Top 50 Coloured Pencil Artists You Need to Know About (And Their Iconic Work)

My name is Cherry and I'm a coloured pencil artist! I spend my days drawing animals, from pets to wildlife, from my home studio in the gorgeous Hertfordshire countryside. I've always had a huge love of dogs and after drawing my own two pups, Cherry Watson Illustration began! Since late 2017 I have been lucky enough to illustrate so many animals, predominately pet portraits of our beloved dogs, cats, horses and the occasional parrot! My work also includes beautiful wildlife pieces, from hares and pheasants to fallow deer, and animals I see on my daily dog walks, like gorgeous cows and birds!

In January 2020, I ruptured my Achilles tendon. Being immobilised and signed off work, I started to draw every day, and I haven't stopped since: it's now the reason I get out of bed in the morning. It might seem strange, even disgraceful, for a man in his late 30s to start pursuing an artistic pathway. An archetypal mid-life crisis. But there is nothing inherently bad about a crisis: Yes, there is danger and difficulty, but also, potentially, a turning point and a renewal. In terms of my artistic perspective, I am interested in urban sketching and illustration. My work aims to capture the liveliness of our environment, with a strong emphasis on play and more than a hint of anarchy.

I create realistic art for a living because I like the challenge of it. In trying to do a subject justice as it stands, it’s very fulfilling when I get it right. I might alter the odd thing in an artistic rendition, but it’ll be subtle, and rare (if ever). The real and natural world is immensely interesting to me already, so I leave imagined alternatives to those more skilled in and appreciative of them. Nature covers a gamut of size, colour, personality and beauty I find should be worthy of anyone’s attention. It’s also constantly changing, largely for the worse, which is why 10% of all my wildlife sale profits go to selected wildlife charities.

Linzi started drawing again during lockdown aer a break of over 20 years. She is rediscovering what interests her, having had more time to look around the local area. Her detailed urban scapes capture ordinary parts of Sheeld exactly as they are today. So far this year, Linzi has created intricate drawings of many seemingly ordinary Sheeld scenes - each effortlessly captures the essence of living in this wonderful city. From Heeley Baths, to a row of terraced houses and, of course, shops in Meersbrook, you could be forgiven for thinking you were being whisked away in a very perfectly ‘Sheffeld’ story book.