My article on Irish artist Victor Richardson is published in the December 2013 issue of the Pastel Journal, and his work was chosen for the cover of the issue. The magazine is on the bookstands, but is also available as a digital download from the North Light shop.
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
Ellen Eagle's new book
A new book on painting in pastels is always a welcome event in publishing. It is even more welcome when the book is by somebody who is as thoroughly versed in their art - and craft - as Ellen Eagle. Ellen's new book is called Pastel Painting Atelier – Essential Lessons in Techniques, Practices, and Materials. It is published by Watson Guptill; and Crown Publishing, and will cost $35 US or $41 Canada. It is also available as an ebook. Publication date is April 23, 2013!
Linda Barnicott
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“Meet Me Under Kaufmann’s Clock” © Linda Barnicott
|
Name: Linda Barnicott
Bio: Linda Barnicott began her career as a portrait artist in 1975.
Today she is perhaps better known for her Pittsburgh cityscapes. She began in
1989 with a tribute to downtown holiday shopping entitled Meet Me Under
Kaufmann’s Clock. The work immediately won the hearts of Pittsburghers, who
have been meeting friends under the clock downtown for years. After this Linda
created several series of Pittsburgh landmarks, and in 1995 she began her
Kennywood Park series.
Linda was chosen to be the official artist of the 1996 Three Rivers
Regatta. Since 1998, she has been commissioned by the American Cancer Society
of Greater Pittsburgh to create the painting used on their annual holiday card.
In 2000, Linda received a special Proclamation from the City of Pittsburgh,
commemorating her “tremendous contribution in capturing and preserving many
sites in and around the Pittsburgh Area.” This is an honor she holds dear, as a
largely self-taught artist. However, over the years Linda has studied with
Daniel Greene (1981 and 1983) and with Richard McKinley (2010 and 2011). In
March of 2008, she was the cover story in Professional Artist.
Barnicott‘s work has been displayed at the Oncology Wellness Institute
in Meadville, Pennsylvania as part of their holistic approach to cancer
treatment. In 2011, she was asked to be the exclusive artist for the new West
Penn Allegheny Outpatient Facility in Peters Township, providing this facility
with over 50 paintings. That same year, Barnicott was honored to partner with
Healthy Lungs Pennsylvania to develop their annual holiday print and ornament.
Linda's studio is in Monroeville, Pennsylvania where she lives with
her husband and two daughters. She is a member of the Salmagundi Club in New York.
Medium: Pastel; some pastels are underpainted with watercolor or oil
Subjects:
Landscape. Nostalgia
Style:
Representational.
Navigation: I
usually confine my remarks to ease of navigation, and the professionalism of a
website. This website is one from which artists can learn to market their work.
It is well thought out and constructed, and provides easy access to a wide range
of original art, reproductions, prints; note cards, collectibles and ornaments
based on Linda’s art. The main menu and all relevant menus remain accessible at
all times. Linda makes use of her web-site for a resource and as a selling tool.
She has a hardcopy catalog of her work that may also be downloaded as a PDF on the
web-site. Linda’s company, Linda Barnicott Publishing, LLC, was chosen
as a winner of the prestigious 2006 Forbes® Enterprise Award. Linda was honored
at a luncheon and presentation held on February 5, 2007 at the Frederick P.
Rose Hall at the Home of Jazz At Lincoln Center in New York City. So
well done to Linda, to Margaret Ward and to Wild West Online Productions.
Gallery: A drop
down list gives access to : Pittsburgh Scenes; Pittsburgh Sports; Amusement
Parks; Western Pennsylvania Scenes; Landscapes; Lighthouses; Autumn’s Glow at
Krepps Covered Bridge; Pennsylvania Universities; New York. See also Original
Landscape Paintings for Sale, with two subgalleries: Beautiful Beyond
Pittsburgh series and Pennsylvania Route 6 series.
Image View:
Thumbnails enlarge on new page. Clicking on them may bring you to a giclée
print if the original has been sold; the dimension is stated. The image may be
saved, but usually has a watermark embedded. A slideshow displays her Original
Landscape Paintings.
Blog/Demo: No
Monday, November 26, 2012
Jennifer Gardner
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“Rolling Hills IV” © Jennifer Gardner |
Name: Jennifer
Gardner, PSA
Bio: Born in London, and raised in Windsor, Jennifer Gardner
developed an interest in art in her early childhood. After an early career as a
lawyer, Jennifer abandoned her legal career in 1999 and emigrated to the United
States to paint full-time.
After an early start in ink and oil painting Jennifer now paints
with pastel and watercolor; she finds the vibrancy and vitality of
the pastel medium lends itself particularly well to her rendering of light and
color in her abstracts, cityscapes, landscapes and seascapes. Much of her
inspiration is drawn from her extensive travels across Europe, the United
States, the Caribbean and the Far East.
Jennifer has loyal clients in the USA, South America and Europe,
comprising both private and commercial collectors. Her work is frequently shown
at national juried exhibitions across the United States and at many of the
annual art shows throughout New England and Florida. Her work can also be seen
at galleries in Acton, and in
Newburyport, Maine, and East Greenwich,
Connecticut, as well as in museums and corporate collections, and
by appointment at her studio in Sarasota, Florida.
Jennifer is a Signature Member of the Pastel Society of
America and her work has been published numerous times in the Pastel
Journal, American Artist Magazine, The Artist’s Magazine and also
published online at practicalpainting.com. Jennifer is also published in the
Best of America Pastel Artists (Volume II) book and listed in the Artists'
Bluebook Worldwide Edition.
