Reflections with Christopher Durant
- Lauren Cahill
- Oct 8, 2017
- 11 min read
Christopher Durant’s colored pencil avian drawings are brilliant. Every piece I have observed is strengthened by the realistic feathered textures and life he brings into his birds.
Although Chris had a rough start and negative feedback regarding his art, he pushed past it and with the support of his followers, continues to be inspired and inspires others to produce amazing work.
“Creativity is doing something they love the way they want to do it. You don’t need to create something that doesn’t exist, you can draw things from life and add your own unique touches. That’s the creative license you have as an artist”.
Everyone, in my opinion, is born an artist. We all have the inclination to use a creative tool to produce a creative piece but sometimes along the way, interests change, or people or ourselves get in the way. For Chris, he always loved drawing and took an art class in school before giving up.
“My teacher said I wouldn’t amount to anything.” Regardless of the negativity received by his instructor, Chris said, “It’s in the past. If I saw him again, I probably wouldn’t say anything. Admittedly, I wasn’t a great artist back then but I also had no encouragement to do better. Now, I feel he was the best teacher because eventually he made me prove him wrong. Most people would have quit entirely which would have been a shame but it has taught me to try to help people understand what they are capable of instead of destroying their entire foundation”.
Chris friended me earlier this year and we spent quite a lot of time talking. He has supported me through my own struggles especially with my first original drawing, ‘Bailey, The Alaskan Malamute’ after my two-year-old nephew took a red crayon to the piece. I was in a rough spot at the time and he helped me through the emotional aspect, to reassure myself and face and fix the problems. Other times I’ve had to completely trash a drawing, or felt as though I just did a crappy job.
“We all struggle, even myself. I’ve been everywhere from the lowest to the highest point as well. No matter how good we are, there are always days we feel we can’t perform or draw to a level we know we can”.
Everyone’s perspective is completely different so we can’t always appreciate a person’s take on a certain subject.
“Your art will become better and better the more you practice. You need to be patient and go at a steady pace and try to learn new techniques. An artist cannot expect to immediately draw at a high level, but the work will gradually improve over time”.
Sometimes it is the reassurance you need to hear to gain perspective and know it’s not just you, it happens to all of us at one point or another.
We all start from somewhere and I think it’s important for us artists to sometimes reflect on where we started to realize how far we have come. Every new aspiring artist is starting at the same point we once were. At one point in my life, I was into fashion drawing, designing clothes and gowns and I gave it up (although not entirely). Even after Chris’ past issues with his former teacher, he quit drawing. “In the beginning, I hated color pencils. I was useless with them. After my teacher said I would never amount to anything I quit, but I always loved drawing and missed it. I made friends with Facebook artists and became inspired again. Slowly I got back into art and made it a goal to gradually become better with pencils. It was a true love I developed for pencils and that love becomes stronger every day”. Regardless of where we have come from or the struggles we have faced, Chris and I both agree that we are surrounded by extraordinary people, we artists supporting other artists, or feedback we have received from our own fans/followers to continually keep us motivated and to help us grow.
Of course, not all feed-back is the kind of feedback we want to hear. It’s something all artists go through that make us cringe when we see a certain post regarding our work or sometimes another comment on another artist’s work. We may from time-to-time come across someone nitpicking details or for what they believe to be wrong or maybe experience has taught them to point out what could have been done better. Sometimes, it goes back to the saying, “It’s not what you said, it’s how you said it”. Asking another artist if they mind another take on a view and asking to provide constructive criticism in a friendly manner can go a long way towards your feelings from the endless hours of hand-drawn work. In some cases, excellent points are brought to your attention and in other cases you don’t want to accept suggestions because you believe in your heart of hearts it’s exactly how you imagined it. Pablo Picasso taught me a great lesson- there is no need to conform to other’s idealistic views on your artwork. Picasso began painting beautiful masterpieces before realizing it looked just like everyone else’s paintings which is when he began painting cubism. Developing your talent and coming in to your own is key, accepting advice from other artists will help you grow, becoming a mentor will broaden your horizons, but loving your craft will set you free!
