We are thrilled to feature student Joan Henderson, who is currently working her way through our Coloured Pencil Drawing Certificate Course. Joan has created a beautiful selection of drawings for one of her assignments and her progress is a fantastic example of how much students can achieve with practice, patience, and guidance.
Joan’s work shows a growing confidence in composition and coloured pencil technique. One standout piece from her assignment is the drawing of the tree beside Hadrian’s Wall. A subject full of intricate natural textures and varied light. Capturing the winding stone path, soft grassy slope, and the spread of leaves was no easy task, but Joan has approached it with a careful hand and strong observation.
Another highlight is her drawing of a grounded boat on a quiet shoreline. She writes that this subject proved challenging at first, especially when trying to get the perspective right, but by using a grid, she was able to accurately capture the angles and overall structure. The result is a lovely, peaceful scene with a lot of character.
Joan also tackled a still life of everyday objects, a plug, string, rubber bands and safety pins, in an exercise designed to build texture, realism, and tonal control. It is always a deceptively difficult assignment, but Joan’s layering of colour and use of erasing techniques brought out the texture of the string beautifully.
“I was surprised to get the texture by layering and erasing some colour out of it,” she noted in her assignment notes.
Her drawings are quietly observational and full of charm and it’s wonderful to see her experimenting with different paper surfaces and coloured pencil brands. Joan has been working with Derwent Procolour and Derwent Lightfast pencils across Daler Rowney and Fabriano papers, noting that smooth watercolour paper offered the best results for layering.
About the Course
The Coloured Pencil Drawing Certificate Course is designed to help students of all levels explore the full potential of coloured pencil art. Whether you are just starting out or looking to improve your realism and technique, the course guides you through a series of structured assignments, from basic shapes and textures to full still life and landscape compositions.
Each student is paired with a personal tutor (in Joan’s case, the wonderfully supportive Monika), who gives detailed feedback and suggestions. The course is entirely online and self-paced, meaning you can study in your own time, from anywhere in the world.
Student Reflections
Joan kindly shared some reflections on her progress so far:
“I found the assignments interesting and enjoyable, layering the pencils to create texture as well as the colour… I’d love to know how to get fine detail in pictures — like the numbering and scrolls on the boat.”
That spirit of curiosity and commitment to improving is exactly what makes our student community so special. And we’re looking forward to seeing what Joan creates in her next assignments. A huge well done to Joan, we hope you are proud of how far you’ve come already.
Want to try your hand at coloured pencils? Learn more about the Coloured Pencil Drawing Certificate Course here →
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