Jennifer will be jurying the abstract/non-objective category of the 14th
Annual Pastel 100 Competition in 2013.
Medium: Pastel; watercolour
Subjects:
Landscape. Abstract.
Style:
Impressionist to abstract.
Navigation: Easy.
Main menu remains on top and has three headings that lead to subheadings under
their categories. The subheadings menu remains at the side within its section.
Gallery:
Abstracts; Cityscapes; Landscapes; Seascapes; Abstract Flowers; Abstract
Landscapes. New Paintings; Award-winning paintings.
Image View:
Thumbnails open in a wheel-style viewer. Use your mouse wheel, or arrow keys to
flip through the artwork. Double-click any image to view enlarged image; dimension is stated.
Image may be saved. Rolling Hills IV is 20 x 18 ins, 600 x 550, 100 KB.
Blog/Demo: No, but there is an informative interview with the artist on the Practical Painting website
Saturday, November 24, 2012
Marcia Wegman
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“Anamosa Hills” © Marcia Wegman |
Name: Marcia Wegman, PSA
Bio: Marcia Wegman was born in Washington, D.C. on October 30, 1935. She
attended Miami University in Hamilton, Ohio, where she earned a BFA degree in
graphic design, Magna Cum Laude, in 1957. From 1957-1961, she studied at the
University of Iowa where she completed her MFA degree in intaglio printmaking
with with Mauricio Lasansky. Marcia then worked in oil, watercolor, acrylic,
handmade paper, and mixed media collage over a thirty-five year period. When
she tried painting an English Lake District landscape with an old set of
pastels she realized this was her perfect medium. She is now a signature member
of the PSA. The Midwest landscape has been a
lifelong inspiration, first in Ohio, then in Iowa. Marcia delights in
proving that Iowa is anything but boring in her paintings.
Her works have been selected for many group and one person exhibits
throughout the Midwest. She has been involved with Heifer International,
creating paintings reflecting a trip sponsored by that group through Lithuania
and Latvia in 2007. She also has received significant commissions from the
University of Iowa including a large quadriptych in 2008 from the College of
Medicine and several paintings commissioned by the College of Nursing. She
painted landscapes for the Marriott Hotel and Conference Center in Coralville,
Iowa. She also painted an Iowa landscape for MAPP, a private organization formed
to prevent 600 acres of farmland once painted by Grant Wood from being turned
into a county landfill. A number of her paintings have been made into limited
editions of prints to be used for fundraising purposes as well as sold by the
artist.
Marcia’s awards
include being a finalist in the International Artist Magazine, August/Sept
2010; a Merit Award at the Iowa State Fair Fine Art Exhibition 2010; and
winner of The Artist's Magazine Over 60 Competition, March 2011
She received an Honorable Mention in the Pastel 100, in April 2011, and was the feature of an article in the December 2013 issue of the Pastel Journal.
Marcia is the author/illustrator of a children’s book, Lula Belle, published by Outskirts Press in 2007.
Medium: Pastel;
Acrylic. Says Marcia, “Pastels lend themselves to developing the ephemeral
aspects of light and color in the landscape. I enjoy challenging myself in
constantly finding new ways to explore the forms, rhythm, lines, repetition,
light and color in the Iowa landscape.”
Subjects:
Landscape. Portraits (not her forte). Floral. Abstract.
Style:
Representational.
Navigation: Easy.
Main menu remains available on left.
Gallery: Iowa
Landscapes; Other Places; Abstract Paintings (all acrylic); Portraits; Florals;
Commissions (all acrylic).
Image View:
Thumbnails open on a viewer on same page on mouseover. This makes it
practically impossible to download any images other than those on the outside
columns of the thumbnails, as to move off a thumbnail changes the enlarged
image in the viewer, unless you can move directly from the viewer to a blank
space on the page. Anamosa Hills is 30 x 30 ins
Blog/Demo: No
Friday, November 23, 2012
Alice Laputka
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“Fall Snow” © Alice Laputka |
Name: Alice Laputka, PSA
Bio: Pennsylvania artist Alice Laputka is a graduate of the Philadelphia
College of Art (now the University of the Arts) with a BFA in advertising. Her
background includes print design, television graphics, animated film work and
teaching. She has studied with Bill Herring (who helped get her gallery
representation), Miles Batt and Katherine Chang Liu. She has had over a dozen
solo exhibitions and has exhibited in over two hundred regional, national and
international juried shows. Her
paintings are in numerous corporate and private collections throughout the
United States.
Her paintings have
been featured in Pastel Artist International Magazine, International
Artist Magazine and The Artist’s Magazine as well as Rockport
Publishers The Best of Acrylic Painting. A feature article Windows of
Colour in the October 2012 issue of the Pastel Journal is an excellent
exposition of her approach and method.
Laputka has done
editing and writing for the Pastel Society of America where she holds signature
member status. She has been inducted into the Master Circle of the
International Association of Pastel Societies and is a signature member of the
Catharine Lorillard Wolfe Art Club, Knickerbocker Artists, the Pennsylvania
Watercolor Society, and the Philadelphia Water Color Society. She is a
professional artist member of the Main Line Art Center and an exhibiting member
of Philadelphia Tri-State Artist Equity.
