I'm so happy and proud to be accepted once again into the CPSA International exhibition. This is "Focus," AKA "Oh Snap!" 26 x 20", 100% Colored Pencil on 4ply rag mat, using references I shot on the Brooklyn Bridge in NYC. I thought it interesting that I while I was taking photos of a girl taking photos off the bridge, three girls took a selfie. None of us were looking at the same thing.
This is a study in focus and a play on the word.
First Contrasting textures and color are used to manipulate the viewer's focus. The saturated red coat and black Nikon, achieved by combining solvents with heavy handed applications of cp, are intended to grab attention. From there, a lighter touch of pencil on the textured surface provides a grainy mid ground, which along with careful detailing, gently pulls the eye away from the woman in the red coat, to the three girls and finally to the ghostly treatment of the bridge with its suggested urban setting. Second I explore the contrasting focus of the subjects. The serious photographer vs the silly high school girls with their teal phone, plus my point of view on the sideline, show three completely different perspectives.
Two years after rendering "Focus," I see areas I continue to love (ie the red coat) and areas that could stand improvement (ie the background). Luckily, I'm not the only one looking. And my opinion is not the only one that matters. Obviously a judge found the piece worthy to hang among the best of the best colored pencil works. CPSA founder, Vera Curnow, recently said to me "Do it, even if it's wrong." I love that!
