Bet Borgeson Reviews

From the August, 1982 issue of American Artist magazine, teacher and artist Bet Borgeson wrote that the very first article in the U.S. on the methods for using colored pens as a fine art medium.

The subsequent year Watson-Guptill Publications of all N.Y. published her--as well as the colored pencil medium's--first book, "The Colored Pencil."

This came about started later she graduated from Oregon's Portland State University. Although coloured pencil as a fine art medium was not generally familiar to the public Borgeson adored it and also employed it. She began to show artwork in museums and Pacific Northwest galleries. However, it became clear to her that possible and its distinctive handling characteristics were not understood the general public or by other artists. Borgeson recalls, "I was standing close to one of my pieces in a pub and a guest was telling her company that she thought my artwork was a print or a watercolor! Colored Pencil was not even mentioned!" She decided that she should be spreading the word regarding colored pencils, since Borgeson was teaching oil painting at this time.

To further explore the techniques of the medium and to devise new methods of using it, Bet Borgeson realized that she was going to have to find other artists who had been using coloured pens. The manufacturer of Prismacolor pencils agreed to open their documents to familiarize her with artists. She started contacting these musicians and others throughout the U. S. and after a three-year attempt organized and developed many new and critical techniques for coloured pencils. It also led to the publishing of her first publication, "The Colored Pencil." This was shown to be quite a novel.

The wide and international distribution in This publication’s initial year, Another publication

Bet Borgeson Quality Chart