Contentment

Contentment
5 x 5 inches graphite on hotpress watercolor paper
$180 - framed, contact me if you are interested in purchasing

I have always admired artists who work with graphite. Graphite makes you think about light, value, texture, depth and perspective all with shades of one color. Graphite paintings draw you in for a closer look and you can see the colors of the subject in your mind. 
My tiger cat Lily was the perfect subject for a graphite painting. Her pose and color helped me develop my drawing skill as an artist. Now I admire even more the artists I aspire to in this media of art.

Let me introduce you to my favorite graphite artists.
Cole Johnson: Cole works with powder graphite in a painterly way. I had the pleasure of meeting him this year at the Painted Finch Gallery in Corry, PA. (This gallery represents his work and mine.) He applies a layer of powder graphite and uses erasers to draw with then goes in with graphite pencils for details. http://www.colejohnsonart.com/

Terry Miller: Details are Terry's strong point. As far as I know Terry works mostly with graphite pencils. He knows how to play with light and shadow. I first came a cross his work at the Waterfowl Festival in Easton Maryland and was immediately drawn to his work. http://www.terrymillerstudio.com/

Robert Caldwell: I found Robert online and have watched him grow as an artist for a couple of years now. Robert works in oils and graphite. He produces his graphite on cold press watercolor paper. He was approached by North Light Books to produce a book on drawing realistic animals. I have a signed copy of his book and it is worth purchasing.  http://www.rlcaldwell.com/

Do check out these artists! I know you will love their work as much as I do. And if you have a favorite graphite artists please let me and others know who they are by leaving a comment below. We all need inspiration and a boost.

Enjoy,