Artists in Pastel

“Dune Trail” © Stan Sperlak

Name: Stan Sperlak, PSA

Bio: Stan Sperlak was born in Denver, Colorado in 1960. He attended the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts during 1995-1998 studying with Al Gury, Jill Rupinski, Maggie Gilboy and others. During 1998-99, Sperlak studied in the home and garden of artist and landscape architect William Frederick. Sperlak also studied from 1997-2003 with Patricia Vanaman Witt, founder of the Barn Studio of Art in Millville, New Jersey, focusing on plein air landscape painting.

In 1997 Sperlak bought 37 acres of farmland, forest and marsh along the Crow Creek in Goshen, NJ and started work on a studio and future teaching facility. In 2003 with the encouragement of Pat Witt, Sperlak embarked on continuing Witt's traditions of plein air teachings and style. Crow Creek Farm is now the main facility for his classes. Sperlak has also taught in Maine, Colorado, South Carolina, Pennsylvania and Maryland, and has been invited to teach and speak at art centers across the US.

In 1998 Sperlak started to exhibit professionally. He is currently represented by SOMA Gallery in Cape May, NJ, William Ris Gallery in Stone Harbor, NJ, Main Line Art in Philadelphia Pennsylvania, Hardcastle Gallery in Wilmington, Delaware, Main Street Gallery in Annapolis, Maryland, Laura Craig Galleries, Scranton PA and Bishop’s Stock Gallery in Snow Hill, MD. His works are also in the permanent collection of the Noyes Museum in Oceanville, NJ.

Sperlak is a signature member of the Pastel Society of America, the Maryland Pastel Society and a member of the Pastel Society of Colorado. He is also a member of the Mid Atlantic Plein Air Painters Association, having served on the Board of Directors since 2005. He is a member and past President of The Cape May County Art League.

Medium: Pastel. Witt and Sperlak's tradition teaches that painting outdoors should be an exercise in "note taking" with color and gesture from life, to capture the light and essence of a place, and to establish the basis for future works from these studies.

Subjects: Landscape. Figurative. Sperlak's most recent paintings limn the landscape of the Mid Atlantic region of the USA. Shorelines, marshes, fields, skies, boats, fisherman and night scenes are all grist to his mill. He lists his strongest influences as Robert Henri, George Inness, William Lathrop and N.C. Wyeth.

Publications: BlueRoads Magazine featured Stan in the October 2005 issue. There is more to be found on his Press page.

Technique/Style: Stan’s intensely pigmented work is the result of using handmade pastels on rough and smooth papers and on self-prepared boards. Many of the passages are accomplished with a very light blending by hand, while some of the heavier tones are built through layers of pastel that are sometimes liquefied and “fixed” with water, alcohol and turpentine applied with brushes, razors, spoons and rags.

Navigation: Website by WuLi. There are menus within menus, but navigation is a logical progression. It is easy to find what you want.

Gallery: Paintings – Selected works.

Image View: Thumbnails provide information on painting on mouseover. They enlarge on a new page, where you can scroll back, forward, or return to thumbnail page. Download is permitted. Dune Trail is 12 ins square, 795 x 800, 42 KB.

Blog: Not yet.

Demo: No

“Amont aux Roches du Diable” © Jean-Claude Muret

Name: Jean-Claude Muret

URL: http://www.pastelsmuret.fr/#Accueil.A

Bio: French artist Jean-Claude Muret was born in 1946 in Nanterre, and since 1980 has lived on the banks of the Loire at Ancenis/ He is self-taught, although he spent his career in the graphic arts, then many years head of a communications group.

He started painting in 1970, at first oil and ink techniques and Chinese washes and exhibited frequently from 1990 to 1995 ... he also won a 1st in 1995 awarded by the Lions Club for an oil painting.

He discovered pastel in 1993, thanks to a gift of a small wooden box of Girault pastels and was immediately smitten by the direct technique. He took up the batons again in 2009 and hasn’t looked back since. What he likes about pastel is its spontaneity. But he says that it is a demanding technique because it requires an ability to draw well.

Jean-Claude is a member of Art de Pastel en France and was selected to present his paintings in the International Exhibition in Giverny in 2012, when he was awarded the Special Jury Prize awarded by the Pastel Society of America. He has also been the recipient of the British Pastel Society’s Prize for Originality and the Prix de Pastel en Yvelines in 2012 .

Medium: Pastel. Jean-Claude likes to explore the availability of artisan pastels and has had some made to order by Pip Seymour. He also mentions Terry Ludwig (his clear favourite), l'Artisan Pastellier (Albi) and Terre de Gaude.

Subjects: Landscape, often expressed in close-up.

Style: Representational through an expressionist lens

Navigation: Links remain available at left of page. Easy to access galleries.

Gallery:Oeuvres récentes;Galerie: Côté abstractions ; Thème « paysages » (landscapes) ; Thème « de bois et de fer » (wood and iron – a ship cemetery)

Image View: Thumbnails open in an on-page viewer. Size is given. Download is permitted. Amont aux Roches du Diable is 65 x 50 cm, 1000 x 772, 440 KB.