Finding Direction
As a new artist, emerging into an industry you know absolutely nothing about, the information can be like WHAM! and hit you like a ton of bricks, overwhelming you. Sometimes we don’t have a clear path on exactly what we want to do so we try a bit of everything, testing the waters, trying to figure out what ‘feels right’. Since the beginning of the year, I have been trying to find where I ‘fit in’ and Chris helped me settle in to the right role. I asked him how he became interested or inspired in aviary artwork and he said,
“I needed something to express the whole love I have for color. There are no creatures on Earth that are as varied as birds; they have different sizes, characteristics, and colors. They are a genius creation and I never get tired of drawing them. Sometimes when I wake up, I am in a bad place mentally, but listening to the birds outside make me feel totally at piece no matter what is going on in my life”.
Working on my first bird drawing, a Kingfisher, I was completely in awe throughout the entire process and the use of
vibrant colors within the piece. To begin with, I know absolutely nothing about Aviaries other than the more common birds like a blue bird, or a robin, for example. I happened to come across my first kingfisher through another artist on Instagram and I thought the rendering was beautiful. I asked Chris how he chooses which birds he would work on next, he said, “It depends on my mood. Sometimes I want the vibrancy and others I don’t mind duller color because as long as it is done well, then it will attract attention regardless.” Chris is more fortunate in one particular area than I am when it comes to finding the right photo. He says,
“I am very lucky to know some of the best photographers in the world, they let me use their amazing imagery”.
I however, have not been as fortunate as of yet. I have come across amazing photographs and have asked permission for usage, but I have not yet received responses from the messages I have sent. Instead, I have found sites such as Wildlife Reference Photos and Pixabay to use to begin my wildlife and nature pieces. Hopefully, in time, I will be as fortunate as Chris has been in obtaining reference pieces.
In creating my first bird piece, I knew I wanted to capture the detail and vibrancy of the kingfisher and allowing this to shine through without distraction. I used an X-acto knife to etch the feathers while layering in color, building up saturation and maintaining a white background to allow the colors to be the primary focus. Chris prepares his pencils by looking at the reference image and tries to color-match them before-hand, keeping them organized because he hates clutter. I do something very similar. I color-match my pencils but I also use a Photoshop program with the ‘eye dropper’ tool to go over the reference photo, pulling out matching pencils. I then use a journal to create a color chart, writing the pencil name next to each shade. As far as method, Chris uses a different technique, primarily working on Strathmore Toned Tan Paper.
“It really helped me develop my own style because I can use a white pencil. I put my heart and soul into the bird’s eye more than anything, which is an element I receive the most comments on. I’m not sure if it is my eye playing tricks on me, to see colors that are not there, I’m not sure, but, my birds are normally more vivid in my drawings than in real life. I try to make them ‘glow’, like they have a presence”.
I can certainly relate to his statement. After working through the progression of the bird, specifically the eye, I received so much feedback that it looked real or very life-like. Maybe it’s true when people say, “The eyes are the gateway to the soul”.
Although I am eager to continue work on my bird art as well as become more involved with other nature and wildlife pieces, I feel currently, my kingfisher will be hard to top with additional works, and this may in fact be one of my all-time favorite pieces. Considering ‘favorite pieces’ by artists is like comparing them to picking a favorite child, it just isn’t possible because there is so much love involved with each creation. Unlike picking a ‘favorite child’, sometimes we are asked this question.
For Chris, his favorite piece is a Lilac Breasted Roller which is considered to be his greatest drawing and has brought him the most success, shared my different pencil companies, bird websites, and estimated more than 50,000 likes world-wide over different social media platforms. Chris’ friend, Judith Selcuk, asked him to even feature this particular bird on the front cover of “The Line” Magazine, a proud and beautiful moment for him. He has been published, first, in an online magazine then again in the student version of Color Pencil Magazine.
“Being published was literally a dream come true”
With my first publication in July of 2017’s Edition of Color Pencil Magazine for my Alaskan Malamute Drawing of “Bailey”, I can absolutely relate to the sense of pride and accomplishment when it comes to having a creation, made my hand, over endless hours of work published.
Most artists have a clear direction of where we would like to see our artwork take off. Some would love to work for Disney, or be hosted in Galleries, or become internet famous as they offer commissioned drawings. For me, I would love to continue further with my nature pieces and enter vendor events throughout the country while I learn more about the art world. Maybe some time in the future, I will be able to take my own experiences throughout my journey in the artworld and teach techniques to aspiring artists.
