The Colored Pencil

I am very new to art on paper and am exploring all the different media available to me. I borrowed this book from the library to see if it was something I needed on my shelves and my considered opinion after reading it is I MUST HAVE A COPY OF MY OWN! The exercises are clear, instructions basic, explanations are concise and make sense and the book flows from one chapter to another. This is an excellent book for the person seeking to get an overall exposure to this medium.

As an artist who works in colored pencil as one of preferred medium, I am not ashamed to state that I basically learnt my technique from this book (and lots of exercise, of course.) Ms. Borgeson provides in this book both primary techniques of color application, which instantly put colored pencil in the "painting" category with their rich color and texture possibilities - and "tricks" for getting various effects. Focused on painterly texture and color, but not shunning experimental things, this book is one of the best to get started in color pencils - and return to it over and over again for refreshment. You won't find step-by-step instructions of "how to draw a blue horse" in his book, but rather a variety of examples and principles on which to build a color pencil drawing.

Borgeson's book, "The Colored Pencil" is a comprehensive step-by-step guide to this medium. The acceptance of colored pencil work is fairly new and just starting to boom in the greeting card market as well as in other venues. Although the use of this medium may seem fairly straightforward, Borgeson gives tips on how to master the techniques for the traditional market.Tools and surfaces are covered, and a color wheel and a touch of color theory is included. Borgeson is fairly crisp with her reviews of these basics for the beginner, and these tools are also invaluable as a refresher for the pro. The book is clearly focused on illustration and commercial uses for colored pencil rather than fine art aspects.

The Colored Pencil is clearly the most organized and comprehensive summary of the medium's techniques and methods. It offers all that is necessary to know in approaching its use. My only dissapointment is the lack of a broader range of example images. The drawings shown have a tendency to lean toward the contrived and sentimental which would be fine if the author also included some drawings that were more experimental and intellectual. The spectacular work of artist Ann McCoy (New York) comes immdiately to mind in this regard.