Your Eyes to the World of Soft Pastel Art
Featured Pastel Artist: Dianna Ponting
If you are a soft pastel artist it is very unlikely that you haven’t come across Dianna Ponting. Dianna is an award winning Canadian artist and lecturer who excels in soft pastels. She is an elected member of the Pastel Society of America and holds Senior Signature status in the Federation of Canadian Artists.
Dianna’s use of light, shadow and her ability to denote texture results in nothing less than a stunning art.
Dianna is an international artist and pastel instructor with students and patrons in both North America and Europe. If she comes close to your place don’t miss her. The list of workshops can be found on her website and you can join her Facebook fan page.
Dianna is a regular contributor to Wet Canvas and the first time I saw her work I was overwhelmed. Her ability to make realistic paintings is hard to match. You can try out her licorice candies lecture on Wetcanvas.
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Pastel En Plein Air Demo by Michael Chesley Johnson
about 3 months ago - No comments
More work by Michael Chesley Johnson. Share/Bookmark
Dominique Bisson Winner of Les Pastellistes International 2011
about 5 months ago - No comments
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…
Featured Pastel Artist: Dan F. Gray
about 6 months ago - No comments
Dan F. Gray is an artist from Canada and he has worked in soft pastel since 1975. The great majority of his portfolio are an plein air landscapes of British Columbia, Canada, together with motorcycles and cars blended in colorful nature. He has very recognizable style and at least for me there is some similarity…
Canada’s Master Pastelists Exhibition
about 12 months ago - No comments
The place to visit for pastel lovers in Canada this summer will for sure be Qualicum Beach on Vancouver Island, British Columbia. D.F. Gray has assembled pastels from private collections from various historical Canadian master pastelists and invited 18 contemporary Canadian artists working with soft pastel along with some of his recent pastels. The show…
Pastel Demonstration by Arnold Lowrey
about 2 years ago - No comments
I was enjoying watching this pastel demo by great British artist Arnold Lowrey. Share/Bookmark
Newsletter: The Pastel Scribbler, Jan 2010
about 2 years ago - 1 comment
Pan European pastel society The Pastel Guild of Europe is publishing free monthly newsletter. You can find old issues here and if you like it you can subscribe at the bottom of the home page. The newsletter has some society specific articles but in general it is a good read for all pastel artists. In…
How to Use Golden Ratio to Improve Composition
about 2 years ago - No comments
Some artists are proportioning their works to approximate the Golden ratio. Special form of the golden ratio is golden rectangle, in which the ratio of the longer side to the shorter is the golden ratio. It has been said that the Golden Rectangle is the most visually satisfying of all geometric forms. The strange thing…
How to make Canson Paper More Lightfast
about 2 years ago - 5 comments
Many artists complain that Canson Mi-Teintes paper is not lightfast enough – meaning that the color would eventually fade when the paper is exposed to sunlight for some time. The pastelist Marsha Hamby Savage who mainly uses this paper for her soft pastel paintings is explaining in her blog how to prepare Canson paper to…
Alcohol Wash Underpainting
about 2 years ago - 1 comment
Tennessee based artist Paula Ann Ford, who specialized in beautiful soft pastel landscapes, shares her process of doing pastel underpainting followed by the alcohol wash. “I normally use a dark value of blue at the top of the sky, then in the middle sky a medium (lighter than the dark) value, and then at closest…
More on Signing Your Artwork
about 2 years ago - No comments
Liz Haywood-Sullivan is giving some nice tips on how to sign your pastel work. “This may seem simple but be sure to sign your artwork – redundantly. Sign your painting on both the front, AND the back. And on the back please write the name of your painting. And this is why… I just finished…
Barbara Benedetti Newton
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about 2 years ago
Thanks for pointing to Dianna. She is amazing, knowledgeable and very sharing as an instructor. That is a great demo on on wetcanvas.com
about 2 years ago
I had the privilage of being taught by Diana in one of her workshops here in England in 2006. Awesome teacher! Every student went away with a winner and she shared secrets that I have used in every painting since. I am hoping she returns soon. It has been too long!