Pastelists are as follows, back row left to right: Penny Cooper, Ila Larson, Kathie Janda, Nancy Stifter; front row: Elizabeth McCarthy, Diane Greeneich, Shirley Smith, Sharon Adamy; not pictured, Gretchen Olberding, Marsha Lyons
Pastelists Part 1
Taking advantage of the summer months, the PebbleCreek Art Club is offering something a little different in its Artist of the Month venue. The art medium Pastel, the artists who work with it, and the works of art they have created will be showcased in the PebbleCreek Creative Arts Center during the months of June, July and August. This display will attempt to introduce, entertain and educate all who view it over the next three months. It might be a good idea to save the PebbleCreek Post articles as a reference while viewing the Artist of the Month window and artwork at both Tuscany and Eagle’s Nest reception desks. Ten resident artists who paint with pastels will be featured as well as the material they use, the methods they employ and even their reasons for choosing pastel to express themselves.
The Medium
Pastels are dry pigment compressed into sticks using very little binder. It is the same pigment which is used in oil paints, watercolors or acrylic paints. The pigment is dispersed when the pastel is dragged, smeared or scribbled onto a coarse surface such as sanded or textured paper. Appropriately prepared surfaces can result in endless mark making with interesting, expressive results. Pastels are amazingly durable and can retain their bright, sparkling presentation for many years if protected under glass.
The advantage of pastel is the vibrant color selection. The hues are not mixed but merely chosen and ready to apply. There is the color, the paper, the artist and, of course, the vision. It is a medium in which expression can be loosely drawing or more formal, painting. It is mark making, blending, stroking, glazing, smudging and scraping. It is fun!
Pastel was used as preparatory studies to oil paintings before finding acceptance by French portrait painters. Rosalba Carreira was a fashionable artist in Paris during the 1700s and the late 1880s witnessed artists whose names are associated with Impressionism: Cassatt, Renoir, Degas and Redon using pastel. John Singleton Copley was a Colonial American artist adept at pastel and James McNeil Whistler worked with pastels in London. The Internet is an amazing source for viewing these artists and their works. Google John Copley and Rosalba Carreira and become acquainted.
Today pastel is enjoying a large following in the United States as well as around the world. Artists have joined together to form pastel societies which sponsor exhibits and encourage their members to further their education with classes and workshops. The PebbleCreek Art Club hosts several pastel workshops throughout the year.
The ten artists participating in the Pastel exhibit this summer are Shirley Smith, Nancy Stifter, Elizabeth McCarthy, Marsha Lyons, Gretchen Olberding, Ila Larson, Diane Greeneich, Penny Cooper, Kathie Janda and Sharon Adamy. These artists range in experience from beginning to 30 years; from occasionally to exclusively using pastel; from selling to enjoying their efforts in their home galleries.
The next issue of PebbleCreek Post will highlight the artists and their processes .