Name: Sandra Temple
Website address: www.sandratemple.com
Location: Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
All images copyright of the featured artist and maynot be reproduced without written permission. © 2012 All rights reserved.
Please tell us a little about how you got started in coloured pencil art.
I don’t remember a time when I wasn’t colouring and drawing. My mother says that all I needed from a very early age to keep me happy was a few pages and some coloured pencils. My materials are a little more expensive now but it’s still true.
Although I am self taught, I demonstrate coloured pencil, hold workshops in the medium (on its own or with other mediums) and hold weekly classes. Spotting a student with the suitable ‘temperament’ and giving them a taste of what can be achieved, watching them blossom and experiment, always gives me a thrill and encourages me to share the skills and techniques I have worked out over time.
What do you like about using coloured pencils in your artwork?
The detail. I can get the same detail with gouache but it takes a lot longer. I can also use my coloured pencils to ‘finish off’ many other mediums.
Coloured pencils are clean to work with and quick to put away. I can work for 15 minutes or work for hours and there are no smelly solvents.
Which are your favourite pencils and supports/surfaces to work on?
I use Faber-Castell Polychromos pencils, available in 120 colours, they sharpen to a brilliant point and as the core is bonded to the wood, I never have to worry about trying to sharpen a pencil that is broken all the way through.
Faber-Castell also share my ‘greenie’ values on looking after the environment using sustainable wood they planted way before ‘green’ became a fashion instead of a colour. They own huge areas of land that is protected and the native flora and fauna reintroduced. They are a family business still after 250 years! That is an amazing achievement…and the Count and Countess are truly lovely people….and I’m not just saying that because they have some of my works in their collection
Do you have any particular themes or subjects in your art? What are they and why ?
I think of myself as a conservation artist. I paint flora and fauna from around the world but specialize in endangered species. Using only my own sketches and photos for reference, part of the joy is being able to study what I paint….it’s also tax deductable.
I also do pet portraits, children’s book illustrations, body painting, airbrushing and sign writing but wildlife art is where my heart is.
Please tell us about any Awards or Exhibitions you have been featured in.
Having been a professional artist for many years I have accumulated a few accolades, many of the major ones are listed on my website but some of the most recent are listed below:
- 2012 Best International Wildlife Award – International Wildlife in Art.
- 2012 Invited to exhibit 2 paintings in California ISSA Inaugural Exhibition.
- 2011 Best in Show – Faber-Castell 250th Anniversary Exhibition.
- 2011 People’s Choice Award – Faber-Castell 250th Anniversary Exhibition.
- 2011 “Puggle’s Problem” put on the NSW premiers reading list for schools.
- 2011 Best Wildlife Art Award – Kenilworth Celebrates.
- 2011 Feature Artist – Quota International Art Show (Jimboomba).
- 2010 Children’s book “Puggle’s Problem” became an international seller.
- 2010 Best in Show – International Wildlife in Art Exhibition.
- 2010 People’s Choice Award – World of Wildlife Exhibition.
- 2010 Invited to exhibit 2 paintings in Canada.
- 2010 Best Wildlife Art Award – Kenilworth Celebrates.
- 2010 Honorable Mention – Artists for Conservation (USA) Virtual exhibition.
Thankyou so much Sandra for sharing with us your work and letting us get to know about you.
All images copyright of the featured artist and maynot be reproduced without written permission. © 2012 All rights reserved.
