My Thoughs on Pencil Art

The work you see within my website is mostly colored pencil. For some reason, which no one can explain, people, in general, seem to think that drawing with pencil is somehow amateur art and not to be taken seriously.

What would the Maters of art think of this attitude toward pencil art now? Pencil art has been around over 450 years since the first graphite mines were discovered in England 1565. All the great artists have drawn out their work, we can see evidence of this now as journals and sketches are available of the masters.

When you view my work, no matter the medium, you are looking at decades of learning and developing skills. My work with mapping, graphics, cosmetology and theater have given me a strong background in design as well as presentation. If I changed the medium description to "oil, acrylic or watercolor", would that make the art more valid?

As a world view in general, the art market is flooded with images. The modern artist of today is in competition with computer and digital drawings, some of them fantastically amazing. As a paper and pencil artist, such as myself, this confuses me. Why would more validity be given to images drawn on a computer than art created by an artists hand placed against paper or canvas? I understand the lure of creating art using a computer, I have done so myself.

But...the feel of a pencil or brush in my hand, watching the artwork come to life because of my pencil strokes or hand blending is very rewarding on many levels. With computer generated art, there is no physical original image that is viewable without a device of some kind. With original art created on paper or canvas, no matter what, you have something to physically hold.

I am blessed that I have this skill and ability within me. To be able to take a blank sheet of paper and create a image just using my physical and mental skills is an awesome feeling.

I am hoping that I am able to change the perception of graphite and colored pencil through my manually produced art. For those of you who want to see more of this style of work on an extraordinary level, visit the Colored Pencil Society of America, http://www.cpsa.org/ .



Out of My MInd

Dave