Thursday, July 10, 2014

Posted by Jon Dalton On 3:04 PM


I am a novice artist, teaching myself to draw, sketch and paint, using either a pencil or watercolor paints. I have a set of colored pencils, but have only attempted one piece with those, a rendering of a bloom from our orchid tree.

To my delight, "The New Colored Pencil" by Kristy Ann Kutch, opened my eyes to the vast possibilities of this medium.

Filled with gorgeous illustrations, Kutch explores the traditional color pencil, water-soluble colored pencils, and wax pastels and combining colored drawing media, explaining the uses of each and techniques to get the most from each method to create stunning pieces of art. The illustrations alone are sufficient to draw any artist into exploring this medium as Kutch demonstrates both traditional and modern styles in the uses of colored pencils.

"The New Colored Pencil" is definitely a book that will appeal to artists at all levels, no matter the area of their focus.

Kutch, a notable expert in colored pencil, is also the author of the popular "Drawing and Painting with Colored Pencil" and a contributor to several colored pencil publications. She also has a DVD called "Colored Pencil Landscapes: Beyond the Basics," and a series of instructional videos on YouTube.

By way of disclosure, I received this book for free from Blogging for Books for this review.