Pencil Artist

About Me

I am a self-taught artist, but I'll always consider myself a lifetime student of art. I hope to never deceive myself in thinking I've reached a pinnacle or ultimate goal in my work. If I ever tell myself that I have finally become all that I can be as an artist, I will deny myself a future full of possibilities.

To me, the essence of being an artist is not about the easy path to a completed piece. It is about discovery and working from a place of uncertainty. Artwork should be malleable and ready for inspiration and change, especially when it is unexpected. From the first pencil stroke up until the last one, the final outcome remains unclear. It seems that with each and every moment of work, I'm taking slow steps forward and faulting steps backward, and never at a pace faster than the art requires.  My art is pure. There is no computer manipulation, no projected composition, and no photographic copy underneath. One line at a time - just pure, hand-drawn art. The rest is from my heart and soul.

I'm a visual messenger. I'll begin the thought, but you'll have to complete the story.


Artist Statement

An award-winning artist, instructor, and judge, Peggy Magovern teaches workshops throughout the United States. Her work has been shown at the DeYoung Museum in San Francisco, CA, and published cover and editorial illustrations include: The Smithsonian, Newsweek, the Wall Street Journal, Sports Illustrated, and Oxford University Press. In addition to her career as a free-lance commercial illustrator, she was also Senior illustrator for the iconic Banana Republic catalog. Peggy received the CPSA DC210 First Place award for "Explorations in Colored Pencils" and CPSA Award for Distinction "Explore This! 13", as well as Best of Show and Merit Awards from Bay Area galleries. Her fine art has been purchased across the US and in Britain, and is in permanent collection in California at the Beat Museum, San Francisco and Mendocino Art Center, Mendocino. Magazine articles written about her work have been published in: "110 Degrees Magazine", "To The Point", and coming in March, "Color Magazine".


Past Work

A partial list of Publishers and Clients include:

Publishers:

The Wall Street Journal, Readers Digest, Newsweek, Sports Illustrated, Ballantine Books, Doubleday Publishers, Sierra Club Books, Oxford University Press, Smithsonian Institute

Clients:

Honda, AT&T, Hewlett Packard, Bank of America, Banana Republic, HBO, Nabisco


Awards & Honors

  1. Delta Gallery - Best Of Show Award
  2. PAL, Fall Show at the Firehouse Arts Center - Merit Award
  3. CPSA Art Spectations National Competition - Honorable Mention Award
  4. American Catalog Awards - Gold Award
  5. American Cancer Society Creative Communications - Ace Award
  6. Contra Costa Arts Commission - Masters of Distinction Award
  7. Direct Marketing Creative Guild - Caples Award
  8. CPSA DC210 Explorations in Colored Pencil V!! - First Place
  9. Color Magazine 23rd Annual - Best in Show
  10. CPSA Explore This 13 - Award for Distinction
  11. Explorations in Colored Pencil (ECP X0) - (Experienced Category) - First Place
  12. Artists Magazine - Juried and published category
  13. CPSA DC210 Explorations in Colored Pencil X - First Place
  14. PAL 2023 Fall Show - Best of Show
  15. PAL 2023 Museum on Main - Best of Show


Commissions

I am available for Fine Art and Portrait commissions. Please contact my studio at PeggyMagovern@gmail.com.