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Robin Manelis photo
I’m a self-taught colored pencil artist that specializes in botanicals. I love the challenge of creating something on paper that looks as if it’s real. My intention is to make the viewer pause and appreciate the natural world. To give the viewer a chance to study up-close nature’s incredible sights. If you look closely there is an amazing array of colors, shapes and textures in even the smallest twig! It’s these fascinating discoveries along with the effects of sunlight and shadow that I strive to share through my artwork. 

From the moment I tried colored pencils I was hooked. Their sharp points allow me to draw fine details and by applying light layers of multiple colors I can achieve any hue. An added bonus, is that pencils do not require time-consuming setup or cleanup. There is always a work in progress on my table-top easel and I can pop in my studio anytime and quickly get to work. When I want to take a break I can just leave everything as is. 

As a nature-inspired artist, I find subjects for my artwork whenever I’m outside. I especially like to visit botanical gardens and go on hikes. Using my camera’s macro and zoom settings, I see so many incredible details I would otherwise miss.

Drawing is a passion for me, once I finish a piece I can’t wait to get started on a new one. Over the years I’ve taken thousands of photos and I never get tired of searching through them for inspiration. After settling on an image to work from, I adjust it until the colors and composition are just what I’m looking for. Once I have a perfect reference, I pick-up my pencils and begin to create or as I call it go to my happy place.

It is my goal to continually improve as an artist while sharing the wonders of nature with others. 

AFFILIATIONS

AWARDS

  • Honorable Mention, Light Space & Time, Botanical Art Exhibit 2018 – Beauty Among Thorns
  • 3rd Place, Ann Kullberg’s 19th Annual COLOR Magazine Member Show 2018 – First Bloom
  • Honorable Mention, Arizona Artist Guild Winter Juried Exhibition 2017 – Sun Kissed
  • 2nd Place, WHAM West Gallery, Approach of Life, December 2017 – Dangerous Beauty
  • Featured Artist, CPAL December 2017 Expert Division – Flamboyant
  • Honorable Mention, Colored Pencil Magazine 2017 Competition – Sun Kissed
  • 1st Place, Arizona Artist Guild October 2017 Artist of the Month – Sun Kissed
  • Honorable Mention, Ann Kullberg 18th Annual Color Magazine Member Show – Mid Day Glory
  • Featured Artist, CPAL March 2017 Expert Division – Elegance
  • Special Merit Award, Light Space & Time, 7th Annual Botanicals Show – Within the Thorns
  • Special Merit Award, Light Space & Time, 7th Annual Animals Show – Harmony
  • Featured Artist, CPAL November 2016 Advanced Division – New Beginnings
  • Special Recognition Artists, Light Space & Time, 6th Annual Nature Show – Garden Glory
  • Special Recognition Artists, Light Space & Time, 6th Annual Botanicals Show – Succulent

EXHIBITIONS

  • LightSpaceTime, Botanicals Art Exhibit 2018
    August 2018.
    View the exhibition
    Beauty Among Thorns
  • Manhattan Arts International, HerStory 2018
    June 20, 2018 – August 20, 2018
    View the exhibition
    First Bloom
  • Shemer Art Center, Arizona’s Desert Beauty
    May 29, 2018 – July 12, 2018
    Shemer Art Center, 5005 E. Camelback Rd, Phoenix, AZ
    Sun Kissed
  • Arizona Artist Guild, 7th Annual Statewide Exhibition
    May 10, 2018 – July 5, 2018
    West Valley Arts HQ, 16126 N Civic Center Plz, Surprise, AZ
    First Bloom
  • Arizona CPSA Chapter, Spring into Color
    April 9, 2018 – May 24, 2018
    Shemer Art Center, 5005 E. Camelback Rd, Phoenix, AZ
    Brilliance, Elegance, Nature’s Bounty
  • West Valley Art Museum, 2018 Celebration of Artists
    February 26, 2018 – April 12, 2018
    8401 W Monroe St, Phoenix, AZ
    Anticipation, Dangerous Beauty
  • WHAM West Gallery, Approach of Life, Juried Invitational
    December 1-30, 2017
    16560 N. Dysart Rd., Surprise, AZ
    Anticipation, Dangerous Beauty, Flamboyant
  • Arizona Artist Guild, Winter Juried Exhibition
    November 19, 2017 – January 16, 2018
    18411 N. 7th Avenue, Phoenix, AZ 85023
    Sun Kissed, Within the Thorns, Desert Fireworks
  • Arizona CPSA Chapter, Coloring Outside the Lines
    November 6, 2017 – January 4, 2018
    West Valley Art Museum, 8401 West Monroe Street, Peoria, AZ
    Mid Day Glory, Pink Lilies, Serenity
  • Arizona Artist Guild, Celebrating 90 Years
    October 28, 2017 – May 13, 2018
    Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport, Terminal 4, Level 3
    Arizona Snowman
  • Herberger Gallery at the Arizona Center, Nature Nurtures Us
    September 15, 2017 – November 9, 2017
    455 N. 3rd Street, Suite 1200, Phoenix, AZ
    Desert Fireworks
  • West Valley Art HQ Gallery, 6th Annual Floral & Botanical
    March 9, 2017 – April 21, 2017
    16126 N Civic Center Plaza, Surprise, AZ
    Elegance, Nature’s Bounty, Fruit of our Labors

PUBLICATIONS

  • Colored Pencil Magazine, March 2022 – Rustic Elegance
  • Colored Pencil Magazine, September 2018 – Colored Pencil Tip, Desert Brilliance
  • Ann Kullberg COLOR Magazine, September 2018 – Beauty Among Thorns
  • Ann Kullberg COLOR Magazine, August 2018 – First Bloom
  • Colored Pencil Magazine, August 2018 – Beauty Among Thorns
  • Ann’s Colored Pencil News & Stuff! – Some Things I’ve Learned Along the Way, May 14, 2018
  • Richeson75, 2018 Still Life & Floral Exhibit Book – Frist Bloom
  • Colored Pencil Magazine, April 2018 –  First Bloom
  • Ann Kullberg 2017 CP Treasures V –  Sun Kissed
  • Colored Pencil Magazine, 2018 Calendar –  Sun Kissed
  • Colored Pencil Magazine, November 2017 V –  Sun Kissed
  • Richeson75, 2017 Still Life & Floral Exhibit Book, Meritorious Entry – Elegance
  • Colored Pencil Magazine, July 2017 – Desert Fireworks
  • Ann Kullberg COLOR Magazine, July 2017 – Mid Day Glory
  • Ann Kullberg COLOR Magazine, June 2016 – Mom’s Buttons
  • Ann Kullberg 2016 CP Hidden Treasures III – Roses are Forever