Medium: Pastel; oil;watercolour. Laputka often creates her own support from Lenox or
Stonehenge printmaking paper which she coats with two layers of equal parts
gesso or acrylic paint, ground pumice and distilled water. With a paper surface
she also covers the back with gesso to prevent the paper from curling. She also
uses Strathmore illustration board, watercolour paper, or hardboard.
Subjects: Landscape
Style: Colourist.
Laputka’s work reminds me of the late Elsie Dinsmore Popkin, but more abstract
in approach.
Navigation: While
the website is easy to work around, the design elements are lacking, especially
on the pages where thumbnails seem lost as they are widely dispersed on the
page. The enlarged images open on a page where no links whatsoever are
provided, not forward, not back. Of the three links to artists’ sites, one is
incorrect; and Jan Crooker, when found, is not a pastellist, as the link
suggests.
Gallery:
Landscapes; Barns and buildings; Plein air; Abstract; Oils
Image View: Each
thumbnail may be enlarged; information
on each image is provided. Enlargements open on a new page, with no links to
anywhere – either use the back button, or open the enlargement with a right
click- open link in new tab/window. Download is possible but all images have a
large watermark.I have chosen to feature Fall Snow (671 x 518, 349 KB) as the watermark is not too obtrusive in the snowy ground.
Blog/Demo: No
Monday, November 19, 2012
Alexandre Moreau
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“Mormaison” © Alexandre Moreau |
Name: Alexandre Moreau
Bio: French
pastellist Alexandre
Moreau was born in 1984. He spent his school years drawing on his desk and on
the blank margins of his school books. Once he finished school, he tried
drawing nature with pencil and watercolour, but felt he did not have the
technique. However, after visiting the pastel exhibition in
Saint-Florent-le-Vieil in 2009 he tunred his attention to pastel, when he saw
the possibilities of the medium for rendering landscape and light. He also
liked the pastels for their ability to draw and paint simultaneously. A course
with Patrice Bourdin in 2010 to learn the basic of the medium was followed by a
session with master pastellist and landscape artist Peter Thomas in 2012. Like
Peter, Alexandre works primarily en plein air, with studio sessions reserved
for finishing. Alexandre wasted no time in exhibiting his work, and has already
won prizes, including Mormaison (above) that won the 1st prize for natural heritage
in Rocheserviere.
Medium: Pastel
Subjects: Landscape
Style:
Representational
Navigation: The
website is in French, and for a French site is professionally designed and
presented. It is a pleasure to navigate.
Gallery: Galeries: Presented
year by year.
Image View: Each
thumbnail may be enlarged;
alternatively you can choose “grand format” and scroll through the collection.
Information on each image is provided on mouseover, although this information
is brought up on the image itself and cuts out the base section where it is
placed. Dimension is not always included, but Alexandre works on Pastel Card,
so that should give an indication of
the limits of size. Download is not possible.
Blog/Demo: No Patrice Landry
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“Citrons au panier” © Patrice Landry |
Name: Patrice
Landry, PSEC
URL: Version française: http://www.minamots.com/francais/mm-artiste-f.php
English version: http://www.minamots.com/english/artiste-e.php
Bio: Quebec artist
Patrice Landry was born in 1960 and from an early age was drawing,
experimenting with cartoons and making comic strips. He studied Graphic Art,
and worked as a graphic designer for 8 years, his output varying from packaging
and advertising to animation and technical drawing. In 2000 he started painting
seriously with oils, acrylics and pastel. He is currently an analyst-programmer
specialized in Web technologies and is also the author of a published novel at
Éditions Minamots.
Patrice is a
Signature member Pastel Society of Eastern Canada, he is also editor of the PSEC members' newletter
(PastelPost) and programmer and webmaster of the website as well as many other
public and private sites. Recent awards include Pastel Toujours,
St-Antoine-sur-Richelieu, 2010 (2nd prize for Citrons au panier, above) and Pastel Toujours, PSEC, Galerie in Vivo, Montréal, 2006.
Medium: Pastel;
oil; acrylic.
Subjects: Landscape; Still Life; Animals.
Style:
Representational
Navigation: The
website has a French, and an English version; and is very simply laid out. The
paintings are classified by medium, and by theme.
Gallery: Under
Pastel, scroll the categories under these headings: Paysage (landscape);
Inspiration de maitre (A master’s inspiration); Portrait; Paysage de mer
(seascape); Nature morte (still life); Animaux (animals)
Image View: Each
thumbnail is provided with information
on title, dimension and support. Click
to enlarge and get further commentary by the artist. The only flaw seems to lie
in the “back to artwork” link, which doesn’t work for me in either language.
Download is allowed.
Blog/Demo: No
Sunday, November 18, 2012
Jacques Boissinot
“Harmonie d’automne” © Jacques Boissinot
|
Name: Jacques Boissinot
Bio: Jacques
Boissinot was born in Quebec in 1957 and lives in Gatineau, the fourth largest
city in Quebec province. It is located on the northern banks of the Ottawa River, immediately
across from Ottawa, and together
they form Canada's National Capital
Region.
Boissinot studied drawing at Ottawa School of Art and at Hull, followed by a course in Visual Arts at UQO (Université du Québec en Outaouais). Boissinot describes himself as an Outaouais artist, Outaouais comprising part of the National Capital Region, where a large proportion of the population is bilingual. He certainly has painted many landscapes of the region in diverse media. He has been painting for 35 years, inspired by nature and loving to paint in plein air; has been exhibiting since 1988 and having solo shows since 2001.
