Our next featured artist is Alexis Marcou. Alexis graduated from the University of Plymouth & since then has illustrated for large brands such as Nike. We asked him to answer a few questions about his work and life as an illustrator:

What inspires you and your work?

One of the greatest sources of inspiration for me are photographers portfolios.

I am also inspired by creative blogs, movies and other artists work.

What are your goals as an artist?

To improve my techniques and create illustrations that hopefully will inspire others.

Which artists inspire you?

Many artists inspire me such as Richard Estes, Carine Grasset, Masamune Shirow and David Downton.

Do you have any top tips for drawing?

To be patient is of the greatest importance and to use the best instruments/materials for you. Also it is always good to practice a lot.

How and when did you start drawing?

I was very young when I started to drawing. I started out of curiousity.

How has your style changed over the years?

It evolved gradually into a more cubic and expressive style.

What have you learned about yourself and your work over the years?

I think the most important thing I learned over the years is to appreciate other people's artwork more and to be my hardest critic.

What are the most enjoyable and rewarding aspects of being an artist?

The most rewarding aspect of being an artist I think is the positive feedback. The most enjoyable aspects are being able to work with a variety of people and work on new techniques which most of the time result in suprises.

You can find out more about Alexis on his website: www.alexismarcou.com

Our next Featured Artist is Tiffany Budd, an artist from Surrey. Tiffany has worked with Derwent for many years and recently featured on our packaging for Pastel Blocks. We asked Tiffany a few questions about her work:

What inspires you and your work?

There are many things really, but as artists go, the often forgotten Russian Constructivists inspire me. The way they created new exciting work using shapes, perspective and light is brilliant. They were primarily inspired themselves by the Cubist movement (Picasso and Braque), another one of my favourites. For use of colour, Patrick Heron and Howard Hodgkin are masters in my eyes.  

My Fractured style of painting came from visiting a Russian Constructivist exhibition at the Tate Gallery about 4 years ago. It was like a light bulb moment! I got home, sat down with a glass of wine and sketched the said glass and bottle in a way I hadn’t done before, extending out lines and shading in the blocked up areas. I’ve not looked back since!

When I think of a painting idea, light, reflections and movement get me going. Unusual building shapes are great too. I am about to do a large scale drawing of the Millennium Wheel in my Fractured style, I am very excited about that! I love photographing water and waves too, then translating it onto my canvas as a later date. This is why I always carry a small digital camera with me. You never know what might grab your attention for the next drawing.

What are your goals as an artist?

To create something unique, that no other artist has done before. And for the viewer to look at it, appreciate it and enjoy it, and you never know, purchase it!

Which artist inspires you?

Do I have to choose one?! Aleksandr Rodchenko (Russian Constructivist), Picasso for his diversity and incredible talent, and then Carravaggio for pure drama. Oh then there’s Matisse, Patrick Heron, Howard Hodgkin like I mentioned before….see? Impossible to choose just one!

Do you have any top tips for drawing?

If you think something is not quite right, but can’t figure out quite what, try looking at it in a mirror. For some bizarre reason, the ‘mistake’ jumps out! Don’t ask me why, but it does!  Also, take your sketchbook and camera everywhere like I mentioned before. You never know when something might inspire you and get your fingers itching! When using coloured pencils and want to remove the pencil marks to create a smooth image, a blender pencil is invaluable. It doesn’t affect the colour but blends it all nicely together.  And finally, buy the best quality pencils you can. Cheap ones tend to break and that can incredibly frustrating.

How and when did you start drawing?

I’ve always drawn, as long as I can remember. It was something I was good at school (unlike Maths!). I was at a school which had a fantastic art department. They really encouraged me to develop my talent, and in the process, recommended I give up trying to do A level Biology. Which I did willingly! At Christmas and birthdays growing up, I always asked for art materials. (I still do) I can’t imagine not drawing or painting.

How has your style changed over the years?