Blog/Demo: No

“The Curmudgeon” © Jonathan Philbin Dolan

Name: John Philbin Dolan

URL: http://philbininc.com/

Bio: In 2005, John Philbin Dolan closed his technology-consulting firm to pursue an art career full time. Already comfortable with pastel, he decided to learn oil painting and in 2007 he attended the Florence Academy of Art in Florence, Italy for their summer program. There he met instructor, Matthew Almy, who taught figure drawing in the summers, but lives in Chicago. When they arrived back in the states, John started his “classical” training under Matt and his wife, Magda. They have since expanded into a 7000 square foot studio space and call themselves The Ravenswood Atelier where John completed his studies in 2011. 2010 was a busy year for John. He was made a Signature member of The Pastel Society of America; he was one of 36 artists selected for the International Association of Pastel Societies 16th Juried Exhibition at The Butler Institute of American Art; and one of 60 artists invited to exhibit at the 2010 Pastels by Invitation Show at the Creative Arts Center in Chatham, MA. In 2011, John exhibited in Giverny, France in the Art du Pastel en France'sjuried show. In 2012, John was one of the few Signature Members of the PSA selected to exhibit at the 40th Anniversary Show at The Noyes Museum of Art in Oceanview, New Jersey. John has also exhibited in a number of shows at the National Arts Club and The Salmagundi Club in New York City.

John was the Judge of Awards for the 2012 Richeson 75 Pastel Show. Nitram Charcoal, an artists charcoal, has started using John’s drawing Pericles for their packaging.
John has won numerous national awards including The Gold Medal at the 2012 IAPS Gallery Show, and Best of Show at The 2009 Richeson 75 Pastel Show.

He is a member of The Oil Painters of America, The Portrait Society of America, Art du Pastel en France, The International Guild of Realism, Allied Artists of America, The Chicago Pastel Painters, The Degas Pastel Society, The American Impressionists Society and is a Artist Member and Treasurer of The Palette and Chisel Academy of Fine Arts in Chicago.

Medium: Pastel; oil

Subjects: Portrait;Still life

Style: Representational

Navigation: A FineArtStudioOnline website.

Gallery: Oils ; Pastels.

Image View: Thumbnails open in an on-page viewer. Size is given. As is normal with FineArtStudioOnline images can be enlarged and download is permitted. The Curmudgeon is 12 x 16 ins. 550 x 425, 312 KB.

Blog/Demo:No

“Fruit and Green Pitcher” © Rebecca Margolese-Malin

Name: Rebecca Margolese-Malin

URL: http://www.rmargolese-malin.com/

Bio: Rebecca Margolese-Malin of Chapel Hill, North Carolina, gradated with a B.A. in Art History from UC Berkeley and an M.A. in Art History from UC Santa Barbara. When she moved to North Carolina a meeting with Lindesay Harkness turned into a student/teacher relationship that inspired Rebecca to open her own atelier where she teaches the techniques learned from Harkness which can be traced back to members of the Boston School of American Impressionism and earlier. Rebecca has been showing her work and winning awards since 199, including an Honorary Mention in the 2010 Pastel 100. She is a member of the Pastel Society of North Carolina.

Medium: Pastel

Subjects: Portraits; Still life.

Style: Representational. Rebecca says “When selecting objects for a still life, I am drawn to those forms that have delicate passages of half tones emerging from the light and fading into shadow. The light effect gives these objects an intrinsic beauty, whether they are natural or man-made. I find the same qualities in the human face and approach portraiture with the same fascination. My goal is to create a portrait that exists as a painting as well as a likeness.”

Navigation: Website seems not to have been updated since 2007. Links remain available at bottom of page.

Gallery: Portraits; Still Life; Drawings

Image View: Thumbnails open in an on-page viewer. Size is given. Some few mauy be further enlarged, or the detail viewed. Fruit and Green Pitcher is 25 x 19.5 ins.

Demo/Blog: No

“8 Nails” © Matthew Rezac

Name: Matthew Rezac

URL: http://www.matthewrezac.com/

Bio: Matthew Rezac is a graphic designer living and working in Minneapolis, MN. Originally from South Dakota he moved to Minneapolis in 1998 to go to Minneapolis College of Art & Design. He holds a BFA from MCAD, where he studied graphic design and photography. After pursuing a career in freelance photography, he came to hate it, so he went back to MCAD for more graphic design courses. From 2004–2006 he served as a Graphic Design Fellow at the Walker Art Center. Since 2006 he has been running a small studio that focuses on print and publication design for cultural and academic clients including Blu Dot Design & Manufacturing, Marianne Boesky Gallery, Midway Contemporary Art, Minneapolis College of Art & Design, Walker Art Center, Weisman Art Museum, and ZER01. His work has received numerous distinctions including both the AIGA 50 Books/50 Covers and 365 Awards and has been featured in HOW, Idea, and PRINT magazines. In 2006 he was profiled in STEPmagazine’s “Field Guide to Emerging Design Talent.”

Matthew Rezac has been winning awards for his pastels since 2004, including several Honorable Mentions in the Pastel 100 and and 1st place in the Still Life category in 2007. He was featured in Best of Worldwide Charcoal, Pastel, and Pencil Artists, Volume I, Kennedy Publishing, 2009. An image of his painting "Cultivator" was selected for Stored Potential, a mural project in Omaha, Nebraska featuring fifteen 80' x 20' banners displayed on the side of a vacated grain elevator.

