Dunedin Fine Art Center, Dunedin, FL
July 11-August 13
Johanna Swart, The Approach to LA, colored pencil, 14 x 11.
After changing its annual international exhibition to an online format in 2020 and 2021, the Colored Pencil Society of America returns to an in-person show this year as it celebrates its 30th anniversary. The exhibition opens at the Dunedin Fine Art Center in Dunedin, FL, on July 11 and runs through August 13, overlapping with the society’s annual convention in late July in nearby Safety Harbor. The exhibition then travels to the Ormond Memorial Art Museum & Gardens in Ormond Beach, FL, where it’s on view from September 1 through November 15; an opening reception takes place on Thursday evening, September 1.
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- Mona Weidner, On Porter’s Pond, colored pencil, 19 x 25.
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- Aura Skugariene, Refreshing Bubbles, colored pencil, 17 x 10.
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- Allison Fagan, Java Jive 12:15, colored pencil, 12 x 12.
Juror Christine Renc-Carter, curator of the Leepa-Rattner Museum of Art in Tarpon Springs, FL, is set to select 120 works from more than 450 entries for the show, which is the only international exhibition in America featuring works created exclusively in colored pencil. Small, medium, and large works are on display, while a range of subjects and styles—from highly realistic portraits to painterly still lifes to elaborate landscapes—show the full range and depth of this medium. All works are for sale. (Juror selections were not yet final at press time; works shown here won awards in the 2021 exhibition.)
Collectors can take the time to appreciate their favorite colored-pencil works in person after seeing works exclusively online for the past two years. Denise Howard, the society’s communications director, says this is a perfect year to make the trip to both the Tampa area and the Atlantic Coast to bask in the beauty of the artwork. “This exhibition attracts many of the best artists in the world for whom colored pencil is their preferred medium,” she says. “Expect your jaw to drop when you see what is possible with colored pencil in the hands of these world-class artists. Take the opportunity to examine works up close and discover the subtleties of color and detail.” —Allison Malafronte
contact information
www.cpsa.org
This story appeared in the June/July 2022 issue of Southwest Art magazine.