Your Eyes to the World of Soft Pastel Art
News
William A. Schneider won The Salmagundi Award
Sep 20th
William A. Schneider
William A. Schneider‘s painting “Bud at 92″ won The Salmagundi Award at the Pastel Society of America’s 38th Annual Open Juried Exhibition held at The National Arts Club in New York City. The exhibition runs through October 2, 2010.
“I have painted Bud several times,” said Schneider. “He loves to model. He is a joker who delights in good-natured teasing. The twinkle in his eye belies his 92 years. I hope I captured that spirit.”
news via Artist’s Magazine blog
IAPS Master Circle 2010
Jul 26th
The International Association of Pastel Societies (IAPS) Master Circle was created to honor those artists whose work has been accepted and/or given awards in a specific number of IAPS Exhibitions and IAPS Convention Catalogue Cover Contests.
Newly qualified artists for IAPS Master Circle (Medallion will be awarded in Spring 2011) are:
Phil Bates, Christine Bodnar, Linda Gross Brown, Bill Canright, Kathryn Hall, Claudette Gamache, J. Kay Gordon, Marcia Holmes, Tatijana Jacenkiw, Janis Krendick, Alice Laputka, Sangita Phadke, Maggie Price, Lisa K. Stauffer, Liz Haywood-Sullivan, Vianna Szabo, Sharon Will.
Franch Magazine “Pratique des Arts” Special Pastel Edition
Jun 18th
J.F. Le Saint
The prestigious French art magazine Pratique des Arts has today published a special edition dedicated to pastel artist around the world. Some of the published artists are listed below. The magazine is accompanied with a DVD.
Claude Texier (FRA),
Cynthia Blair (USA),
Nathalie Picoulet (FRA),
Penelope Milner (GB),
Jean-François Le Saint (FRA),
Sergueï Oussik (RUS),
Claude Bauret-Allard (FRA),
Marie-Élise Larène (FRA),
Mickael Norman (GB)
Linda Gross Brown (USA).
Place Your Art on the Map
Apr 20th
The Arts Map is a website based on some sort of Google Maps where you can geographically find artists, galleries, art stores, museums, art schools and any other art related institution around the globe. They are still building their base but there are already plenty entries. You can open your profile and place your website or studio address on the Art Map. The site got a big plus from me since they use pastels as one of the search options. I’m going to use this site next time I plan my travels.
The Pastel Society UK 11th Annual Exhibition
Apr 16th
Matthew Draper
The Pastel Society, UK, was founded in 1898, and some of the first members and early exhibitors were Brangwyn, Degas, Rodin, Rothenstein, Whistler and G.F. Watts. There are currently over fifty members who are professional artists living and working in UK and elsewhere. The Society pursues its aims through education and example. It is currently responsible for organising exhibitions, tutorial workshops, demonstrations and lectures throughout the UK.
The Society’s major showcase is the Annual Exhibition held at the prestigious Mall Galleries in London. This is open to entries from both members and non-members. This year’s exhibition is opened at the Mall Galleries though April 17, with the total number of 278 paintings on display. It is not clear from the website who are the winners, but there was a news on the Pastel Journal blog mentioning the prize winning artists: Matt Draper, Jeannette Hayes, and Felicity House.
Peninsula School of Art Welcomes Notable Pastel Artists as Educators and Plein Air Festival Participants
Apr 15th
Marla Baggetta
The Peninsula School of Art in Door County, WI, has invited three notable pastel artists to participate in the Door County Plein Air Festival, July 19 – August 7. Linda Richichi, of New York, will return for the third time; New Mexico artist Emmett Johns will return for the second consecutive year; and Paul Murray, also of New Mexico, will participate for the first time.
The varied landscape of the Door County peninsula offers a natural muse and studio for both seasoned pastel artists and students of the medium who attend Peninsula School of Art workshops. Nestled in the quaint harbor town of Fish Creek, the School has attracted a number of high caliber pastel artist/instructors to teach workshops in both plein air and studio techniques for the summer and fall of 2010. Among them are: Marla Baggetta, Bonnita Budysz, Marc Hanson, Colette Odya Smith and Ken Tiessen.
We have reached post #100!
Apr 13th
Thanks to you, our readers who gave support by acknowledging and appreciating our work, this blog has succeeded to reach #100 post today.
What follows is a brief summary of last 3,5 months:
- posted 6 posts related to Old Pastel Masters
- presented 8 great pastel artists as “Featured Artists”
- used opportunity to present 12 very useful pastel demos
- mentioned close to 30 competitions and challenges (held or to come)
- collected 15 video clips
- averaged 5,76 post per week after going public on January 1st, 2010
- more than 350 Facebook fans, almost 60 Google Friend Connect followers and over 130 daily RSS feeds
- linked to over 100 pastel artists.
The numbers above are here to talk a little, the blog itself says much more, but the best of all is that we have learned so much and established contact with many great artists which we admire and who give us the push to work more. This is just one stop to turn back and see how much we did and to say: “It’s worth it and there is more to come… 
”
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Ria Hills in The Artist’s Magazine
Mar 6th
Ria Hills
The artist of the month for March 2010 in The Artist’s Magazine is Ria Hills. Ria is a self-taught contemporary pastel painter, born in The Netherlands, raised in New York and presently living in rural Massachusetts. From 2006 she is a daily painter and you can see her progress on the blog almost daily.
Here is what Ria says about her art “It keeps me balanced and happy. If I’m not painting, I’ll write or learn a new craft to satisfy the creative need. Painting also gives me a sense of self worth and confidence that I don’t get anywhere else. There are days when I lose my direction and wonder if I should continue. What keeps me going is the feedback I receive from collectors. The knowledge that a simple painting can uplift the spirit of another person makes it all worthwhile.”
Monet reborn: Kieron Williamson
Jan 31st
Kieron Williamson
A seven-year-old boy is being hailed as an art genius and has drawn comparisons to Pablo Picasso. He does not like that comparison and says he would like to develop to become Monet. Can you believe the kid? Last month Kieron’s second exhibition in a gallery in his home town of Holt, England, sold out in 14 minutes. The sale of 16 new paintings swelled his bank account by 32.000$. There are now 680 people on a waiting list for a Kieron original.
Kieron Williamson from the eastern English town of Holt reportedly has artistic skills that would be the envy of any serious painter. Here are some of his pastel and other paintings and you can read more about him in this article by ABC news and Daily Mail.
Van Gogh and his Letters
Jan 29th
Vincent van Gogh - The Letters
The British Royal Academy of Arts presents an exhibition of the work of Vincent van Gogh. The focus of the exhibition is the artist’s remarkable correspondence. Vincent van Gogh’s letters have long been prized as some of the most valuable documents in the world of art. Not only do they throw light on Van Gogh’s own complex and intriguing character, they enlighten the whole creative process.
The Royal Academy is offering free six volumes of his correspondence and all you have to do is to give your contact information and wait. The prize draw closes on the 18 April 2010. Winner will be drawn at random and notified on 19 April 2010.
Barbara Benedetti Newton
