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 New Year!

Here I am with my dayplanner and my calendars charting a course for TM Studio for the next 12 months...and yes, I have a couch in my studio, just a wee bit decadent. :-)

Have you determined to make 2009 your best year ever?

I encourage you to spend some time thinking of ways you could grow as an artist this year. Set some fun, realistic goals. Why not throw in a few challenging goals too? Write them down and revisit this list often for motivation.

To get started, one goal might be to sign out some art books at the local library. Next consider checking out some of those art related websites and blogs you have been meaning to spend some time on and why not sort through and organize those reference photos you have? Most importantly set aside time to do art - don't just think about it. It can be as little as a few minutes a day, or an hour or two each weekend. You will be amazed at how this inspires you and you will be amazed at what you will be able to accomplish as these minutes and hours add up.

Now, lets get to the art...

www.teresamallenstudio.com

Here is a fantastic portrait that I am so delighted to share with you. It seems like I could look at this forever and not get tired of it. The artist is Newsletter Group Member Carol Edwards. I met Carol at a local arts supply shop. We were both buying pencils from the open stock section. I love meeting people that work in coloured pencil so I struck up a conversation. Carol ended up taking my mix media workshop last fall as well as my portrait course in November. Let me quickly add that Carol had already completed this work by the time she took the portrait course. I don't mean to imply that I had any influence in this beautiful piece, I'm just an admirer!

Please be reminded that images published in this newsletter are copyright protected and copying and/or reproducing is not permitted without written permission.

I asked Carol if she would tell us a bit about her portrait and here is what she wrote:

"The portrait is done on black Stonehenge starting with the eyes and a ghost of white and cream where it needed light. I used impressed lines for the wrinkles and a few of the black eyebrow hairs, eyelashes, whiskers and deep pores. The skin tones were built up in sculptural strokes in many layers using skin tones from Prismacolor, Derwent and Lyra. His sweater and a chair in the background are barely visible but needed to be there for balance and for the colour that bounces onto the lower part of his cheek and chin.

There were two problems that had to be solved. I put part of one of the impressed lines in the wrong place and had to make it look "normal" by flattening out the sides of the groove so it would take colour and become almost invisible. The second problem was the size of the picture. I decided at the end that it needed to be slightly larger and added about 1cm. on one side. The hair helped blend in the addition."

Thanks for the info Carol and thanks for sharing the challenges. :-) You overcame them beautifully!

I love the expression of Mr. Bowles that Carol used. Choosing a black background worked so well for the mood of this piece. I love the composition Carol chose and I think she did a tremendous job on his skin tones. She has used lots of wonderful colours which helps make the work so interesting. Drawing a face that is on such an angle as this, isn't easy! Carol did a great job in getting everything in the right place. I find this to be such a captivating work. From original concept to the final strokes of colour, this portrait was brilliantly executed! Superb job Carol.

I didn't have a clue who Paul Bowles was so I did a search of him on the internet. He was an American writer and composer (1910-1999). From 1947 until his death, he made his home in Tangier, Morocco. According to what I read, Mr. Bowles led a very interesting and creative life. The offical Paul Bowles website can be found at www.paulbowles.org. There is a Jane and Paul Bowles Society and I have suggested to Carol that she do prints of this portrait. I am sure some of his dedicated fans would love to make a purchase!

If you would like to let Carol know how much you loved this portrait, just email me and I will pass on the compliments. We have some more wonderful art to look forward to as Carol is working on a portrait of her grandson as well as one of a friend. I have seen the beginning stages of these paintings. They are currently works in progress. I can't wait to see them finished. Thank you Carol for sharing your art with us!

Okay, Newsletter Group Members...what work do you have that you could share? We would love to see it! You can send scans of your work or you can send me a photo. My email address is teresa@teresamallenstudio.com.

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.

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

How can I make my art straight? I am fairly new to colored pencils. I used to work on paper that came in a pad. I then started buying my art in large sheets. I recently worked on something that my husband liked. He bought a frame but when I went to put my art in the frame, I realized that my edges were way off. I guess when I cut my paper I didn't do a very good job. I then tried to solve this by adding color to where it was missing in my drawing. I had a terrible time guessing at what colors I may have used. I can still see where I added the new color. What can I do to avoid this in future?

Hi Sue, great question. I think we have all dealt with this one! I remember happily working away on practice pieces. I never bothered about my edges. I actually never gave them any thought. Once I started doing more finished pieces, I realized that I couldn't cut a straight line for my life. I used rulers but that didn't seem to help. And yes, I too have had to colour in a bit of background long after the piece was done. I think we all have!

What you need is a t-square. Here is a picture of the one I bought. They come in various sizes. Mine is rather small and light. Heavy duty ones are sold too. Look for one in the stationary section of a department store, or in a business supply store. They usually have them in art supply stores too, in the drafting section.

Using one is simple. See the end that makes the T part of the t-square? Just line this up against a straight edge!

