The New Colored Pencil, by Kristy Ann Kutch

I'm currently experimenting with different ways to satisfy my artistic muse. I'm a pysanky artist, and only recently have begun to explore other mediums. My arsenal has several types of colored pencils, which I use only sparingly. Somehow I knew there were other ways to employ the simple colored pencil, but hadn't unlocked the secret. When Blogging for Books offered this book as a selection, I immediately jumped for it, and hauled out my collection of colored pencils in eager anticipation.

The book itself is beautiful, and quite thorough. It explores different types of pencils. and provides many references for identifying quality of materials in colored pencil art, from the pencils itself, to paper, to accessory tools, thoroughly examining the strengths and weaknesses of each. To be honest, I was a bit overwhelmed by it all, as a novice, but think this book will have a happy home on my art reference shelf, and that as I get more comfortable with my own artistic abilities, I'll refer to it more and more. It may be a while though, because, as the book stresses, quality counts. Sadly, only one set of my pencils even made the list, and was moderate at that. If I want to indulge in the techniques explored in this book, I would want to upgrade and to supplement with good quality paper and accessary tools, etc, and my wallet is not yet ready. Even so, there are many techniques and tips that I can apply to pen/marker art and even acrylic painting. Having never taken any sort of art class, this is like having my own private instructor in a book.

Thank you Blogging for Books, the publisher and author for sending a copy of the book my way. I hope someday to be able to fully employ all that it offers.

Tags: blogging-for-books, i-liked-it, not-my-usual-read, read, read-for-review, taught-me-something