Pencil Artist of the Week: Don Gaconnet

This week’s featured pencil artist is Don Gaconnet, a pencil artist from the United States who works graphite, acrylic paint, charcoals and color pencils. His DeviantArt gallery is filled with drawings created using a combination of these mediums, but it is his work with color pencils and charcoals that stood out to this casual art viewer. 

A drawing titled “Jillian’s Rose,” created using charcoals on watercolor paper.

Don’s brands of choice are Derwent and Faber-Castell. In addition to pencils, he uses kneaded art erasers and tortillions to create his drawings. These tools allow him to subtly blend colors and graduate the darkness of charcoal and graphite, giving his drawings a soft, subtle look.

My favorite drawing in his gallery is a color pencil drawing of two mermaids floating in a reef. The color pallet and style reminds me of a Pears’ Soap ad my parents had hanging in our bathroom while I was growing up. This might be nostalgia talking, but I would hang that drawing in my house in an instant.

This mermaid drawing is, in my opinion, Don’s finest work.

If you’d like to see more of Don’s drawings, you can check out his DeviantArt gallery here.

What do you think Pencils Blog readers? Do you know someone who should be featured as our Pencil Artist of the Week? Let us know in the comments, or give us a shout on Twitter or Instagram using the @pencilscom handle!