Thursday 22 September 2011

An Encyclopedia of Secret Places





Here is a double page spread from my Sketchbook for the Arthouse Sketchbook Project.   This is a secret place I visited this summer somewhere in the foothills of Mt. Etna.  We stayed at an old farmhouse in the middle of the countryside and of course I couldn't resist getting up very early in the morning to wander around the gardens and orchards.
It was just me, the bees, butterflies and an old man picking oranges.  I think he was a little surprised  to see someone up and about so early but he wished me good morning and carried on working!




On a different note the 2011 UK Coloured Pencil Society exhibition has opened in London this week.
The award winners can be seen here , have a look at all the entries there is some fantastic work and it really shows what can be done with coloured pencils.
I  have booked my flights and can't wait to take my mum to visit the exhibition next week, I'm so proud to have two of my coloured pencil pieces in the exhibition!

19 comments:

bettyfromtexas said...

How lovely this early morning excursion must have been . . . the spread in your Sketchbook Project book is so beautiful!! I know how hard it's going to be to let go of that book next February!!!

And CONGRATULATIONS on having two works selected for the UK Coloured Pencil Society exhibition. That is an honor definitely well-deserved! Have an excellent time on your trip, Cathy!!!

Donna Jeanne Koepp said...

Congratulations on your submissions. Thank you very much for the link. I will never look at my colored pencils the same way again. Absolutely astounding.

Elizabeth Rose Stanton said...

Awesome that you have pieces in the exhibition! Have fun!!

Deborah said...

How lovely! I love the bee....he's my favorite!

Anonymous said...

Those flowers look like they are really in love. I just drew something similar... albeit less pretty.

Shalini said...

Congratulations on the exhibition!
And what a wonderful spread of the 'Secret Place'...

Anonymous said...

Congratulations (and Celebrations...as Cliff would say).
So you will be back in good old England for a while.
And your top painting is wondrful too.
Stew.

Alex said...

Fantastic work and congratulations on the exhibition! Really like that secret garden drawing...and the featured one has always stuck me as a photograph eventhough I know it's not. I saw those award winning works...they are AMAZING! I've never used more than 12 colors in my color pencils...perhaps I should venture more into that area ^^

Unknown said...

I saw photos of that exhibition on another blog, too. It looked like there was some really amazing work there! Your painting is charming, such a heartwarming scene!

Unknown said...

Congratz! Well deserved! I love the geranium...

Unknown said...

Love the secret garden spread. And thanks for the link! There is some absolutely stunning work there, but I'm wondering why yours didn't make it there. I think it is better than many of those! Ah well...such is the nature of art juries! You've definitely earned your place in that exhibition!

Cathy Holtom said...

Alex - Coloured pencils can be layered together to achieve different colours so 12 pencils would be ok!

Raena - Thank you for your support, I'm happy enough to have my work in the exhibition x

Gillian Mowbray said...

Oh, you paint such lovely pictures with your words, let alone your artwork. So dreamy!

Hope you enjoy your trip. x

Unknown said...

I hope you enjoy your trip ~ I know it is very difficult to get in. The standard is very high nowadays so well done :) The sketchbook project is coming along great and as you know, your chosen subject really appeals to me ~ lovely :D

nanke's stuff said...

Your drawings are just stunning! Congratulations on being accepted into the show. I'm not surprised though. Nancy

jill said...

These are stunning drawings, i have just finished reading the secret garden, what a lovely story. Well done on the exhibition and thanks for your comments

debra morris said...

Great spread Cathy, have a good time in the UK.
Congratulations again on the exhibition

Unknown said...

Fabulous spread Cathy.

Enjoy the exhibition and again congrats on getting your drawings selected.

Anonymous said...

Congratulations on your well-earned sucess!