Quite dramatically. I wanted to learn how to draw first and foremost, so would copy, sketch figure studies, still life.  Once I could do that, I tried other things, abstracts, collage and I developed a range of floral work using the collage. I still do those, but I’ve moved onto my Fractured work more now. Every now and then, I still do the basics, almost like a refresher course. I love drawing so just want to keep on improving and developing my skills. I believe you need to know the basics of drawing, perspective and copying before you can develop your own personal style.  But that’s just me! Some people have a distinctive style from the outset, but I didn’t.

What have you learned about yourself and your work over the years?

Be yourself and be patient! I used to be incredibly impatient and would rush things and inevitably ruin them. It took years for me to slow down and concentrate more on my work. I do things slowly and carefully now. Although saying that, I have begun to do demonstrations for art societies and you have to complete a painting in 2 hours and talk at the same time! That does tend to speed you up a bit! I also used to try and do styles which just weren’t suited to me. I admire people who do loose, free work. So I tried it, and it didn’t feel right, or look right. Stick to what you’re best at! I also like chatting to and being with people, which is why I began to do art demonstrations. Being an artist can be quite a solitary experience, so this works perfectly for me.

Which country would be your dream drawing destination?

Easter Island! I have had a lifelong fascination with tribal sculpture and beliefs. The fact that this island is as far away from anything you can get, and yet these mysterious, beautiful giant heads gaze inland, not out to sea is incredible. I would love to sit there all day and draw, and think about what they mean! I imagine the light on this island is crystal clear and bright.

What are the most enjoyable and rewarding aspects of being an artist?

Creating something which people enjoy, and that I enjoyed doing myself. Getting paid for it is also a bonus!!! I love being an artist, and I couldn’t imagine doing anything else.  

You can find out more about Tiffany on her website: www.tiffanybudd.co.uk

In June last year, we blogged about DiegoKoi, a photo-realistic artist from Italy. We were so astounded by his work that we caught up with him to see what he’s been up to.

Since we spoke last DiegoKoi has been awarded the Audience Award for Best Artist at NonfermArti 2011 and will be collaborating with esteemed artist Calidonna Isabella in an exhibition.

DiegoKoi sent some recent drawings including some close up shots showing his remarkable analytical ability. Despite only being 23 years of age, DiegoKoi’s ability to show light & shade and unbelievable perspective in his work has astounded viewers worldwide.

What do you think?

You can 'Like' DiegoKoi on Facebook

A guest blog from Lina Maria Carrillo on developing a personal style as an artist.

I have loved to draw ever since I can remember. Looking back at my work, I can see how I have gradually developed my own style as an artist. When flipping through my sketchbooks now, I laugh how many identical swans a 4 year old could possible draw over and over again. I like to hope that this level of persistence and commitment some day will serve me well in my artistic career. Later on, I have also cringed at some styles I have experimented with, particularly my naked life-drawing phase!

I think this is basically the same story for every person who likes to draw; we each like to hope that our work has evolved over time and stands out in our own way.

I believe the best way to develop our own artistic identity is to follow what we love. If you love to draw realistic, abstract or even finger paint, go for it!. There is no use trying to emulate someone else’s style, as at the end of the day our best work should clearly reflect who we are as an artist and our love for art.

At a personal level, now that my passion has turned into more of a career, I have to think about whether my work is pleasing to the audience’s eye, whether it is commercial enough to be used for advertisement purposes, and most importantly, whether it is effective in putting my point across. Having my own blog pushes me to come up with new ideas every week. I experiment with new techniques with digital media; I like to play around with my watercolors to create patterns that I can scan and play around with on my computer.

Eventually, when a stranger can pick my work out of others because it has my personal touch, this is something I definitely strive for. Developing my own style seems to be a continuous evolution but I am happy to forever be learning new methods and techniques. This is what I love most about being an artist!

Lina Maria Carrillo

Paperplaneslmc.blogspot.com

Keith McMean, watercolour artist tells us about the importance of sketching.

This is the first blog post I have written for Derwent Pencils and hopefully it won’t be the last.

