Neat way of setting up the shot. I knot you wanted to keep the stems of the pencils in the shot but I might have cropped it just a tad more if I were you. Nice lighting.
A very creative look at colored pencils - the image meets the subject matter and with a certain cheeky attitude. A terrific demonstration of the creative process in meeting the challenge. Should be a sure bet to win a ribbon or place high as a top twenty image. A couple of minor detail problems not worth mentioning because they don't appear until you really get a critical eye and examine the image closely. Well done.