Why Colored Pencils?

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways…

There are so many reasons to love colored pencils! So many pros and very few cons. First, colored pencils are versatile. They can be used to sketch or illustrate. They can be used for the wildly popular coloring book trend. Or, they can be used to create portraits, animal portraits, wildlife art, abstract art or, my favorite, botanicals. You can create a sketchy look or a painterly look. You can create fine detail or a blurred effect. Depending on the techniques you use, you can create almost anything you want.

One of my favorite things about colored pencils is that they are so accessable. Almost everyone has used a colored pencil at some point in their life and we are all comfortable holding a pencil. They are inexpensive relative to many other mediums and you can find them at any art supply store or easily online. There is a smaller learning curve because you don’t have to understand how to mix colors to get the perfect hue although, you certainly can mix colors as your skills improve.

Colored pencils are easy to store, neat and don’t take up a lot of room in your home. When I first began, I drew at my kitchen table. I got everything out and put everything away each day. This took maybe 2 minutes. There are no drop cloths or spills or mess. Nothing really needs to dry or be cleaned at the end of the day. I am a bit of a minimalist and I don’t like a lot of clutter around me. If this is you, you would love colored pencils.

So, if you are an artist who has never tried colored pencils, I would love for you to give them a shot! You can follow along with my latest tutorials on www.patreon.com/jennifermorrisonart.