Wine glass on black, WIP

I have started a new piece this week. Actually this painting is going to be turned into a kit. I have wanted to offer a kit like this for a long time now, one that allows someone to practice working on a coloured surface. I set up the still life and took the photos over a year ago but unfortunately buying and selling homes last year really messed with my productivity.

I like the dramatic look of coloured pencil on black paper. The paper I am working on is Stonehenge. I chose a wine glass for part of the subject matter so people can also gain experience drawing glass. Glass objects seem to intimidate people. It is one of those times when we need to turn our brain off and just draw what we see.

I started creating practice kits as a result of feedback from students. Students told me that they liked the exercises in the class and they wanted more of this type of thing to work on at home. In class I give out detailed instructions for the projects, pictures, as well as a line drawing. This way if a student doesn't get the time to finish something in class, the work can continue at home. Also, if a student feels they have goofed something up or they would just like a redo, they can have one. Of course some students leave the course ready to fly, they have their own ideas and they can't wait to get going.

I have also sold kits to people who are unable to attend a class but who would like to give the medium a try. Then there are the folks that tried coloured pencil a long time ago and they would like to work on something that would refresh their memory. Anyway, I enjoy creating these kits...I just have to remember to document everything I am doing so it can be written up in the instructions later! As for the kit format, I have seen that other artists offer similar products (Janie Gildow, Bob Ebdon, Ann Kullberg, etc.) so I thought this would be a good way to package the information. If you would like to see the kits that are already finished and ready for purchase, visit the 'kits' section of my website using this hyperlink.