Fair Winds and Following Seas: the Art of Patricia Andril

Colored Pencil Artist Patricia Andril

The Summer Race, Colored Pencil by Patricia Andril

“Colored pencil drawing has fascinated me since 1998," says Gallery Underground's Featured Artist Patricia Andril. “At that time, I read a review in the Washington Post about the Colored Pencil Society of America’s annual international juried show being held in the Washington, D.C. area. The glowing review included photos of the art, and it was stunning. I had to see that exhibit. When I did, I found that no two artists used the medium in the same way. Some of the pieces looked like watercolors, others resembled pastels - and for the artists into photo realism, their drawings looked like photographs. That was the beginning of my obsession with colored pencil drawing.” 

Colored pencils work well for Andril’s favorite subject: the Chesapeake Bay. Being part of a family of avid sailors, Andril spends a great deal of time on those waters, having spent over thirty years sailing with her family. Her work reflects her interest in sailing, boats and water scenes. In particular, she tries to capture the effect of the wind and of light on the water.

Windward Mark, Colored Pencil by Patricia Andril

Early history of colored pencils is not too well documented. It is known that Ancient Greeks used wax-based crayons and Pliny the Elder recorded that the Romans also used colored crayons based on wax. The first colored pencils appeared in the 19th century and were used for “checking and marking.” Staedtler, the German company owned by Johann Sebastian Staedtler, invented the colored oil pastel pencil in 1834. Production of colored pencils for art purposes started in the early 20th century. The first art color pencils were invented and produced in 1924 by Faber-Castell and Caran d’Ache. Berol started making its color pencils in 1938, followed later by other manufacturers such as Derwent, Progresso, Lyra Rembrandt, and Blick Studio.(http://www.historyofpencils.com/writing-instruments-history/history-of-colored-pencils)

Lanikai Under Sail, Colored Pencil by Patricia Andril

Andril has experience with pastels, watercolor, oil and acrylic painting but using colored pencil is when she is happiest. “You can’t beat the precision of a sharp pencil point!” she says. “Since that first colored pencil exhibition in 1998 I’ve grown significantly as an artist,” she relates. “I now enter that art show annually and have earned my signature status in the organization. When I go to the exhibition I love to hear gallery patrons remark that they are amazed by what you can create with a colored pencil.”

That sharp pencil point creates beautiful scenes of fair winds and following seas, to the delight of the many art patrons who are devotees of her work.  To see more of her work, click here for the gallery's Flickr feed:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/126919361@N04/albums

--Sandi Parker, Gallery Co-Director