Art Tips from Artist, Holly Durr

Over the years, I've had many people ask me at shows, art competitions, and through email about my process of completing my paintings. Though I can't share every little detail, because it is a long process. I will try to point out important info, for those who are interested in learning more about this medium, colored pencil and how I use them. Over time I will add more info and resources, so check back from time to time for these updates.

There are many brands of colored pencils to choose from. There are soft and hard. I prefer the soft, because I can layer many colors and get a paint like effect. My favorite brand is, Prismacolor colored pencils. I have recently purchased the full set of Derwent Colorsoft colored pencils, so I can have more colors to work with and because they are affordable and really soft. A few other soft pencils I have tried; Derwent Graphitint, Caran d`Ache Supracolor (this is a watercolor pencil so you can use it wet or dry. Also they are really soft. Just as soft as Prisma and blend really smoothly, but the downside is the price. They cost about double as Prismas), Caran d`Ache Luminance (They are really pricey over $3.00 a pencil, but are really bright and rich in color), Caran d`Ache Pablo Colored Pencil (they are more affordable than there sister color pencils Luminance, and still packs a nice punch with coverage and color).

A hard colored pencil that I use occasionally is, Verithins. Verithins are hard and suitable for outlining, detail, and soft shading.  I like to use them in small art such as ACEO's.

There are many papers out there that are good to excellent for colored pencil. I've experimented on a few over the years, and seen beautiful artwork done on papers I've never tried as well. Stonehenge is my favorite brand to work on. I really like it, because I can add many layers of colored pencil and it holds up perfect.  Also it is perfect for mix medium. I use acrylics and watercolors as well on this paper. Stonehenge comes in many different colors; white, black, fawn, cream, blue, gray, and a few other colors. (note, there are two sides to stonehenge, a rough and a smooth side, some artist prefer a rough surface for more texture in there art. I always work on the smooth side, because I don't like a lot of texture in my fantasy art) When I first started out with colored pencil,  I used black illistration board or black matboard. Black illistration board feels about the same as black stonehenge. I just switch, because paper is a lot easier to cut than matboard. Another paper I've used is, Bristol Paper. It has a vellum surface which is suitable for colored pencils and is very affordable.  You can't add many layers like stonehenge, but it is a perfect paper for beginners. I've also tried drafting film, which is really different and difficult to figure out, but there is a lot of lovely art out there produced on this film. Pastelbord is a awesome surface to work on for a more textured look. I've used it and it gives my art a totally different look and style. Mi-teintes paper is another good paper for beginners. I worked on this a few times, several years back. 

I've been working with Prismacolor colored pencils for over 19 years, so I've learned a thing or two about this brand of pencil. Customers or other artist often ask or make comments about the skin or scales on my angels and mermaids. Prismacolor is a transparent medium. If you are really new at art and don't understand the terms of transparent and opaque, I'll explain the difference. Transparent means you can see the color underneath the top color. Opaque is solid, you can't see through it.  I use the transparency to my advantage. I start out with light pressure and work up to medium to heavy pressure. The first mistake a lot of beginners make is they get a heavy hand and they over work the paper to the point where they can't add anymore color or the paper begins to rip.  The cool thing about dry mediums over wet is you are in control over how much color or where the color goes. Plus you don't have to wait for it to dry. In my opinion it is easier for a beginner to learn dry mediums over wet mediums.

As a mixed mediums, I like to add watercolors to feel in backgrounds or as a underpainting. I like to use liquid acrylics for highlights on my angels skin or my mermaid scales. I also use liquid acrylics for painting bushes or as a under painting for my colored pencil background. For instance, if I have to paint a night seen, I will use a acrylic wash of dark blue or whatever color I'm planning to use. I pick a acrylic color that is really close to the colored pencil color I'm going to use in the sky. That way when I go to color the background with the colored pencil, it covers very easily and I don't have to apply a lot of color.