For Chris, in a perfect world, he would love to become a famous artist somewhere in New York or Paris and make art more ‘fashionable’. “I feel more people see art as uninteresting or a boring hobby. I would love to inspire a new generation or artists”. In other terms, he would love to be a part of another bird book filled with other amazing artists. He had been contacted and published in the Caran D’Ache Anniversary book. Caran D’Ache is a Colored Pencil Company making one of the best, and his favorite, colored pencils. It would be a dream for Chris to work with the company on a special project and it would be a dream for me just to get my hands on a case of these amazing pencils!
One of the biggest avenues for artists available are to teach and reproduce their artwork. I am always looking around at printing companies or doing research for my own artwork, waiting until I feel comfortable to offer them available for sale. With as many beautiful, detailed pieces Chris has accumulated over the years, I noticed and was surprised to see he didn’t have his own store available for reproductions. I made a suggestion he should provide this as a service, especially with the dedicated group and page members. Chris said, “I am not selling prints as of yet, but I hope to soon. I feel the problem is offering the perfect drawing, one I am really happy with, and can turn into a beautiful print to sell, that is, as long as people are interested in buying".
"Currently, I am working on a drawing of a robin taken by photographer, Villager Jim. When this piece is finished, if it looks good and I can obtain permission to create prints, I will gladly start to sell them”! I would be surprised to find many people not wanting to buy replicas of his original pieces, because many people have requested commissions from him in the past. Unfortunately, although appreciated, Chris does not have the time to engage in accepting commissioned work due to full-time employment and a loving (yet sometimes clingy) French Bulldog to attend to.
Sometimes, when announcing ourselves as Colored Pencil Artists, we have snickers or sneers regarding the medium of choice, but what many people do not know is, color pencil is one of the hardest, longest time spent mediums available and it takes a great deal of patience to work with. This particular medium, if done right, actually tends to be more valuable (and certainly more expensive) than acrylic or oil paintings. Given the choice, although we are both happily and will gladly stick with our chosen mediums, Chris says, “I have always wanted to try watercolors, and although practice makes perfect, I am shockingly bad at it and it will take a million lifetimes for me to master that”. I, on the other hand, have an interest in working with Pan-Pastel and Pastel Pencils, and would like to try Copic Markers for my Caricature Pieces, however, I do not see this happening for quite some time.
Random Q&A
You carry a journal, do your doodles and bird drawings, but do you ever take your journal outside in the world and work from life?
“I carry an A5 journal which I solely use at home; I never take it outside. I would absolutely love to have a journal to
take with me to randomly sketch in, but I am obsessed with creating a “perfect book” full of great bird drawings. I love to ‘doodle’ (ink drawings) but it’s not a major part of who I am. Doodling has to be precise, it’s really quite a pain. Everything I do has to be perfect at all the time. Eventually, I am going to create a full book of drawings dedicated to my dog, Alice. She is my little inspiration. Who knows, maybe one day I could make her famous and have it as a Coloring Book”!
Many artists, on social media, will strictly only post within their niche and others will provide photos with insight into their daily lives. Apart from drawing, how else do you like to spend your time?
“Drawing, drawing, and drawing is my life. Other than that, tennis is another major obsession of mine. I love watching and playing as much as I can with my brother or friends. I also enjoy watching films, listening to music, and relaxing/spending time with my dog”.
Has any artist been a significant role model to you or have made a major impact on your life?
“There are many artists, they all know who they are, who are instrumental to me becoming different and more focused than ever. I would love to go to the Louvre, I have never been there. The first Monet painting I have seen in the National Gallery in London, it made me cry. I genuinely shed tears looking at it. I remember people staring at me wondering what on earth was going on, but it was so incredibly beautiful, so powerful, I won’t ever forget seeing it. Monet taught me about color but I am fascinated by Leonardo DaVinci. These two artists have taught me more than any teacher. Books never do paintings justice in terms of size and presence than when you see them with your own eyes”.
We artists are usually big fans of other working artists. Is there another artist you feel could be under-appreciated or should receive more recognition for their hard-work?
“I have a friend, Jess Fletcher, she is a colored pencil artist and is literally incredible. Her dog portraits are world-class and the best I have ever seen.
With the number of followers, and the amount of feedback you have received thus far, are there any particularly memorable responses to your work you have received?
“I love all of my followers on my page. They all care and leave me their individual congratulations and/or responses.”
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