Malcolm Cudmore – Artist

I’ve just returned from a three-day working visit to The Cumberland Pencil Museum in Keswick (8th, 9th & 10th June).  It was my third session of demos and workshops and even more enjoyable than previous visits.  I’m really there to demonstrate my ways of working with Derwent Aquatone – the product I’m currently using for my large panel pieces.  Actually, in reality I’ve got a free pass to enthuse and campaign for coloured pencils and to talk about art, life and most points between!!  I love the challenge of working with those visitors who say they can’t draw and think they are only there to watch (I’ve a surprise for them!) and the opportunity to discuss the finer points of technique with more experienced artists from far and wide.

Not just a regular crayon!

On Tuesday and Wednesday, I did hour-long demonstration sessions in the museum.  On Thursday, I lead a full-day workshop with a group of artists who have booked in for the whole day.  The subject of this session was “Big and Bold, Wet and Dry” and focussed on ways of using Derwent Aquatone.  In addition to some drawing exercises and new techniques, for the first time I also gave the participants a chance to work on the larger, prepared wooden panels that I use for much of my own work.  Thanks very much to Elinor, Angela, Rebecca, Susan, Wendy, Fay, Suzy and Mike – who seemed to have a good time and were very tolerant of my “evangelising” around the use of coloured pencils as a fine art medium.

Informal "show and tell" at the end of the workshop.

While I was at the Museum, I was also able to take a good look at the UKCPS “World of Coloured Pencil Exhibition” sponsored by Derwent and hosted by The Pencil Museum.  With a small exhibition space for only 24 pictures, entry was by ballot and proves to be a really excellent display of the variety of work that is possible with coloured pencils.  For further details and an on-line look at the entries – go to www.ukcps.co.uk

I shall be back at The Pencil Museum with more demonstrations and a workshop day in October (5th, 6th & 7th) with the subject “Herdwick Sheep and Lakeland Beasts in Aquatone”.

For further details go to

The Bridge House preparations

Yesterday, I got started on The Bridge House CP drawing.  I’ll be following a similar process to that employed with “Ashness Bridge”.  I visited the location last Sunday and spent some time just walking around the subject and looking before taking many digital photos.  Being right on a busy thoroughfare in the centre of Ambleside, there’s a limit to the available viewpoints that give you both the Bridge House itself and the river that it straddles.  Unfortunately, the alternate side views (up or down stream) don’t give the opportunity to see the entrance or get a glimpse inside the building  (no dramatic perspectives there then!).  So – this is going to be a fairly conventional architectural view and I’ve yet to decide whether to include any people or add some strategic ducks!

The Bridge House underdrawing

I’ve cropped and squared up an A4 copy of the view that I’ve chosen and also printed an enhanced monochrome version of the photo – this helps me resolve any tonal issues as I go along.  I’ve transferred the image to A3 Canson Bristol Board and completed a quite detailed underdrawing in 2B graphite pencil.  Why haven’t I simply copied from an A3 photo?  It may be a small thing to the casual observer – but, I’ve actually had to do some drawing and interpreting of the subject to get it where I want it before getting on with rendering tone and colour.  I’m not just copying!

Most of the graphite underdrawing (and all of the grid!) will be erased bit-by-bit as I build up colour and tone towards the final image.  But it is there to assist the accurate placement of all the neccesary detail that constructs the image.

I’m really pleased to have been booked to return to demonstrate and lead workshops at the Cumberland Pencil Museum in 2010.  This year, I’ll be in the demonstration area on Wednesday 8th and Thursday 9th June and leading a workshop day “Big & Bold, Wet & Dry in Aquatone Sticks” on Friday 10th June.

I’ll be returning agian in the autumn to demonstrate on Wednesday 5th and Thursday 6th October with a workshop day on “Herdwick Sheep and Lakeland Beasts in Aquatone Pencils” on Friday 7th October.

For further details of What’s on at The Pencil Museum, follow this link:   

At a recent exhibition, I read in the introductory statement that the artist’s approach had been to use

“random processes and self-initiated rules”.

Doesn’t this just mean “Making it up as I go along”?