Medium: Pastel

Subjects: Rezac says: "My work is about home, the kind that is shared across generations. A place built by a family, torn back down, revised, nurtured, and well known. A place where memories are stored in everyday objects, waiting to be happened upon and revived, bearing the mark of grief and love and hard work and orneriness and tenderness. A place that quietly forms you as much as you form it."

Style: Representational.

Navigation: Links remain available at side of page.

Gallery: Gallery

Image View: Thumbnails open in a Flash viewer and may be scrolled. Only the title is provided on mouseover. Download is not possible without using Prt Sc.

Blog: Included as part of the website.

Demo: No

Coffret paysage

Name: Artisan Pastellier
URL: http://www.artisanpastellier.com/pastels_tendres.php
Narrative: Normally the posts on this blog are confined to artists' websites; but occasionally a related matter is included, and I want to draw your attention to a small pastel manufacturer in the town of Albi in the south of France. Didier Boinnard's shop is in the historic centre of the city, at 5 Rue Puech Berenguier. His products are based on vegetable dyes, including Isatis tinctoria - woad, that give its name in French to the region "le pays de Cocagne" on which I have blogged in an earlier post. This little shop also sells clothing, accessories and so on dyed with woad.

The web page is an eye-watering layout of desirable pastels, in little packets of four for €13.90 to €15.00 depending on the colour range; one can of course buy larger sets of 10, 20, 40, or indeed the complete range of 60 colours. The sets are also available as portrait or landscape selections - I especially like the latter, as it is produced in France with the local landscape firmly in mind. The catalogue is available as a pdf download and the pastels are available via mail order on line.

L’Artisan Pastellier est une petite entreprise composée de trois personnes. Jean-Rémi Hot et Didier Boinnard, artisans pastelliers fabriquent et teintent artisanalement dans l’atelier graulhetois «pays de cocagne». Cathy Jacob s’occupe quant à elle de commercialiser les produits dans une boutique nichée au cœur du vieil Alby.

Les pastels tendres sont façonnés à la main, à base de pigments stables à la lumière, les couleurs végétales naturelles. Ils ont une dimension idéale (diamètre de 14 mm, longueur 60 mm ) pour une bonne prise en main, une fragilité réduite et une grande longévité. Ils sont particulièrement tendres et veloutés. Ces fabrications de couleurs inédites pour artistes ont permis à l’entreprise tarnaise de devenir un sous-traitant de marques connues et de créer des produits innovants adaptés à leurs demandes
Disponibles en coffrets de 4, 10 ou 20 pastels ou en coffret de 40 couleurs assorties.

EL PAIS DE CUCAÑA O EL PAIS DE JAUJA
El imaginario popular de la Edad Media creo un territorio fantastico donde la vida transcurria de la forma mas agradable posible, en el que no era necesario trabajar o se ganaba mucho dinero, muy facilmente y donde habia manjares por todos lados. Se trataba del Pais de Cucaña.
Pero tal vez no fuera un lugar tn fantastico… El nobre, que deriva del francés Pays de Cocagne, hace referencia a la cocagne, la bola que se hacia con las hojas de la planta del pastel, de donde después se extraia el preciado pigmento azul. Cuanto mas tiempo se dejaban secar, mejor era la calidad del mismo. Por eso una expresion de la época decia que « Al Pais de Cocanha, qual lo mai dorm, aquel mai ganha ! », decir , « En el Pais de Cucaña, cuanto mas se duerme, mas se gana ! ». De ahi el mito de un lugar en el que no habia que esforzarse mucho para tener la que se deseara o ser feliz.

Blog: The blog is of course in French: go to http://www.artisanpastellier.com/blog/

“Polperro Harbour” © Mark Whittaker

Name: Mark Whittaker

URL: http://markwhittaker-pastel-artist.co.uk/

And http://www.markspetportraits.co.uk/

Bio: Mark Whittaker is a pastel landscape artist specialising in painting traditional scenes of the landscape and coast of Britain. Mark is an entirely self taught artist born and brought up in Newport, Gwent, South Wales. After a career in the civil service, Mark decided to paint full-time in 2006.
The picturesque fishing harbours of St.Ives and Polperro in Cornwall have been a major source of inspiration for many of his paintings; he is also familiar with the coast of Pembrokeshire, the mountains of the Brecon Beacons and rural Herefordshire.
Mark has exhibited his work throughout South and West Wales and his paintings are to be found in private collections in the United Kingdom and abroad. He is a member of the Pastel Guild of Europe. His work was featured in International Artist Issue no 89, Feb/March 2013.

Medium: Pastel

Subjects: Landscape; pets.

Style: Representational.

Navigation: Links remain available at top of page on both sites.

Gallery: (Landscape site) Cornwall Paintings; Brecon Beacons Paintings; Pembrokeshire Paintings; Herefordshire Paintings; Cotswold Paintings; Devon Paintings.

(Pets) Dog Portrait Paintings; Horse Portrait Paintings.

“Pair of Whippets” © Mark Whittaker

Image View: Thumbnails open in a viewer on a new page and may be scrolled. Dimensions are generally recorded for the landscapes; but not for the animals. Download is possible. Polperro Harbour is 20 x 26 ins, 700 x 454, 188 KB. Pair of Whippets is 800 x 537, 195 KB.

