Friday, August 24, 2012

Colored Pencil Art

Hi Everyone,
I want to share with you some artwork that I had the pleasure of seeing Wednesday.This artwork is on display at the Carnegie Visual and Performing  Arts Center in Covington, Ky. This building was built in 1902 and opened as the Public Library with an auditorium, which come to find out is quite rare. As a child, this was the library that I used and it was within walking distance from my home. It was a cool building. The main thing I remember was the huge round skylight visible from the main floor in the center room.

After many years of being a library, it closed after a new library was built. Then it was neglected for quite a few years. Then came restoration and it has become the Carnegie Visual and Performing Arts Center. OK so lets fast forward to the exhibit taking place now.

Angie and I went to view this exhibit since the art was all colored pencil artwork. I must say there were pieces there that just blew me away. They looked like photographs, just no other way to describe their impact on your visual senses.

So here are a few if the 121 pieces of art that really blew me away. Keep in mind that almost all this art work was framed and behind glass so you will see some glare, and I am sorry for that. However I think you will get the idea of how gifted these artists are as you really look at the photo's I am sharing with you.

First a few shots of this historic building

These stairs lead up to the 2nd floor. Same as when I was a kid.


Here is a glimpse of the gorgeous skylight, this shot was taken from the 1st floor looking straight up.Just as I remember it from when I was a kid.



Here is a peek of the theater from the balcony, right now the performance of Xanadu is playing.


The 2nd floor balcony of the theater


The restored art work above the curtain 

OK on to the art work in the exhibit


Sorry for the glare on this pic. Here is a drawing of an ostrich. It is a great piece of art work!!

 A small child



This took top honors. To see this in person was quite breath taking, because remember, the artwork you are looking at  a colored pencil drawing, not a photo!


A billboard rendition

Bad glare, sorry. 
Leather gloves and sunglasses


This one was quite unique! A man looking at a person in the background.The person in the background is a little out of focus just as if the art work were a photo instead of colored pencil art.


This piece really caught my eye as it looks so much like silver serving pieces and there are no colored pencils that are shiny silver. As I looked at this piece very closely, I saw white and shades of gray and of course the blue in the reflections depicted on the silver serving pieces. What was the best on this piece, was the image of a person taking a photograph in the reflection on the pitcher. You just had to see this to appreciate the art work.




A blue jay



Here is a beautiful piece of a kitchen chair with fruit and a kitchen towel on it.


This one caught my eye, since I really love trees. There were 3 colors in the sky, and those same 3 colors were used as a faux matting, framing the art. Amazing.




Here is the last piece that I am sharing with you today.
What a great art exhibit, a treasure trove of art all using colored pencil as the medium. You just had to see these in person to be able to appreciate the visual effects these pieces of art have on your sight. Most of the pieces you would swear were photos.

Well that is how I spent a few hours Wednesday, drinking in some of the artwork of some very talented artists from all over the US and a few from Australia, I believe.

Thanks for stopping in today



4 comments:

Hopemore Studio said...

Barb, I'm so glad you took your camera, so great to be able to look back over that beautiful artwork. It was a fun day together!

E. Marie said...

Thanks for sharing these. Amazing artwork.

April said...

Beautiful building and wonderful artwork! I know you enjoyed it!

Brenda said...

Thanks for sharing! The building looks fabulous and love all the artwork - especially the silver service!