Most of you might know that I am by definition a watercolour artist but as we all know the foundation of any good painting is the drawing that everything hangs on. Imagine what it would be like if the angles on a building were not quite right, this causes the viewer a slight discomfort and sometime they have no idea why but one thing they do know is they won’t be purchasing that painting or sketch!

Drawing and sketching are the fundamentals that any artist should master before even thinking about adding paint to paper or canvas. I remember holding a painting workshop many years ago and one of the students said to me “but I can’t draw a straight line” and my response was “there are no straight lines in nature, only man made” admittedly it was a landscape workshop we were on. But this doesn’t get away from the fact that drawing is key and care and attention should be paid to.

I have completed a small sketch of one of my favourite places, Whitehaven harbour and this is something I have painted and sketched a lot over the past 30 years and I never tire of looking at and painting it.

But what I have tried to capture is the essence of the place with this tonal sketch, sometimes I might even write the colours on the sketch to remind me, such as sky Ultramarine and yellow ochre and so on, this is a great way to bring the scene back when you are in the studio ready to paint.

I don’t underestimate the power of the pencil and I am sure that there are lots of pencil artists out there thinking ‘that’s rubbish’ and maybe it is, what I am getting at here is that using pencils for really detailed work or tonal sketches doesn’t matter, it’s the fact that YOU CAN use them to an end.

So next time you are in the art shop and you stumble on a box or rack full of pencils don’t dismiss them by thinking “what could I use them for?” there are a million and one things you can use them for…so go on use them!

Until next time.

Thanks so much to Keith for his interesting opinions on sketching. For more information on Keith's work, why not visit: http://www.thesocialartist.co.uk

Cartoonist Colin Shelbourn guest blogs about how he uses Derwent Studio 33 pencils to create his fantastic illustrations.

The Derwent Studio 33 pencil; it’s slim, perfectly formed and the secret weapon in a cartoonist’s armoury.

When drawing for newspapers, the deadlines are tight. In the case of a front page cartoon it can be as little as three hours. This includes reading the headlines, sketching at least four ideas, discussing them with the editor and then drawing the finished artwork. As part of this process, the Studio 33 is indispensable.

It’s the best blue pencil in the world and it has magical properties.

When scanned in black and white, blue lines disappear. They simply don’t register, which means I can sketch the final artwork with in blue pencil and go straight to ink without the need to erase any lines. This saves a huge wodge of time plus it avoids wrecking the paper surface and subsequently creating a splodgy inky mess.

The printed result is a finely-crafted cartoon of elegance and tranquility; the frantic, blue pencil scribbling beneath the surface is hidden from view.

But the magic of the Studio 33 doesn’t end there. It extends into the wild, where it prevents conflict, altercation and unseemly behaviour.

Drawing in trains, cafés and at live events is tremendous fun but carries a risk: I’m a cartoonist so when I sketch someone, the results may not be flattering. An ink or 4B pencil cartoon can be spotted from several yards away but the magic blue pencil is invisible. This gives me plenty of time to spot an incoming victim and turn the page before they arrive. Oh look, I wasn’t drawing them at all, it was my shopping list.

Colin Shelbourn is a professional cartoonist. He can be found extolling the virtues of the Derwent Studio 33 pencil to anyone who will listen, but usually at workshops or in the pages of his new book, Drawing Cartoons (Crowood Press). www.shelbourn.com

© Colin Shelbourn

I first came across Belinda's work when researching the Australian Coloured Pencil Network, a fantastic website which aims to raise the profile of pencil artists in Australia.

I found Belinda's work to be of astonishing quality and depth - the way she captures light in both still life and portraiture is exceptional.

Belinda started out as a web and graphic designer but in 2010 she switched to illustration and founded the Creative Hardt Studios.

In 2009, Belinda was honored to become a committee member (Webmaster) of the Central Coast Art Society and enjoys supporting and promoting art in her local community.

Belinda’s artwork has been featured in Australian Artist Palette magazine, as well as various coloured pencil publications in the coloured pencil community. She has regularly exhibited in her local community since 2007 as well as rural NSW.  Her artworks have been sold to clients all over Australia.

More of Belinda's work can be found on her website.