Blog/Demo: No

“Thyme and chives” © Patrick Henry

Name: Patrick Henry

URL: http://artistedudimanche.pagesperso-orange.fr/

Bio: French artist and sculptor Patrick Henry was born in 1958 in a village in the Eure valley, in the heart of Normandy. His website is reticent about his training or his life’s work, but it is clear that he is sought after to give pastel courses, especially with Vocation Pastel at Voisins le Bretonneux, in the south-west suburbs of Paris, where he has participated together with Maxime Bochet, Claude Texier, David Garrison, Cécile Houel, Christine Dumont, David Hervelin, Patrice Latger, and Jean-Yves Leboulanger. He has exhibited in Giverny with the group Art de Pastel en France; and in St. Aulaye.

His work has been featured in several magazines in France: Pratique des Arts, Special Pastel Issue 13, Dec-Jan 2012-2013; and Plaisirs de Peindre, No. 46, August-October 2012.

Medium: Pastel

Subjects: Landscape; figurative; still life; automobiles; motorbikes; sculptures.

Style: Representational.

Navigation: This website is in French, which is no excuse for its poor layout. Comprehensive links are not retained on the pages so that navigation is by use of the back button to refind your previous location. Probably best to go straight to the galleries.

Gallery: Paysages; Portraits; Nus; Natures Mortes; Autos; Délire.

Image View: Thumbnails open in a viewer on a new page. Neither titles nor dimensions are listed. Download is possible. Thyme and chives is 600 x 420, 51 KB.

Blog/Demo: Go to Collaboration Magazine to seee his step-by-step demonstrations for the above-mentioned magazines.

“Stangl Pottery” © Ria Hills

Name: Ria Hills

URL: http://riahills.com/

Bio: Ria Hills was born in The Netherlands, raised in New York and now lives in rural Massachusetts. In 2006 she joined The Daily Painters in order to make small works more affordable to collectors. Ria is a member of the Connecticut Pastel Society and the Blackstone Valley Art Association. Her work can be found in private collections throughout the Americas and Europe.

In December 2009 Ria was selected as a finalist in the still life category of The Artist’s Magazine 26th Annual Art Competition, chosen from 11,000 entries nationwide in the US. In February 2013 the Pastel Journal featured Ria’s work ina piece called titled “Food for Thought”, together with Lisa Ober and Karen Howard.

Medium: Pastel; oil; acrylic.

Subjects: Landscape; figurative; food; pets.

Style: Representational. Ria cites her influences as Georgia O’Keeeffe and Maxfield Parrish.

Technique: Ria says: “For my pastel work I prefer Wallis sanded pastel paper and Art Spectrum Colourfixboards for surfaces. Both papers provide the tooth I need to apply many layers of pastel. My method is conventional – I work from hard to soft pastels in layers. I start each painting with pastel pencils, carefully drawing my shapes. I then block in my colors and shapes with Nupastel and work my way up in layers using progressively softer pastels. I use only my fingers for blending.”

Navigation: All links remain accessible at top of page.

Gallery (click on the titles, not the images): Food Art; Still Life; Outdoors; Animals; People; Surreal; Buildings; Interiors; Florals; Oils and Acrylics.

Image View: Thumbnails open in a pop-up viewer on the same page and can be viewed serially. Dimensions are not listed. Download is possible. Stangl Pottery is 539 x 600, 224 KB.

Blog/Demo: http://riahills.com/dailyblog/

Facebook: yes

“Woods after a Snowy Evening” © Robert H. Lafond

Name: Robert H. Lafond

URL: http://web3.holyfamily.edu/bob/RHLWebSite/Landscapes.html

Bio: Robert H. Lafond, attended the Boston Museum School from 1967-69, has an degree in Art History from Princeton University (1971), where he studied painting under Esteban Vicente, and worked in an art museum for almost twenty years. Robert got his Masters in Communication and Information Studies from Rutgers University in 1995 and is currently Vice President for Information Technology at Holy Family University, Philadelphia.

He has been exhibiting his paintings since 1971; and his pastels especially since 2009, around New Jersey, Vermont and Maine.

Medium: Pastel.

Subjects: Landscape; Still Life. “I prefer to work outdoors, but also do landscapes from my photographs, when it’s raining or cold. An occasional still life comes from whatever I find in the refrigerator. A lot of my recent work focuses upon the landscape of Washington Crossing Park, the Delaware & Raritan Canal, and the Delaware River. I also do a lot of New England landscapes.”

Style: Representational.

Technique: Robert says: “Four years ago, I started drawing every day, after a hiatus of several years from making art. I gradually migrated through the media of pencil, charcoal, pen and ink, colored pencils, to pastels. I now work every day with pastels. I like the immediacy of pastels. I need to respond to the world around me, especially the landscape. Pastels are like extensions of my fingers that give off color, the ultimate alla prima medium. I try to approach creating art from a spiritual perspective, as a thanksgiving, a present moment, a prayer.”

Navigation: All links remain accessible at top of page.

Gallery: Landscapes; Still Life; Portraits (six self-portraits).