Boissinot studied drawing at Ottawa School of Art and at Hull, followed by a course in Visual Arts at UQO (Université du Québec en Outaouais). Boissinot describes himself as an Outaouais artist, Outaouais comprising part of the National Capital Region, where a large proportion of the population is bilingual. He certainly has painted many landscapes of the region in diverse media. He has been painting for 35 years, inspired by nature and loving to paint in plein air; has been exhibiting since 1988 and having solo shows since 2001.
Medium: Pastel;
oil; acrylic.
Subjects:
Landscape
Style:
Impressionist
Navigation:
Website is in French. Menu at side except when you go into a gallery, from
which it is impossible to escape! Just go into the address bar and wipe out the
text that follows after the .com bit to retrun to the home page.
Gallery: Pastels;
Huile/Acrylique (Oils/Acrylics); Aquarelles (Watercolours); Contemporain
(Contemporary).
Image View: The
thumbnails at the bottom of the gallery page enlarge in a viewer on the page
and the enlargements may be scrolled by clicking on each one or on the
direcitonal arrows on top of viewer. Information is provided on title, and
dimension. Download is allowed. Harmonie d’automne is 8 x 10 ins, 970 x 768, 214 KB.
Blog/Demo: No
Marsha Savage
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“Crossing” © Marsha Savage |
Name: Marsha
Savage
Bio: Marsha Hamby
Savage of Smyrna, Georgia, has been painting for over 30 years. She
originally painted in oils and acrylics, but about 20 years ago pastels became
her medium. She is a Member of Excellence in the Southeastern Pastel Society, a
Merit member of the Atlanta Artist Center, the Blue Ridge Mountains Arts
Association, the North Georgia Artists' Assoc., and the International Plein Air
Painters.
Marsha paints both
plein air and in her studio; she is responsible for the “Southeast Landscape Set”
produced by Terry Ludwig handmade pastels.
Her paintings have
been accepted into many shows and have won numerous awards including "Best
of Show" at the Great Chattahoochee Paint Out in Roswell GA. In 2010,
three paintings were chosen to be displayed at the Georgia State Capital. Her
paintings are in corporate and private collections across the United
States.
Marsha is
represented by Wrapsody In Blue, Blue Ridge GA, dk Gallery, Marietta, GA and
Windrush Gallery, Sedona AZ. She is also represented by Xanadu Gallery on-line.
Medium: Pastel;
oil; acrylic.
Subjects:
Landscape; still life.
Style:
Representational
Navigation: This
is tricky enough to negotiate – there is no clarity or consistent approach to
links. And the home page has a distracting background image that does not
facilitate reading the text. Once in the galleries, look to a small link on the
bottom of the page to get back to Home and the next gallery. The links on the left of the homepage are not formatted and the whole has an amateurish quality that is difficult to forgive at this point of the web's development. This is a pity, as the paintings are far superior to the site.
Gallery: Studio
Paintings; Plein Air and Studies; Archives.
Image View: The
thumbnails generally enlarge in a viewer on a new page and the enlargements may
be scrolled without returning to the thumbnails. Some archived images just
enlarge in a new page; some don’t enlarge at
all! Information is provided on medium, and dimension. Crossing is 18 x
24 ins, 578 x 432, 350 KB.
Demo: No
Saturday, November 17, 2012
Denise Bunkert
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“Fall’s Arrival” © Denise Bunkert |
Name: Denise
Bunkert
Bio: A Master
Colorist and distinguished member of the Lake Country Pastel Society and
Outdoor Painters of Minnesota, Denise Bunkert draws from nature, music and
poetry to inspire luminous paintings. Her huge experience in design and art
helps her in creating paintings which range from pastel landscapes and intimate scenes of nature to
whimsical and sophisticated murals. Her awards and exhibitions are
numerous and she is frequently invited to teach classes at gallery exhibitions
of her work.
Denise graduated
in 1992 with a B.S., University of Wisconsin – Stout, Menomonie, WI. with a
major in Graphic Arts and Design.
Denise has
thirteen years experience as graphic designer for Twin Cities publishing
companies. She has taught college level
design courses - she was Graphic Design Instructor for Minneapolis Business
College, Academy College - but her true vocation has always been that of a fine
artist and teacher. She continued her own exploration of art with extensive
coursework that included a period with Susan Sarback’s School of Light &
Color in 2004; and pastel workshops with Albert Handel, Maggie Price, and
Desmond O’Hagan.
The Pastel
Journal, June 2006 article: Marketing your artwork featured her award
winning painting Fall's Arrival.
Medium: Pastel;
oil; Wall paintings.
Subjects: Natural
subjects from landscapes to butterfly wings.
Style:
Representational
Navigation: Main menu
remains at top at all times.
Publications: Essence: Nature in Vision &
Verse, 2005.
Mirrors of
the Soul: Reflections on Life's Seasons, 2009 with English poet, Richard
Whitfield.
Gallery: Four
pages of ten thumbnails each, the last ones including some of Denise’s murals.
Image View: The thumbnails
enlarge in a Flash Player on the same page and may not be downloaded.
Information is provided on medium, and dimension. Fall's Arrival is 25 x 18 ins.
