I’ve always been service-oriented. Since I was young, I liked the feeling of doing volunteer work, such as trick-or-treating for UNICEF, instead of going door to door just for the candy. I liked to make things and sell them, especially if it was something that would help others. One summer, when I was about 9, I made handwoven potholders with one of those little square looms.
For many pastel artists, it’s the medium’s unique position between drawing and painting that makes it so appealing. If you enjoy drawing in black and white (pastel or otherwise), be sure to enter your best examples in Drawing magazine’s 2014 “Shades of Gray” open competition. The competition is open to all work created entirely in black, white and gray in a variety of media including graphite, charcoal, pastel, chalk, colored pencil, pen-and-ink, ballpoint pen, and mixed media.
Dirk Hagners depiction of dying sunflowerswon a Jurors Choice Award in theBlossom Art of Flowers competition in 2007.An artist shuts the door on inspiration and creative possibilities when he or she withdraws from exploring subject matter because there doesn’t appear to be anything new to say.
“Speaking, when you have something to say, is like looking.But who looks? If people could see properly,and see whole, they would all be painters.And it’s because people have no idea how to lookthat they hardly ever understand.” – Pierre BonnardWhen we teach classes indoors, we often set up a very simple still-life for the class to work from.
Q. In my years of painting I’ve tried just about every medium, and not long ago I read of a medium that combines one part stand oil and two parts mineral spirits. I’ve tried it and I like this combination a great deal, but would it make a difference if I used odorless turpentine instead of mineral spirits?
Within the sphere of pastels, there are varying degrees of stick firmness. When determining which firmness of stick is best for your specific painting needs, take these factors into consideration (click here to share them on Twitter):The degree of force you typically exert when applying pastel. Every pastelists has one.