Image View: Thumbnails open in a viewer on the new page that features the small thumbnails across the top and can be viewed serially. Dimensions are listed. Download is possible, even encouraged, by a download button. Woods after a Snowy Evening is 8 x 10 ins, is 640 x 518, 104 KB. (I couldn’t resist this painting and couldn’t help thinking of Robert Frost.)

Blog: The link from the website is indirect. Go to http://markandremark.blogspot.com/

“Para lavarse” © Maria Dolores Gil

Name: Maria Dolores Gil

URL: http://jlealgil.wix.com/mariadoloresgil#!

Bio: Maria Dolores Gil was born in Seville (Spain) in 1943. Her father, Professor Don Segundo Gil taught her to paint with oils and watercolors; but she herself developed her pastel technique, which she uses most frequently. She studied further under the painters Don Elias Ferrer and Don Amalio García del Moral. Her work is mainly based on traditional themes of land and the rural environment, light, landscapes, flowers and a myriad of images that show the artistic maturity that springs from her brushes and her love of Andalusian customs.

The numerous solo and group exhibitions in Spain are witness to Maria’s expertise and reputation, and underscore her mastery of the medium. Barcelona, Gerona, Marbella, Oviedo, and above all, her native Seville, have been successful arenas for her paintings, since the fateful day in 1992 when she decided to unveil her talent to public scrutiny.

A standard-bearer for her native Andalusia, Maria’s painting lovingly evoke Spanish customs and ancestry, exciting regular admiration. The press has been universally complimentary, with remarks such as "The works of this artist demonstrate throughout her artistic maturity, exemplified in her use of light and colour”; and "Throughout the exhibition shine everyday items and the ease with which they are treated. The canvases are full of tenderness and poetry"

Maria Dolores Gil Gutiérrez has her studio at Avenida 1^o de Mayo, n^o 28, Gerena, Seville.

Medium: Pastel.

Subjects: Still Life; Floral.

Style: Representational.

Navigation: This website is in Spanish. All links remain accessible at top of page. The website is based on Adobe Flash, including the text, so nothing may be highlighted or copied into a translation tool without transcribing it.

Gallery: Galería

Image View: Thumbnails scroll rapidly across the bottom of the page unless you cotrol it carefully, and enlarge in a Flash viewer. Download is not possible. Paintings are named on mouseover, but no size is given.

Demo/Blog: No

The Société des Pastellistes de France have 2 spaces available for the pastel landscape workshop that Sophie Amauger will organize at Rock House, Co, Mayo, from 8 May to 3 June. The workshop will last 4 days with 1 day at leisure in the middle. The rate : €1,000 per person all in, including transfers from Dublin Airport to Mayo.

Contact Liliane Desmarest, President of the Société des Pastellistes de France at pastellistes@claranet.com or else visit the website of the Société des Pastellistes for an overview.

Le Seau Orange © Sophie Amauger

Sophie Amauger is ideally placed to teach this course. Sophie has been teaching creative arts for children and adults since 2003. Inspired by nature, she paints pastels that she has exhibited both at home and abroad. Her website address is http://www.sophieamauger.com/?page_id=68

I suppose it would be useful to be able to speak French, but it is not essential.

Rock House Ballycroy, Nr. Westport, Co Mayo is a large 1820s lodge on a 30,000 acres sporting estate in North Mayo, one of the wildest and most unspoilt regions of Ireland. The house is surrounded by thirty acres of mature parkland. This contrasts perfectly with the stark beauty of the barren, mountainous landscape that is so characteristic of this region.

For Rock House, the phone number is +353 (0) 85 212 15 64 or email them at rockhouseestate@gmail.com

“Breaking Silence” © Louise Frechette

Name: Louise Frechette, PSA

URL: http://www.frechettegallery.com/

Bio: Louise Frechette was born in San Francisco in 1942. Louise has been an ocean swimmer in San Francisco and has been painting the ocean since 1978. She speaks with reverence and fascination of the sea, saying her artwork is an attempt to transpose life's mystery into something as beautiful - but more tangible.

Louise started using pastels by chance when she ran out of oils at an outdoor show and someone gave her pastels. However, through the use of gold and silver leaf she adds another dimension, creating what she calls "living paintings." The precious metal leaf will tarnish - going greenish or brown - in 10, 20 or 30 years, giving the work a living quality within the timelessness of the pastel medium. The artist has had one-person shows in galleries in four states. She was the recipient of the National Grumbacher Gold Medallion Award at the Wind River Art Artist Guild, Dubois, Wyoming. Her work was featured in the Pastel Journal in August 2008.

Louise's now lives and works in Kennebunkport, Maine.

Medium: Pastel, oil.

Subjects: Seascapes

Style: Representational.

Navigation: Links remain available at left, except on enlarged image, where there is a back button to the gallery page.

Gallery: The Art: Pages 1 through 4.

Image View: Thumbnails enlarge on a new page, where the details are listed. Download is possible. Image quality is excellent. Breaking Silence is 33 x 55 ins, 700 x 357, 108 KB and is pastel and platinum leaf.

