Your Eyes to the World of Soft Pastel Art
Posts tagged Soft Pastel Artist
Roberta Baer – Pastel Demo Clips
Mar 29th
by Roberta Baer
Roberta Roby Baer, is California based pastel artist who has recently become the signature member of the Pastel Society of America. The main subjects of her paintings are animals and wildlife. She makes beautiful colorful realistic pastel paintings. I have recently found Roby’s blog where she posts new paintings almost daily. What is very interesting is that many of her pastel miniatures have 10 minutes youtube demo. I’ll add a couple of her demos to my pastel video collection, but for the best experience visit Roby’s youtube channel.
Old Pastel Master: Jean-Baptiste-Simeon Chardin
Mar 25th
Jean-Baptiste-Simeon Chardin (1699 -1779) was a French painter, considered as the master of still life. He was also well known for domestic scenes remarkable for their intimate realism and tranquil atmosphere and the luminous quality of their paint.
During his lifetime, Chardin was recognized as one of the great painters of his day and, rightfully, appreciation for his work has never waned. Rejecting the styles and subjects of his contemporaries, Chardin elevated the still life to a noble art form and achieved a place for himself as a quiet revolutionary in the pantheon of art history.
He turned to pastels in later life when his eyesight began to fail. His pastel works had no equal in freshness and spontaneity but they were not widely admired in Chardin’s own time. Those pastels, most of which are in the Louvre Museum, are highly regarded now.
The critic Denis Diderot wrote in 1763 that a still life by Chardin “is nature itself; the objects free themselves from the canvas and are deceptively true to life.” Chardin has continued to be greatly admired, inspiring many 19th-century artists, including Manet and Cézanne. Novelist Marcel Proust wrote, “We have learned from Chardin that a pear is as living as a woman, that an ordinary piece of pottery is as beautiful as a precious stone.”
Nice collection of his works you can find on youtube, but also in web art galleries and Olga’s gallery.
If you speak French, an interesting review of his work is on youtube.
Featured Pastel Artist: Rita Kirkman
Mar 18th
Rita Kirkman has been working with pastels since she was 10. She is a quick-sketch caricature artist and an award-winning pastelist and portrait painter. Rita got her Bachelor of Fine Arts at University of Dayton, OH, holds signature membership with PSA, and is a recipient of the Master Circle Award from the IAPS. When you will have an afternoon free, go check her website and a list of awards and recognitions. The latest success is honorable mention in the Pastel 100 competition. The vibrant colors and detailed strokes that make up her paintings bring to the viewer an unexpected emotional response. Those paintings featuring her children are especially sweet. Portraiture, wildlife and landscapes all benefit from the talented eye of this artist.
And… if you come across Rita at some show be nice to her and admire her work – she will soon hold a black belt in karate 
.
“I’m constantly overwhelmed
by the simple beauty and uniqueness
of everyday life.
“I work to capture a moment or a feeling,
or to present an ordinary subject in a
new way.
“I want to hold the viewer a moment
longer with a sense of wonder, or
perhaps a bit of humor.
“Life is short and fast. I want to
slow down and see it.”
~Rita Kirkman
Old Pastel Master: Maurice Quentin de la Tour
Feb 28th
Maurice Quentin de La Tour (1704-1788) was a French Rococo portraitist who worked primarily with pastels. Among his most famous subjects were Voltaire, Louis XV and Madame de Pompadour. He was the son of a musician who disapproved of his painting career. That’s why he has as teenager left home and went to Paris where he was thought to paint. He went to Rheims in 1724 and to England in 1725, returning to Paris to resume his studies around 1727. In Paris he also had learned about new medium “pastel” made so popular by a young Venetian artist Rosalba Carriera. After returning to Paris, he adopted pastel as the sole medium of his portraits.
In 1737 La Tour exhibited the first of a splendid series of 150 portraits that served as one of the glories of the Paris Salon for the next 37 years. In the age of 46 he was appointed portraitist to the King, which established his reputation among the royalty and upper middle class.
There is an interesting story about his character and attitude: While painting Madame de Pompadour (click on the link to hear interesting story about this painting) he ask not to be disturbed but: “A quarter of an hour had scarcely passed when the door of the apartment opened and the King entered. Lifting his cap, La Tour said to his model, “You promised, Madame, that your door should be closed to visitors.” Louis laughed good at both the costume and the rebuke of the artist, and begged him to proceed with his work. “It is impossible for me to obey your Majesty,” replied La Tour: “I will return when Madame is alone.” There-upon he walked into another room to dress himself, saying as he went, “I don’t like to be interrupted.”
Towards the end of his life, he founded an art school and became a philanthropist before begin confined to his home because of mental illness. He retired at the age of 80 to Saint-Quentin where now stands the Musee Antoine Lecuyer with it’s wonderful collection of close to 80 works by this master of pastel
There is an interesting interactive tour of his work on interactive pages of the Museum “Antoine Lecuyer”.
Susan Harding Merancy Awarded
Feb 15th
Susan Harding Merancy.
Susan Harding Merancy of Cambridge, N.Y. is the recipient of The Hugh P. Botts Award for her pastel painting, “Confidence,” in the Annual Black and White Exhibition of the Salmagundi Club in New York City. Unfortunately I could not find that painting on the web. The exhibition featureed only works rendered in black and white or sepia tones and is one of the club’s most popular exhibitions. The Salmagundi Club is one of America’s oldest arts clubs and is located in an historic brownstone on Fifth Avenue.
Susan is a signature member of the Pastel Society of America, a member of The Portrait Society of America and a member of The Southern Vermont Arts Center.
Barbara Benedetti Newton
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