achieving your dreams and goals. You can read all of the Motivation Monday posts from one location simply by clicking on the Motivation Monday button found in the right hand sidebar, under the Featured Writings heading. Also, check my blog on Mondays and look for the image below. If you see it, it means there is a brand new post you can read. Your thoughts and comments are most welcome.

This newsletter is for you, so please feel free to participate. Send in images of your art for show and tell. If you have a question, please ask. If you need help, just shout. If you have a helpful tip or suggestion, send it along. Perhaps you have a business or website you would like to promote. Don't be shy, why not get involved?

Not sure how to become a Newsletter Group Member? It's easy, just email me to become registered!

(If you would prefer to not receive a newsletter notice in future, please email me. Put 'remove' in the subject line and you will be deleted from my mailing list.)

Teresa Mallen Studio	Coloured Pencil Artist
	www.teresamallenstudio.com