Colored Pencil Society of America International Exhibition

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Celebrating the Art of Colored Pencil

by Maureen Bloomfield

Last Friday, Jamie Markle, publisher of The Artist’s Magazine and head of F&W’s Fine Art Community, and I attended the Colored Pencil Society of America‘s (CPSA) Awards Banquet that celebrated the artists whose works had won awards in the 20th International Exhibition, beautifully installed by Bill Seitz at the Carnegie Visual and Performing Arts Center in Covington, KY. From the Embassy Suite’s windows, the Ohio River looked luminous as a red barge made its way past us. Vera Curnow, founder of the CPSA, welcomed us; Paula Parks, Exhibition Director and Cindy Haase, President, announced the awards, and Jamie, juror for the show, complimented all the artists whose works he saw and explained the criteria he used in choosing works and bestowing prizes.

The next day I got to the Carnegie, where all the galleries—upstairs and downstairs, displayed works in colored pencil. What a great show! Jamie selected works that were astonishing in the range of ways talented artists use the medium—sometimes with solvents; sometimes on unusual surfaces like Mylar.

I ran into Gallery Director at the Carnegie, Bill Seitz, who was moving chairs to get ready ready for the Artists’ Reception later that day. I remarked that so many CPSA artists had thanked him at the previous night’s festivities. “I loved working with the CPSA artists, and I told them, ‘Come back any time!’” The galleries have been flooded with visitors, he said, and they invariably express astonishment that the works on display are in colored pencil. Even Bill, a veteran, over the years, of many shows, was amazed at the diversity and range. “Joseph Crone walked in with his piece and handed it to me,” Bill said. “I took a quick look. ‘You’re too early, ‘I said; ‘the photography show is next month.’” Of course, Joseph wasn’t mixed up: his gorgeously haunting work (see below) is in colored pencil.

Congratulations to all the artists who had works in the show and to all the artists whose works won special commendation. And thank you to Cindy, Vera, Paula, Melissa Miller Nece (who wrote a wonderful Drawing Board for our October issue) and everyone at the CPSA for being so gracious to Jamie and me at the banquet Friday night. We had a lovely time! ~Maureen Bloomfield, Editor in Chief, The Artist’s Magazine