Demo/Blog: No

“Koi” © Marbo Barnard

Name: Marbo Barnard, PSA

URL: http://www.marbosart.com/marbosart.html

Bio: Marbo Barnard was born and raised in Japan, and came to the United States in 1956, starting to paint shortly afterwards. She has had a consistent and successful artistic career ever since. She has been successful in over 100 major juried exhibitions in the US and abroad, including the American Pastel Society, the Knickerbocker Artists, the IAPS, and numerous national pastel associations. In addition to the office of President, her lengthy and indispensable tenure on the Board of the Pastel Society of the West Coast included overseeing the prestigious annual international exhibition Pastels U.S.A. which receives 400 to 500 entries from all over the world. In 2008 the PSWC presented her with the Pastel Laureate Award, the highest honor bestowed by that society. Her paintings have featured in various art magazines, including the Pastel Journal, February 2006, the Artist’s Magazine, and Gekan-Bijutsu Japan. She work has also been included in Best of Pastels and Floral Inspirations (Rockport) and Art of Pastel Portraiture, by Madlyn-Ann Woolwich (Watson-Guptill).

Marbo has just (2013) released her book A Life in Pastels.

Medium: Pastel; oil pastel

Subjects: Figurative; still life; landscape

Style: Representational. Her work clearly reflects her Japanese heritage.

Navigation: An elegant website, with the links expressed as little crane logos on the home page. Website is Flash-based throughout.

Gallery:

Image View: Images are scrolled through a Flash viewer. No download is possible. Given the considerable range and timescale of Marbo’s art, it would be rewarding to have more images, and on a larger scale. The gallery is upfront about being a small sample of her work, but looking for it on line is not very fruitful either. This is a regrettable omission for such a major figure in pastel.

Blog/Demo: No

Facebook: Yes

Name: Anthony J. Petchkis

URL: http://www.ajpfineart.com/

Bio: Landscape artist Anthony J. Petchkis was born in 1955, and lives in Lynn, Massachusetts. From 1973-1977 he studied for his Bachelor of Fine Arts from Paier School of Art, New Haven, Connecticut. He returned to the Massachusetts College of Art in 1990-1991 for a Continuing Education course in Printmaking. He is, or has been, Manager of Dick Blick Design Centers, Boston, Massachusetts.

To explore the unique colors of autumn, Anthony draws inspiration from the White Mountains of New Hampshire to the Berkshires of Massachusetts and Connecticut. For the study of atmosphere and drama of summer Anthony paintsalong the marshes and coastline of the North Shore of Massachusetts. Another favorite place to explore in depth is the natural beauty of late spring and summer in Martha's Vineyard.

Anthony’s work was featured in the Pastel Journal, June 2005,

Anthony has been exhibiting his work more over twenty years. His paintings may be found in private and corporate collections, including General Electric, Maine Savings Bank, and GTE. He is currently represented by A Z Fine Arts, Wellesley Hills, Maine.

Medium: Pastel on rag board; oil.

Subjects: Landscape

Artist's Comment: “In a nutshell, the Hudson River School of artists felt the American landscape was a paradise, something transcendental and spiritual. These artists knew that the industrial age with its acquisitions and empire building would eventually destroy this pristine land; thus they felt it was their duty to capture this paradise before it disappeared. The philosophy behind my landscapes is the same, but my style reflects my own place in time and use of mediums. My oil paintings closely follow the example of these American Masters whereas my pastels have a crisper line, and more saturated colors.”

Style: Representational. “What I mean by painting with soft pastel is that I handle this medium the same as I would oil paint. I first start with scrubbing in an under painting, then working up layers to a final glazing, using a fixative between each layer. I obscure the drawn line as much as possible. Covering the whole sheet of paper with pastel till no paper is revealed.”

Navigation: This website does not sem to have been updated since 2003. Links remain available along bottom of page.

Gallery: Paintings

Image View: Eleven images only may be viewed one at a time by scrolling through. Download is possible. Images are small. Off Scotland Road is 22 x 30 ins, and is pastel on rag board.

Demo: No.

Blog: http://ajpfineart.blogspot.com/ Nothing added since 2008.

Name: Robin Sheard Nyikos

URL: http://robinsheardnyikos.fineartstudioonline.com/

Bio: Robin Sheard Nyikos was born in Toronto in 1957 and studied fine art at the Ontario College of Art and Design in Toronto and graduated in 1978. The following year she went to Florence, Italy and participated in OCAD's Florence Program.
Robin spent the next seven years in Europe, painting in France, Mallorca, England and the Canary Islands. Her extensive working method involved plein aire landscapes, seascapes, together with portraits and people both in oils and in pastel. The happy result of all that effort means that her work is in now to be found in collections throughout Europe as well as in Canada. Robin is a Signature Member and Master Pastellist of Pastel Artists Canada. Her work was featured in the Pastel Journal in February 2005.
Robin is represented by the Loch Gallery in Toronto and Winnipeg, Canada. She lives with her husband, the portrait painter Istvan Nyikos, and family in Collingwood, Ontario.

Medium: Pastel; oil.

Subjects: Landscape; Portraits; Still life.

Style: Representational.

Navigation: A FineArtStudioOnline website.

Gallery: Portraits; Landscape; Still Life; Horse/Equestrian

Image View: Thumbnails provide all relevant information on mouseover, and may be enlarged and scrolled. Download is possible. Blossom Time is 29 x 37 ins, 550 x 403, 213 KB.