Blog/Demo: No
Thursday, November 15, 2012
Debora Stewart
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“The First Raven” © Debora Stewart |
Name: Debora L. Stewart,
PSA
Bio: Debora
Stewart gained a M.S.Ed. Counselor Education, Western Illinois University,
Macomb, Illinois, and her B.A. Art Education, University of Iowa, Iowa City. As a middle school art teacher and counsellor, Debora finds herself using
art to help people, adolescents especially, better understand themselves. Her
work is largely intuitive and imaginative, but it’s rooted in nature and the
artist’s familiarity with natural forms. Her colour choices are inspired by the
colours of nature too – flowers, sunsets, rivers, the seasons. She likes to
create work with an expressive, gestural line, for which pastels are
ideal, combining as they do drawing with painting.
Debora is a member
of the Iowa Pastel Association, the Pastel Painters of Chicago, and a Signature
Member of the Pastel Society of America. She has figured in the Pastel 100 in
2010 and 2011 and in International Artist Magazine in 2012, and her work is
featured in the book Finding Your Style in Pastel by Jean Hirons.
Medium: Pastel. Debora works on sanded pastel paper that is mounted later on archival board. This allows her the opportunity to be experimental. She often begins with an initial line of vine charcoal or an underpainting of oil paint. Small sections of previously completed line drawings are used as the basis for her paintings. Debora says that her ultimate goal is to create a richly textured pastel painting with beauty and depth that reflects the mystery and spirit of the natural world.
Medium: Pastel. Debora works on sanded pastel paper that is mounted later on archival board. This allows her the opportunity to be experimental. She often begins with an initial line of vine charcoal or an underpainting of oil paint. Small sections of previously completed line drawings are used as the basis for her paintings. Debora says that her ultimate goal is to create a richly textured pastel painting with beauty and depth that reflects the mystery and spirit of the natural world.
Subjects:
Abstract. As I rarely feature abstract artists, I will let Debora speak for
herself: “I am most inspired by creating work with a gestural, expressive line
and intuitive color choice. My work is not an observational record but
contains elements of an emotional experience in nature. I am drawn to
shadows and reflections of light and I believe this is also evident in my work.”
Style: Debora
states: “My work is primarily abstractions in pastels. I do enjoy working
with animal imagery periodically. This allows me to bring some
representational images to my work. It also allows me to express my love
for animals. My intent with these images is to create an emotional
connection with the collector and the spirit of the animal.”
Navigation: Main
menu remains at side at all times,
Gallery:
Abstractions; Small Abstractions; Transitions; Animal Abstractions.
Image View: The
galleries scroll from side to side, as do the thumbnails when one chooses a
gallery. Thumbnails enlarge in a viewer on the same page and may not be
downloaded. Information is provided on medium, support and dimension. The First
Raven is 15 x 22 ins.
Blog/Demo: No
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
Claudette Gamache
![]() |
“ Bunker Hill ” © Claudette Gamache |
Name: Claudette Gamache, PSA
Bio: Claudette
Gamache followed a career as a registered nurse, but her passion always
remained in the arts. As mature student, she received her BFA from the
University of Hartford. She combined her interests to pursue an MA in
Expressive Arts Therapies and Holistic Studies at Lesley University and later
became a registered art therapist.
Claudette is a Signature member of the Pastel Society of America, Pastel Painters of Maine, the Ct. Pastel Society and a Master Circle member of the International Association of Pastel Societies. She is a contributor to 100 Ways to Paint Landscapes (International Artist Publishing 2004). She has presented to many groups in the art and health field in New England, New Orleans and Beijing, China. She is in Who’s Who of American Women and American Art. Her work has been selected for a national invitational show of the Pastel Painters of America held at the Butler Institute of American Art in Youngstown, Ohio. Her paintings, which number well over 500, hang in many corporate and private collections. Claudette lives at Popham Beach, where she works plein air as well as in her studio; she teaches workshops in Maine and is a mentor for the MFA program at Heartwood College of Art in Kennebunk, Maine.
Medium: Pastel. Claudette uses a layering technique - up to 20 layers. Choosing the proper papers, pastels, brushes, turpenoid and fixatives helps to make this process work. She states that her practice of layering colour over colour, taking it out with a brush, reflection, connecting with and repeating this process many times can last for days, weeks or months.
Medium: Pastel. Claudette uses a layering technique - up to 20 layers. Choosing the proper papers, pastels, brushes, turpenoid and fixatives helps to make this process work. She states that her practice of layering colour over colour, taking it out with a brush, reflection, connecting with and repeating this process many times can last for days, weeks or months.
Subjects:
Landscape.
Style:
Representational with an element of impressionism.
Navigation: Main
menu remains on top at all times,
Gallery: Nature
Landscapes; Coastal Paintings; France.
Image View:
Thumbnails enlarge in a lightbox viewer and may not be downloaded. Most
enlargements carry a title and size. Bunker Hill is 27 x 38 ins.
Blog/Demo: No
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
Sarah Pollock
![]() |
“The
Eavesdroppers” © Sarah Pollock
|
Name: Sarah
Pollock
Bio: Originally
from southern Wisconsin, Sarah Pollock began her artistic career as a colour
stylist for Walt Disney Features Animation. She now works in central Pennsylvania,
often outdoors, directly on location. She also finds inspiration in the natural
and urban scenes that she encounters on her travels throughout the United
States.
Sarah began
exhibiting in 2003 and her paintings are in private collections throughout the
country. Sarah has won numerous awards in competitive national juried
exhibitions, including the 2004 Pastel 100, in which her cityscape, Homeless,
Downtown D.C., was featured.
