Merry November

Prismacolor colored pencils on Strathmore Bristol Vellum

Well, at least I waited until after Halloween.

I adore autumn and Thanksgiving, truly I do. But my orange pencils are tired, and I want to get a jump on some holiday drawings. So, while I'm happily getting organized for Thanksgiving, over on my drawing table it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas.

Candy canes are classic beauties.  My family always eats them on our drive into the nearby Santa Cruz mountains when we cut down our Christmas tree. We hang them on our tree, as I did growing up. Let's face it—one just can't have too many candy canes around the house during the holiday season. 

I always buy (and draw) Bob's candy canes; they still come in a great old-fashioned looking box. Check out this site for Bob's products as well as some delicious candy cane history.

Yes, I'll definitely be celebrating Thanksgiving in a big way. But the next day, right there alongside the leftover turkey sandwiches, you might just find a candy cane or two.


Here are a few WIP shots; I used a lot of Prismacolor Verithin pencils on this piece; they're great for finer lines as well as burnishing. I was able to get just the shadow  that I wanted with a base layer of Indigo Blue topped off with Tuscan Red Verithin.