Demo/Blog: No.

Name: Deborah Bays

URL: http://deborahbaysstudio.com/deborahbaysstudio/Welcome.html

Bio: I cannot understand why I have neglected to post on this major pastel artist before now. I have long known and admired her work. She is certainly among my top ten pastel artists (a list that is close to being fully subscribed…)

Deborah Bays was born in Nashville, Tennessee in 1951.

and spent her early years in the formal study of music, playing both violin and viola. Deborah earned a Bachelor of Arts in Costume Design for the Theatre at the University of Texas at Austin, then went on to complete a Master of Arts in Scenography at Purdue University. She then worked for 25 years designing costumes and sets for the theatre and television. She went on to study drawing and painting at the Art Students League of Denver, Colorado and began showing with a Colorado gallery. This led to her first one woman show in 2000.

Deborah’s maternal grandfather, Clarence Armour, was a self-taught landscape painter. Her first set of oil paints came from him and he became her first painting teacher. On the other side of the family, her father's brother, Joshua Bays, was a very gifted painter and art teacher. Heritage will out!

Deborah’s work has been featured in Southwest Art, the Pastel Journal (she won the Grand Prize in the 2004 Pastel 100) and The Artist’s Magazine. One of my paintings is included in Pure Color:the Best of Pastel published by North Light Books. Deborah is also featured in Les Maitres du Pastel, 2011 published in France by Pratique de Arts. Deborah is recognised as a Master Pastelist by the Pastel Society of America and has represented the PSA at The Butler Institute of American Art.

Deborah is currently represented by Abend Gallery in Denver, Colorado, the Breckenridge Gallery, Breckenridge, Colorado, Portnoy Galleries in Carmel, California, Scottsdale Fine Art in Scottsdale, Arizona, and North Water Gallery in Edgartown, Massachusetts.

Medium: Pastel

Subjects: Still life; Landscape; Figures

Style: Representational. The essence of romance. Deborah uses dramatic lighting to reveal form, and she makes masterly use of lost edges. She is in the mould of all classical artists who revel in the techniques of chiaroscuro, including modern master David Leffel.

Navigation: Links remain available on top of page, with exception of the download image, where a back button is needed. Images are generous, and download is encouraged. A delightful and rewarding website.

Gallery: Available works; Still Life Archive; Landscape Archive; Figure Archive.

Image View: Thumbnails provide information on title and dimension, and may be played as a slideshow in a pop-up window, or enlarged. A download button is provided – this gives a large, downloadable image on a new page. Roses and Teacup is 11 x 14 ins, 800 x 623, 74 KB.

Further images may be viewed on the Breckenridge Gallery website

Demo/Blog: No.

Name: Brennie Brackett, PSA

URL: http://www.brenniebrackett.com/Welcome.html

Bio: Brennie Brackett has been practising painting in pastel for nearly 20 years, and her mastery of the medium shines through her work.

In 2002, Brackett was awarded the status of Master Pastellist in the Pastel Society of America. She is a Signature Member of the Pastel Society of the West Coast, of the Society of Western Artists, and the Marin Society of Artists. She has been the recipient of numerous awards in regional, national and international exhibitions. Brennie’s work has been featured in the Artist’s Magazine; Pure Color: The Best of Pastel (North Light Books); Les Maitres du Pastel - Le Livre 2011, Diverti Publications and Pastel and Pencil Artists of the South Mendocino and North Sonoma Coasts. She was the cover artist in the Pastel Journal, December 2009, wherein she had a revealing conversation with Sarah Strickley.
Brennie's still life paintings tell stories that may be quirky or intriguing, but certainly full of interest and originality. Her stone series reads like a screenplay of the objects depicted. Her animal paintings are equally accomplished and formidable, if seemingly from the atelier of a completely different artist. It is no surprise that her paintings are in private and corporate collections throughout the United States.

Brennie Brackett lives in the hills above the Sonoma Plaza. Her gallery is tucked away in the maze of shops and galleries at 27 East Napa Street, and located in the historic J.G. Marcy Stable built in 1886.

Medium: Pastel; oil. Brennie generally uses Wallis dry-mounted to Gatorboard and her favourite pastel brands are Unison, Girault, and Diane Townsend. Her most treasured (artistic) possession is a three-tiered box of Meng Pastell-Farben made by Muller and Hennig in Dresden in 1874!

Subjects: Still life; animals. Brennie states “Each painting narrates a unique story that evolves from my intuition and instincts. The relationships established between what may at first seem to be mundane or disparate objects are elevated to a more profound state by careful consideration to negative spaces, rhythm and position of the objects I have selected.”

Style: Representational.

Navigation: Links remain available on top of page.

Gallery: Visions/revisions; Still Life; Animals; Stones.

Image View: Thumbnails may be enlarged, and scrolled or viewed by choice by keeping the thumbnail option active. Images are shown in Flash and may not be downloaded. Dimensions are not consistently provided. Nick’s Cove is 24 x 25 ins.