Over the past
several years, Sarah has served as a board member for the Maryland Pastel
Society and the Art Alliance of Central Pennsylvania. She is also a
member of the Mid-Atlantic Plein Air Painters Association. Sarah teaches a
class on colour for beginning artists at the Art Alliance of Central Pennsylvania
during the fall of each year.
In 2010, Sarah
published From My Easel: A Celebration of Pennsylvania’s Black Moshannon State
Park. The book features five years of her plein air paintings from the park as
well as a history about this location. One half of the proceeds from the sale
of each book will be donated to benefit the park.
Sarah’s works can
be seen at the State College Framing Company and Gallery in State College,
Pennsylvania, and the William Ris Gallery in Stone Harbor, New Jersey
Medium: Pastel.
Subjects: Cityscapes;
Landscape
Style: Loose,
painterly. Sarah states: “Light at the edge of day, near sunset or sundown, is
most intriguing to me. I’m attracted to landscapes with dramatic
angles, impressive skies, and natural bodies of water. In my cityscapes, I
emphasize the beauty of the everyday. These paintings capture a range of
subjects, from dynamic, down-the-street views to intimate portraits of
anonymous individuals.”
Navigation: This
website is in blog format. There is also an acknowledged - and very readable – blog page.
Gallery:
Cityscapes; Landscapes
Image View:
Thumbnails enlarge on a new page and a rich commentary is provided on each
piece. These enlargements may be scrolled. A zoom feature is provided for some
images that permits you to examine the piece in a movable “magnifier”. Download
is permitted, but images have a copyright watermark. The Eavesdroppers is 16 x
24 ins.
Blog:
http://www.sarahpollock.com/category/blog/
Patrick Bechtold
![]() |
“Poires II” © Patrick Bechtold |
Name: Patrick
Bechtold
Bio: Patrick
Bechtold lives and paints in
Folschviller, a commune in
the Moselle department in Lorraine in
north-eastern France. In May 2004, after some months of initiation into
drawing and watercolours, Patrick responded to an advertisement in Pratique des
Arts for a pastel course in Messein; the course was led by someone who would
change his life forever – Alain Victor. Taking the plunge immediately, Patrick
started winning prizes straight away, starting with a third in portraiture in Folschviller in 2004, followed by a first
in pastel in Creutzwald the same year.
Alain Victor
passed away in 2005, and Patrick subsequently studied under Claude Texier,
Thierry Citron, Gwenneth Barth, and Maxime Bochet. In the Numéro Spécial N°94 of Pratique des Arts, 2010, master pastellist Claude Texier
introduced her one-time student. Patrick had evidently gone from strength to
strength in a very small time period, demonstrating his passion and dedication
to the medium.
Medium: Pastel.
Apart from the more usual brands, Patrick uses Jaxell pastels (a brand new to
me) for their unique and particularly bright colours. Patrick has also moved on
from the normal supports of Canson, Art Spectrum and Pastel Card to
manufacturing his own supports with an acrylic base.
Subjects: Animals;
Figurative; Still Life; Landscape
Style: Loose,
painterly.
Navigation: This
website is available in French and in English. Main Menu remains available at
top of page.
Gallery: By year
from 2004 to date.
Image View:
Thumbnails enlarge on a new page and the enlargements may be scrolled..
Download is permitted. Poires, II is 47 x 50 cms.
Demo/Blog: No
Monday, November 12, 2012
Mario Andres Robinson
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“Oscar” © Mario Andres Robinson |
Name: Mario Andres Robinson
Bio: Mario Andres Robinson was born in Altus,
Oklahoma, where he resided with his family before relocating to New Jersey at
the age of twelve. Robinson was encouraged to develop his innate talent for the
expression of visual art by a fifth grade teacher, and thereupon
began building what would soon become a prodigious body of work. Robinson went
on to study at the prestigious Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York.
From the beginning of his career, Mario Andres
Robinson's muse was the work of the great masters: Degas, Rembrandt, Vermeer.
Robinson studied their techniques, deconstructed their works. He continued to subject the work of various contemporary American artists to the same painstaking analysis. Beginning in
1994, Robinson's work began extensively to incorporate rural subjects primarily
located in the state of Alabama.
Mario Andres Robinson is an Exhibiting Artist Member (EAM) of The National
Arts Club, an Artist Member of The Salmagundi Club and a Signature Member
of the Pastel Society of America. He has exhibited his work extensively
throughout the United States, including the Arkansas Art Center, the Butler
Institute of American Art, Ann Long Fine Art, Charlestown, S.C., and Morton
Fine Art, Washington DC. His work has been featured several times
in The Artist's Magazine, the Pastel Journal, Watercolor
Magic, American Art Collector, Fine Art Connoisseur and on the
cover of American Artist magazine. In the February, 2006 issue of The
Artist's Magazine, Mario was selected as one of the top 20 realist artists
under the age of 40.
Medium: Pastel; oil; watercolour
Subjects: Portraits, Figurative.
Style: The work of Mario Andres Robinson fits
squarely within the tradition of American painting, bearing a close affinity to
the work of realist masters Andrew Wyeth and Thomas Eakins.
Navigation: Menu remains available at side of
page.
Publications: Mario Andres Robinson: Portraits
in the American Tradition features the artist's powerful portraits
executed in pastel, watercolor and graphite over a span of 15 years. The
introduction is written by Dr. Fred Ross, CEO of the Art Renewal Center.
Robinson is regarded as a Living Master by the Art Renewal Center.
Gallery: Oils; Pastels; Watercolours; Drawings.
