Colored pencil technique by Sydney Saville

The Feather Featured Art series is chosen by art teacher Vickey Belmont from her classes and/or independent art students. Belmont picks the best work during current units and encourages students to participate in these occasional posts. Other students are encouraged to submit art pieces as well. Please contact the editors directly or via adviser Greg Stobbe for submissions.

Description by art teacher Vickey Belmont: Senior Sydney Saville has been creating art in my class for three years. She is extremely talented and multifaceted with her artistic abilities. She has done art projects for the school such as the mural in the FCS athletic department and she is currently working on scene flats for an upcoming play being put on by FCS drama department.

Sydney’s art is unique and she has a style that is all her own; she works independently in my art III class creating pieces that she enjoys and can add to her portfolio. In this piece she added color with color pencils. In order to gain a better understanding of the use of color pencils, utilize these Eight Essential Colored Pencil Techniques All Artists Need to Know.

Students are exposed to different types of mediums in art class. Colored pencils allow for more precision, control of detail and depth. The students can work lightly for a soft look or add many layers to get an oil painting effect. They are a versatile form of color, easy to carry and you can work with them almost anywhere.

Colored pencil cores are wax or oil base with varying pigments, additives and binding agents. This allows the color to be layered or blended for a more realistic and vibrant effect. There are also water soluble pencils or commonly known as water color pencils.

Art as a window into the soul by Sydney Saville

This piece is constructed of colored pencil and ink pen. The contrast of the dying flowers emerging from the heart against the vibrant sunflower backdrop represents deteriorating mental health. This is a subtle statement on depression and how draining it can be to those caught up in serious mood disorders. Art then can be a window into the soul of the creator.

Depression can be isolating, convincing the individual that they are all alone and may keep them from reaching out.

I chose sunflowers because they are known as the “happy” flower and thus represent all the surrounding smiling faces. Though we are around cheerful people, sometimes we can be the most alone in a crowded room.

The flowers coming from the heart are detached and wilting; they are burgundy to match the aorta they stem from. Depression can take many different forms. When I was drawing this, I felt completely isolated and brain dead.

We have a tendency to romanticize the idea of mental illness, thus making depression into something beautiful, but we should be willing start the conversation. Hopefully, there are others around us who can see signs of depression and offer assistance and or tips to cope or overcome depression.

Additionally, academic adviser Evangelina Tello can help refer students for counseling services.

For previous art posts, read Feature art No. 3, 2019-20 — Zentangle Method and Feature art No. 2, 2019-20 — Visual art sketchbooks. For another article, read

For more information and help concerning depression, read Let’s Talk: Depression and Students share struggles with depression.