Demo: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p2OhkTuySrI and
http://vimeo.com/31617787

Blog: No

Name: Jon Friedman

URL: http://www.jonrfriedman.com/

Bio: My first encounter with the work of Jon Friedman was in the pages of the Pastel Journal, December 2010. Now and again one has the jolt and the joy of seeing something unexpected, unanticipated, and frankly inexplicable in a medium with which one had become comfortable, one saw as predictable – and then some Friedman jumps out of the pastel box and shouts “Boo” – and don’t we all need this experience to keep us keen and fresh and on our toes.

Jon Friedman attended the Corcoran Museum School in 1968 to study printmaking; the following year was spent in the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture while taking his BA in Philosophy at Princeton. In 1971 he graduated from Cranbrook Academy of Art with an MFA in painting and sculpture. He was immediately appointed Visiting Lecturer in Art in Connecticut College until 1977, during which period he acted as Invited Lecturer in the Hirshhorn Museum, Smithsonian Institute. His resumé from then till now is too long to rehearse – you may see it on his website, but you may take it that his exhibitions, awards and representation in private and national collections are numerous and prestigious. However, briefly, I can say that Friedman's work is displayed in mural and sculpture form at the Nathan Cummings Foundation in New York; he was granted a Residency Grant at the Ossabaw Island Project in Georgia; and he was a University Scholar for Princeton University. He has held solo exhibitions in New York, Washington D.C., Chicago, and Santa Monica, California and his work is displayed in such prominent and diverse corporate collections as American Telegraph & Telephone, the National Academy of Sciences in Washington D.C., the American Broadcasting Company in New York, and Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceuticals.

Medium: Pastel; oil; sculpture.

Technique : Jon Friedman uses all the tools at his disposal—everything from pastel and Flashe paint to sandpaper and a spray bottle—to capture his creative vision.C/f the Pastel Journal, December 2010 for more.

Subjects: (in pastel) Nature; Landscape

Style: Representational – hyperrealism.

Navigation: Links remain available at side of page.

Gallery: Paintings; Portraits (some pastels); Sculpture; Works on paper and Pastels.

Note: there are sub-galleries in these categories; I am concerned only with the Pastel Gallery in this blog.

Image View: Two pages of thumbnails that may be enlarged, and scrolled by clicking on image on screen. Information in provided in column on left of screen. Download is possible. Solitary Lotus is 48 x 66 ins., 700 x 506, 82 KB; Charcoal and pastel.

Demo/Blog: No

Name: Liz Haywood-Sullivan
URL: http://www.lizhaywoodsullivan.com/
Bio: Liz Haywood-Sullivan graduated from the Rochester Institute of Technology
- Department of Fine and Applied Arts, in 1978 with a BFA in Environmental Design. She spent a year with Xerox as an Industrial Designer before striking out on her own as a freelance illustrator. In 1993 she became President of Haywood and Sullivan, a web/graphic design firm with national clientele; currently she is a partner in the firm specialising in fine art and photography creation and management.
In 1992 she had her first outing in the Pastel Journal in a piece titled “Massachusetts artist turns from technology to art”; she has been back in 2007, 2010 and 2011 in illustrative pieces demonstrating her mastery of skies and atmospheric effects. She has also appeared in The Artist’s Magazine, American Artist, and American Art Collector.
Liz has been showing her work and winning awards since her auspicious foray into the medium, including most recently the Diane Bernhard Gold Medal for Excellence, 127th Annual Salmagundi Members Show, 2010; the Connecticut Pastel Society“Renaissance in Pastel” Annual National show, Best in Show 2012; and the Salmagundi Club, Annual Fall Auction top award, 2012.
Liz is in demand for her pastel teaching, and has issued a number of instructional DVDs including Painting Realistic Landscapes in Pastel; and Water & Reflections – Painting Realistic Landscapes in Pastel– both available from Northlight Books. She has made use of her teaching experience to author a new book on pastel – always a welcome event (see below).
Liz is currently the President of the IAPS (International Association of Pastel Societies). She succeeded to the post after the untimely death of Maggie Price, co-founder of the Pastel Journal.
Medium: Pastel.
Subjects: Landscape
Style: Representational.
Publications : Liz and her work has been featured in a number of books:
Art Journey : American Landscapes; Kathryn Kipp; Northlight Books, 2011. ISBN 13 9781440315244
Painting Sunlight and Shadow in Pastel; Maggie Price; ISBN 13 9781440303913.

Painting Brilliant Skies and Water in Pastel, Liz Haywood-Sullivan; Northlight Books. ISBN 13 9781440322556
Navigation: Navigation is straightforward - you can easily see the paintings, which is the point of an artist’s website!
Gallery: Atmosphere ; Environment ; Light.
Image View: Large thumbnails enlarge on new page, where information in provided on the painting. Download is possible. Shimmer is a 20 x 36 ins. painting of the North River marsh near Liz's home in Marshfield, Maine.
Demo/Blog: Not on the website; buy the DVDs and book!

Stan Sperlak

Jean-Claude Muret

John Philbin Dolan

Rebecca Margolese-Malin

Matthew Rezac

Artisan Pastellier, Albi

Mark Whittaker

Patrick Henry

Article 0

Robert Lafond

Maria Dolores Gil

Pastels with Sophie in Mayo

Louise Frechette

Marbo Barnard

Anthony J. Petchkis

Robin Sheard Nyikos

Deborah Bays

Brennie Brackett

Jon Friedman

Liz Haywood-Sullivan