Image View: Thumbnails provide image information
on mouseover; they enlarge on a new page and may be “zoomed” further. Download
is permitted. Oscar is 22 x 30 ins, 550 x 382, 193 KB.
Blog: Yes
Facebook: Yes
Facebook: Yes
Thursday, November 8, 2012
Julie Freeman
POST No. 500. I am really please to introduce a New Zealand artist, Julie Freeman, for my 500th post on this blog. The blog has been an adventure in discovery, meeting so many talented pastel artists online and seeing so much inspirational artwork. Julie Freeman is a remarkable artist by any standard, and that she is self-taught is bound to give encouragement to all who cannot attend art college or classes for whatever reason. Her painting, Southern Kelp, is of such a quality that I cannot help expecting a sea-otter or a seal to poke its nose out of it.
Bio: Julie Freeman
is a self taught photorealistic pastel artist based in Auckland New
Zealand. Julie spent 16 years overseas when she married where she started doing
commissioned work, mostly animal portraits. (Julie’s animal portraits rise far
above the usual twee paintings one sees too often on websites that specialise
in pet portraits.) Initially monotone in graphite or charcoal, they gradually
progressed to pastel.
When invited to
exhibit with two other artists 5 years ago she was challenged to come up with
work that she thought would sell and that she would enjoy doing. Living near
the coat, Julie painted boats and dinghies, vineyards (as it was a wine growing
region too), and native flora. The exhibition was a success and with the feedback
received Julie was encouraged to continue with pastel.
She is an
Artist Member of the Pastel Artists of New Zealand (PANZ) and has won
national awards. Her work is in private collections in New Zealand, the
United States and the United Kingdom. Most recently Julie has
broadened her subjects from commissioned animal portraits to themed work: New Zealand scenes, boats, lilypads, algae, using her own reference photos.
Medium: Pastel.
Subjects: Boats,
fauna and flora.
Style:
Photorealism. Julie primarily works
with pastel pencils (Derwent, CarbOthello) but often uses Art Spectrum, Unison
and Rembrandt sticks. Her surface is usually Art Spectrum Colourfix paper which she finds holds layers of pastel really well. She doesn't use fixative as her method involves lots of blending with pencils, which doesn't create much pastel dust. Julie gets a great sense of satisfaction when she has
achieved a painting that viewers think is a photograph.
Navigation: Main
menu remains available on left of page.
Gallery: Galleries
1, 2 and 3; Animal Portraits; Portraits.
Image View: Large
thumbnails only; image information is provided. Download is permitted.
Julie says of the image
displayed: "This piece Southern Kelp was a section of a larger image of the
seaweed moving in the foreground of a coastal scene. I was fascinated with the
glistening light and the movement that I could see with the shape and colours
of the kelp in the contrasting water, and even though I was portraying it
photorealistically it looked like an abstract painting. This artwork won a
first place in the Artists Magazine online competition 2011."
Demo: Use the Work
Process link on the menu.
Blog: No.
Wednesday, November 7, 2012
Jane Maclean
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“Keeper of Songs” © Jane Maclean |
Name: Jane Maclean
Bio: The
connection of art and history was reinforced for Albuquerque artist Jane
Maclean when she became a tour guide for New Mexico’s U.S Senator in the
Capitol building in Washington. The art and architecture of the monument
furthered her desire to paint authentic items that might otherwise never be
seen and appreciated by a wider public.
Jane works
according to the traditions of still life painters of the renaissance, who
created multiple levels of meaning in a painting. In January 2006 three of her
historical still life paintings were unveiled in their permanent home, the
rotunda of Sandoval County Judicial Complex, New Mexico.
Her work has
enjoyed recognition and awards. In MasterWorks 2007 her Tea with Catherine won Best of Show. In winter 2010, her work was a feature of the National League
of American Pen Women magazine. Jane’s work has also served as cover art. Her
image A New View of
the Moon graces a Chinese translation of the original
scientific book, New Views of the Moon.
Jane is a
Signature Member of the Pastel Society of New Mexico, and the President of the
Yucca Branch of the National League of American Pen Women.
Locally her work
can be seen in her studio/gallery in Albuquerque, and at Rose’s Pottery House
in Bernalillo, New Mexico.
Medium: Pastel;
oil.
Subjects:
Portraits, Figurative.
Style: Her pastel
layering technique resembles an oil painting, but retains a wonderful
characteristic of luminosity.
Navigation: Menu
remains available at bottom of page.
Gallery: Portraits
and commissions; Landscapes; Still Life; Historical Still Life paintings;
Vintage Albuquerque
Image View:
Thumbnails enlarge on a new page and the enlargements may be scrolled. There is
a return to gallery button. Download is permitted. Keeper of Songs is 10 x 12 ins, 576 x 487, 36 KB.
Demo: Yes, Jane is
very descriptive of the process involved in her historical still life
paintings.
Blog: No.
Karen Budan
![]() |
“Peas and Carrots” © Karen Budan
|
Name: Karen Budan, PSA, APAA, PSWC
Bio: Scottsdale artist Karen Budan was
educated at Eastern Michigan University where she obtained her MA in Elementary
Education in 1975, and spent time as National Director for Professional
Development at Performance Pathways, Inc. and at SunGard Higher
Education.
As a professional artist Karen has taken
classes with a veritable Who’s Who of American pastellists, including Susan
Ogilvie, Sally Strand, Liz Kenyon, Richard McKinley, Maggie Price, and Diana
Ponting.
