Soft Pastel News
Your Eyes to the World of Soft Pastel Art
Main Course by Don Judah
Jan 11th
Don Judah "Main Course"
Don Judah‘s painting First Course (in this post) was selected as an outstanding pastel painting at the November 2011 BoldBrush competition. Here is how Don describes his art.
“Art has always been my first love. My formal education in art was limited to high school and college elective classes and a few excursions into available classes in the evenings when time would permit. After my retirement from forty four years in health care, I have had the opportunity to return to drawings and painting and continue my education in art. Over the last four years I have returned to the study of art beginning with the most elementary drawing classes available. In this beginning period of my education I was fortunate to find a life drawing class that has offered me an opportunity to continue to develop my artistic talents and move into pastel figure drawing. I have a love of pastel and enjoy the process of developing a painting from a simple gesture composition, into a charcoal value drawing and finally into a finished pastel drawing. Drawing the human figure is most challenging and the most rewarding experience. The most extraordinary aspect of painting the human figure is that it is ever changing. There is always something new to be found, some subtle form or transition from one shape to another. Every person and every pose is different. The continuing challenge is to attempt to capture that special essence of every subject you draw or paint. As you may assume most of my work over the last few years is focused on figurative art. I just finished transforming a small barn into studio at my home in Napa and I plan to continue to learn and paint and appreciate the opportunity to begin a new adventure in the world of art.”
Click on the image for the higher resolution.
Featured Pastel Artist: Jill Stefani Wagner
Dec 28th
Jill Stefani Wagner
Jill Stefani Wagner works in two quite different mediums: watercolor and pastel. She finds watercolors to be very fresh and intuitive medium and she is ready to throw away many pieces. Pastel on the other side is more forgiving and she will changes color, form, and position until the wanted effect. She strives for realism with a painterly twist, but sometimes allows the rich hues and textures of a scene to dominate. Jill often works from resource photos from her travels but, when weather permits, she loves to paint from life or plein air.
Her pastel paintings have been exhibited in solo and group exhibitions throughout the MidWest, and her work hangs in various public and private collections throughout the United States. Jill’s pastel work has been given the Art Times Award from the prestigious Pastel Society of America Exhibition and she was recently honored with a National Award of Exceptional Merit from the Pastel Society of North Florida. Her work was given two honorable mentions in the Pastel Journal’s Pastel 100 Competition. She is a member of the National Watercolor Society, Pastel Society of America, Michigan Water Color Society, Great Lakes Pastel Society, Ann Arbor Women Artists and Ann Arbor Area Pastelists. Jill was born in Port Huron, Michigan. She received a B.F.A. from The University of Michigan School of Art and is senior partner of a successful graphic design firm in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
William A. Schneider, IAPS 19th Web Show Winner
Dec 26th
The International Association of Pastel Societies (IAPS) has organized the second web show and you can see it on the society website.
The show chair was Paula Ann Ford, and jurors of selection were Alain Picard, Christine Ivers, Phil Bates. The Judge of Awards was Denise LaRue Mahlke. To see the winning paintings click on the artist name.
1. William A. Schneider
2. Dan Michael
3. Kim Lordier
4. Marj Lightle
5. Jennifer Rowe
HM: Mary Aslin
HM: Daggi Wallace
HM: Margaret Dyer
HM: Jeannette Cuevas
Old Pastel Master: Edgar Chahine
Dec 13th
Edgar Chahine Collage
Edgar Chahine (1874-1947) was born in Vienna, Austria to Armenian parents and he grew up in Constantinople, Turkey. Chahine and his mother had moved to Venice to escape the persecution of Armenians in Turkey, and there Chahine started studying art in 1892.
At age 21 he decided to travel to Paris and pursue a career in fine arts. He studied painting under formal instruction at the Académie Julian. Chahine began to experiment with the possibilities of print making at the age of 25. Although he had already achieved some success with his paintings, he became fascinated with prints and soon worked exclusively in this medium. His prints were very much in demand by collectors and he won several medals and awards and received many commissions. The death of his fiancé plunged him into a deep depression, and he left Paris to travel through Italy. This voyage gave him the serenity and the inspiration to begin working with new enthusiasm actually etching the day’s drawings onto copper plates in his hotel room each night. He returned with new vigor and expanded his efforts to once again include pastels and oils in his work. Many of Chahine’s prints were lost in a fire in his atelier in 1926, and many more were destroyed in a flood in 1942. Some of the remaining pastel works can be found at the Musee Armenian de France in Paris.
Simon Bussy, Sir Richard Strachey
Nov 30th
Simon Bussy "Sir Richard Strachey"
Artist: Simon Bussy, 1901
Title: “Sir Richard Strachey”
pastel on paper
18 in. x 20 in. (457 mm x 508 mm)
National Portrait Gallery, London UK
Dominique Bisson Winner of Les Pastellistes International 2011
Nov 29th
Dominique Bisson "Le temps des lilas"
Pastel Society of Eastern Canada 16th edition of Les Pastellistes International Exhibition selected by jury was held from November 4th to 13th, 2011. The top prizes were awarded to the following artists
1. Dominique Bisson, Le temps des lilas (see the painting above)
2. Carmen Caron-Lafrance, Artifices
3. Danielle Richard, Petite fleur
4. Siddick Nuckcheddy (île Maurice), Solitude sinistre
5. Mary Dorland, Here Come the Brides
Lucian Freud Pastel
Nov 22nd
Lucian Freud "Portrait of Christian Berard"
Artist: Lucian Freud, 1948
Title: Portrait of Christian Berard
conte on paper 46 x 42 cm
Private Collection
Click on the image to see it in a higher resolution.
Bill Creevy in PSA Hall of Fame
Nov 20th
Bill Creevy "Red Caddie"
Each year the Pastel Society of America selects an outstanding artist to be included in the Hall of Fame to honor his or her special achievements in pastel painting. The artist included this year (2011) was Bill Creevy, a widely exhibited New York artist with over twelve solo shows.
Originally a native of New Orleans, Bill holds an MFA degree from Louisiana State University and a BA degree from the University of New Orleans. Bill Creevy’s painting style is representational and he paints still lifes, landscapes and figures. He is the author of The Pastel Book, a thorough guide to pastel materials and techniques, with many stimulating demonstrations. This is a must read for pastel lovers and if you are interested in the book, first read an excellent book review by Katherine Tyrrell on her blog Making a Mark.
Jill Stefani Wagner
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