Here is what I do...First I cut the size of paper I need off of the larger sheet. I use a regular ruler for this. My edges are usually off but I don't care. Once my smaller sheet makes it to my drafting table, I then use my t-square to format my image. I line the T up with the bottom edge of my drafting table as I know that that edge is straight. I then draw a very faint line on my paper with a pencil to indicate the height of the work. By a faint line, I mean so light I can hardly see it and I don't use any real pressure as I don't want to score the paper. I do this to both sides of my image. I turn my paper, again lining it up with the T in order to draw another line. I do this until all four sides are drawn in. I should also say that the outline that I create for my image is larger than what I need. That way I am certain that my lines won't interfere with the finished picture. By colouring out to the slightly larger edge, I also have a bit of wiggle room for when I get down to matting the piece for framing. If you take your work to a framer, keep in mind that they will cover some of your image with the mat. For the sake of your composition, make sure what you want viewed is set in from your outlined shape. I hope this makes sense! If you are working on a drafting table please note that special t-squares are made to hook onto your table. You might wish to buy one of those. I don't use one as I assume it would get in the way of all the other stuff I have on my table.

This tip is related to the above question. In order to avoid the frustration of having to re-create a background when you can't remember how you did it, write down the colours used on a piece of paper. I keep a piece of paper on my drafting table for this purpose. As I work up the layers in a background, I jot down the colours I use. That way if I wish to make the piece bigger later, I can. I also write down the pencils used in an area if I know that I will have to leave the work for a while. I know I won't remember later what I was doing. This also helps if you have to lift colour. You might remember seeing my recent portrait of my neice on my blog.

At one point I had the background done and I was working on the hair. I decided to experiment a bit with hair wisps. I didn't like the look so I lifted the pigment. I was able to redo the bit of background easily because I had made notes on the colours used. Easy and it works!

The Intro course is scheduled to run Saturday mornings March 28th, April 4th and April 11th. Please note that the school boards in the Ottawa area are holding March break from March 16th through to the 20th. Therefore the course will start the week following this break. The weather should be fine by the end of March! To read all of the details about this course please see the classes section of my website.

This is the only course I have scheduled for 2009. I am cutting back on my work as a teacher this year so that I can move my business forward in other areas and so that I can take care of a commitment to a property that my sister and I have inherited.

I offered Beyond the Basics in the spring of 2008. If you missed this course and you would really like to take it in 2009, please email me. I would consider offering it if there is sufficient interest. Depending on how the year progresses, there may be courses offered in the fall. I will let you know if there are any developments.

Want a way to track your progress as an artist this year? Coloured pencil artist Ann Thompson Nemcosky offers up a great idea on her blog, Blue Bird Hill. Go to her post for Monday December 29, 2008. Click here for the link. There you will see a calendar upon which Ann charted her time spent working on her art. How much art did you do last year? If you knew the truth, you might be surprised - we probably would all underestimate or overestimate the amount of time. So in order to have a clear idea at the end of 2009, why not grab a calendar and start colouring in the days you spent making art? You might even want to buy a separate calendar just for this purpose. Now that we are one week into the new year, it shouldn't be hard to find a calendar at 50% off. :-) Anyway, I love Ann's work. Her cp pieces really remind me of pastel work and you probably all know by now that I love the look of pastel art. Enjoy looking around her blog.

Well this website isn't coloured pencil but I think you will enjoy it. You might just find it inspiring too! It is a wonderful example of how you can make a living (and in his case, a very good living) as an artist. Ever heard of Ron Burns? I must credit Jan Gibson for mentioning him on her blog a while back. You can check out Jan's blog here. Ron Burns creates commissioned pet portraits. His site states that there is currently an eight month waiting list and the fee for a painting starts at $30,000 !!!!! for a 36" x36" - and no I didn't type in too many zeros. Pretty groovy right? You can check out his work here. I respect and admire a person that gives back. You can read about the organizations and causes he support by clicking on his philanthropy link. You can also see Ron's Art of the Month Club - The Couch Pawtato Series by clicking here. Isn't his work fantastic? I love his use of colour.

And last but not least, I wish to direct you to the website of Texas coloured pencil artist Cathy Ward. Click here to get there. Look under 'portraits' to see some fabulous work. You can click on the images to see them enlarged. I especially like her portrait of a boy named Grant Starr (he is located on the far right, bottom, wearing a denim shirt). Read the text and then take a moment to go hug your kids. A wonderful portrait - I especially love his hair. I am quite fond of Cathy's compositions, especially in the portraits where there is a lot of empty coloured paper. It shows confidence and someone who isn't afraid to be different. I also really like Lily, the red head with the green halter top. Here we have the empty space again, a beautiful rendering of hair as well as lots of lovely colours in the folds of her top. Cathy always does a fantastic job on skin tones. Such yummy work! You will no doubt want to return to her website again and again in order to appreciate her portraits.

blog news: If you would like to become a follower of my blog, I have recently added the 'follower' widget to the sidebar on the right.

If you are new to my newsletter, perhaps you don't know that I have an art journal blog. Here I write about my art and other art related stuff. I show works in progress, and from time to time I share what is going on in my life.

My art journal blog address is: 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.

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.

This newsletter is for you, so please feel free to participate. Send in images of your art for some 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?

We have a winter storm watch on for this evening. A significant amount of snow is expected. So, I am looking at photos like this...

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Teresa Mallen Studio	Coloured Pencil Artist
	www.teresamallenstudio.com