She is a member of numerous associations,
including the American Guild of Realism and the American Pastel Society. Her
work was featured in American Art Collector, January 2012, the Pastel
Journal, October 2012, and Professional Artist, November 2012. She has been
exhibiting since 2007 and has already won many awards for her exacting work.
Medium: Pastel; oil
Subjects: Still Life.
Style: Realism. Karen states that she
spends more time setting up her still lifes than painting them. Blending with
her fingers or with pipe insulation, is the key to the realism she achieves, often on drymounted UART 400 paper.
Navigation: The website is a
FineArtStudioOnline production.
Gallery: Flower Series; Fruit and Vegetable
Series; Fun and Games Series; Southwest Series; Shoe Series.
Image View: Thumbnails enlarge in a viewer
page and may be scrolled or enlareged further (and scrolled); download is
possible. Information on medium and dimension is provided. Peas and Carrots is
9 x 12 ins., 550 x 418, 404 KB.
Facebook: Yes
Marie Laure Piffeteau
“Afghan Nomad” ©
Marie Laure Piffeteau
|
Name: Marie Laure Piffeteau
Bio: Introduced very early to the
arts, to music by her mother, drawing and painting watercolours by her
father, it was not until 1997 after a bout of ill health that Marie Laure
Piffeteau discovered a new means of artistic expression. Having tried various
techniques (charcoal, oil, acrylic), Marie Laure became passionate about
pastel. Thanks to the Association Vocation Pastel of
Voisins-le-Bretonneux, she met several pastellists, including Claude Texier,
Patrick Henry, Cecile Houel, David Garrison and Maxime Bochet, and benefited
from their individual techniques and interests. In 2007 she became
Treasurer of the Association, and was Vice President from 2008-2010. In 2009
she became a member of Art du Pastel en France.
Marie Laure is a regular winner of the People’s Choice prize in pastel exhibitions.
Subjects: See Gallery.
Style: Representational. The quality of the
work is varied.
Navigation: The website is in French. A
menu remains available on top, depending on where you are in the site, but
navigation is easy.
Gallery: Animaux (Animals); Portraits;
Paysages (Landscape); Natures mortes (Still life).
Image View: Thumbnails enlarge in a new
page and may be downloaded; clicking the enlarged image returns you to the
gallery – I don’t know why more web designers don’t do this, it is such a
simple means of navigating a picture gallery. No information on the images,
other than the title, is provided. New additions to the site are indicated by an irritating blinking arrow - I thought the "blink" tag in HTML had become redundant!
Demo/Blog: No.
Thursday, November 1, 2012
Judith Carducci
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“Two in, Two out” © Judith Carducci |
Name: Judith Carducci,
PSA
Bio: Judith Carducci retired as a
social worker and then resumed the interest in drawing and painting that she had
since childhood. She studied watercolour with Mel Chevers and oil painting with
C.A. Brodeur until she was in her mid-20s, and later studied with Daniel E.
Greene and other nationally known artists. She quickly established herself as one of today’s best portrait painters. Her
paintings have won Best of Show, Award of Excellence, First Place, Award of
Merit, and purchase awards at international and national shows and competitions.
As well as being an internationally
recognised portrait painter, Judith teaches workshops in portraiture, pastel,
plein air landscape, anatomy for portraitists and still life by invitation.
Judith reminisces about her own experience as a student: “When I was a child,
my art teacher had me copy 'Holbein Heads' - drawings by the great
Hans Holbein, portraitist to the court of England's King Henry VIII. That was
the beginning of my lifelong fascination with portraiture and my enduring
respect for Holbein's genius. Even now, my teacher's voice, as she showed me
the fine points of his skill, echoes in my ear: 'Look for the lost and
found!'"
In addition to Who's Who in American
Art, Judith Carducci is listed in Who's Who in America, Who's Who of
American Women, Who's Who in the World and "Outstanding People
of the 20th [& 21st] Century" (International Biographical Centre,
Cambridge, England)
Her work has been shown in The National
Arts Club and the Salmagundi Club, the Cahoon Museum of
American Art, and the Butler Institute of American Art. She has been featured
in International Artist, Pastel Artist International, American Artist, The Pastel
Journal, The Artist's Magazine, and the books, Best of Portrait Painting and
Best of Pastel (North Light Books), 100 Ways to Paint People (International Artist), and Portrait Highlights (American Artist). Her work is
in collections in the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico, Israel, Europe and
South Africa.
Judith is a member of the Portrait Society
of America (board & faculty), Pastel Society of America (signature member),
Degas Pastel Society, American Artists Professional League, International
Association of Pastel Societies, Cincinnati Art Club, Salmagundi Club, Akron
Society of Artists and Hudson Society of Artists.
Medium: Pastel, oil
Subjects: Portraits; Figurative; Still Life
Style: Representational.
Navigation: Main menu remains available at
all times
Gallery: Adult portraits; Children’s
Portraits; Figures; Still Lifes; En Plein Air Workshops; Alla Prima and
Portraiture Workshops; En Plein Air; Drawings.
Image View: Thumbnails enlarge in a pop-up
and may be downloaded; information is provided on the medium and dimension. Two On, Two Out is 30 x 30 ins, 574 x 576, 109 KB.
Demo: There are some excerpts from Judith’s
Signilar videos on YouTube.
Blog: No. There is a fine commentary on her
teaching by Stephen Doherty on the Artist Daily website.
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