Artist and blogger Niall O'Neill, of County Cork, Ireland, says that his reason for launching the blog "Artists in Pastel" was twofold: to create "a comprehensive international directory of pastels artists who have a web presence; and to offer a critique of their websites (not, I emphasize, a critique of their artwork)."

Each of O'Neill's 93 and counting blog posts highlights a different pastel artist and shows a sample image that's representative of his or her work. His list of direct links to artist's websites is substantial and growing (and chock-full of friends of the magazine!)—it's a wonderful resource, whether you're looking for a potential pastel teacher or simply a jolt of inspiration.

Our fall-inspired "Creative Spark" prompt was our most popular to date with 132 entries and extraordinarily stiff competition. Congratulations to Mike Kelly of Warsaw, Indiana, whose pastel, John Hartman’s Place (above, 19x22), was chosen as the editors’ choice. Hartman’s painting appears in the February issue of The Pastel Journal. Pick up your copy to read the story behind the winning painting. You'll find a selection of paintings from our talented runners up below. Congrats are also in order for Bonnie Zahn Griffith with Storm From the West; Susan Grinels with Fall Colors; Joanne Seberry with Yandoit, Autumnal Colors; and Leslie Smith with Fall Marsh. Stay tuned to see who won our "Extraordinary in the Ordinary" challenge and visit our site to find out how to share your work for a chance to win.

If you live in the U.S., you're probably in the midst of a little cold snap at the moment. Brrr! We humbly recommend two courses of action:

1. Snuggle up with the February 2010 issue of The Pastel Journal and let your fingers do the walking through a winter wonderland of pastel delights.

2. Get out there and paint! If you're like featured artist Aaron Schuerr, you won't let a little snow stop you from painting en plein air. Visit our site to read the stories behind some of the craziest painting sessions the artist has experienced in his professional career.

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You may need to supply your own silver bells and blinking lights, but shopping online does make it easy to bring home your holiday treasures without a lot of hassle. The editing elves in the F+W Fine Art Group released all kinds of great new products in 2009, all available in the NorthLightShop. This year, The Pastel Journal elves decided we’d make ourselves pick one 2009 item that we think you won’t want to miss:

ANNE: Strokes of Genius: The Best of Drawing Light and Shadow
Although there were no all-pastel books released in 2009, North Light Books came out with many titles that artists of every persuasion can appreciate. One such book is Strokes of Genius 2. This is the second volume in a series that celebrates the beauty and diversity of drawing. The collection of 140 drawings—some studio works and others straight off the sketchpad—are done in a variety of media, including pencil, charcoal, ink and yes, pastel. In fact, it is a fabulous black and white pastel by  Donna Levinstone that graces the book’s cover. Because the book is a collection of work from 100+ artists, every page provides a glimpse into a new artistic style and creative vision—a perfect jolt of inspiration! (sale price, $21.77)

SARAH: Eight Greats: The Pastel Journal's 10th Anniversary Artist Interview Series Digital Download
As much as I hate to admit it, I’m hopelessly drawn to Top 10 lists. They help me to assuage the sense that I’m always missing something I should have seen, but didn’t. If you’re similarly drawn to “best of” collections, our Eight Greats download is the perfect PJ treat for you. It’s a chance to talk a walk down memory lane with eight of the amazing artists the magazine had the pleasure of featuring this year—and a chance to savor some simply stunning pastels. Clicking through the pages of insights shared by the artists (three of the eight—Jimmy Wright, Fred Somers and Brennie Brackett—were my interviewees!) is fun and easy. Plus, I get that swell of pride that always happens when I see the good work our team is doing.

JESSICA: The Pastel Journal 10th Anniversary Collection: 10 Top Interviews Digital Download
"I think people are aware, more than ever, of their growing need for harmony with their environment, and I am convinced that landscape artists today who share their sensitive perceptions of the natural world also have the power to speak to the yearnings of others through their work." —Elizabeth Mowry, The Pastel Journal, April 1999. In celebration of The Pastel Journal's 10th Anniversary, we dove into our extensive archives—61 issues, 2,156 pastel paintings and 4,802 pages!—in search of our top 10 interviews. Our first specialty digital download, which debuted in March, includes tips and inspiration from acclaimed pastelists Elizabeth Mowry, Albert Handell, Judith Carducci, Wolf Kahn, Daniel E. Greene, Dino Paravano, Harvey Dinnerstein, Sheldon Berkowitz, Peter Seltzer and Chin-Cheng Hung, making the collection a pastel classic.

CINDY: The Pastel Journal 2008 Archive on CD
These annual CD archives are the perfect solution for saving studio/office space—and a little sanity. My favorite feature is the searchable index, which comes in especially handy when I want to locate a particular article but am unsure when it was published. Don't get rid of your print editions, though; just box or bind them and keep the digital versions right on your desktop for easy access. The 2008 archive is a year’s worth of issues and includes nearly 500 pages of information, instruction and inspiration (on ehanced PDFs). It's a great way to revisit your favorite artist profiles and re-acquaint yourself with painting techniques.

Of course, if you are not currently a subscriber (or have someone on your gift list who could use a subscription), our No. 1 Pick from the NorthLightShop is a subscription to The Pastel Journal—the best way to make sure you get every copy of the world’s ultimate resource for pastel artists. Available on the shop for $32 (with Canadian and international options as well).

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MORE RESOURCES FOR ARTISTS

* Online Seminars for Fine Artists
* Instantly download fine art magazines, books & video workshops
* Sign up for your Artist's Network email newsletter & receive free fine art tips & demos

The new book Art Journey New Mexico: 104 Painters’ Perspectives (North Light Books, 2009), from the editors of The Collector's Guide, is a beautiful, hardcover collection of contemporary art of the Southwest. And it's one of those gorgeous books that feels good to hold (it's 224 pages!) and is a joy to peruse. When I first saw one of the early copies, I got so excited about it that I asked my friend, Kevin Paul, one of the editors, to share the story behind the book:

Art Journey New Mexico: Painters’ Perspectives, as the title suggests, focuses on living artists, actively working in New Mexico today. There’s no denying that something about the place is a tremendous draw for artists. The Collector’s Guide, our annual guide to art in New Mexico, features an index of roughly 7,000 working artists showing in some 350 galleries. 

To produce this book, we had the mixed blessing of choosing merely 104 of them. And in three days! Our editorial team of three brainstormed a preliminary list of 500 and from there we whittled it down to the requisite number. These 104 artists then had to give us three representative images, from which we chose the final image for the book.  Each artist also answered a series of questions designed to give readers an insightful look at their inspirations and working processes.  

This is the first in a series of books that will focus on the artists of New Mexico. Future themes include sculpture, photography, fine art craft and multi-media works.


Take a look inside the pages of Art Journey New Mexico at northlightshop.com. And if you're interested in a copy, it's on sale now for $32.99 (a $12 savings off the regular retail price).

You'll also fine in the shop 10 exciting art-related downloads from The Collector's Guide.

There's really no better time of year to turn to the macabre and mystery of Edgar Allan Poe—and even better, some master art works to go along with it.

If you're a fan of F+W's fine art magazines and books (and I know, already, you're a fan of The Pastel Journal, of course), you're going to want to hear about a new program that just launched. The Very Important Painter (VIP) program is a new membership program that supplies—for an annual fee—access to free content and gifts, as well as regular savings on all the art-inspiring books, magazines and digital materials you might need to support your passion. Here's how it works:

With a one-year paid membership of $49.99, you get your choice of either a one-year subscription to The Artist's Magazine (a newsstand value of $51.90) or any one pick of a North Light art book (a retail value of $32.99)! You'll also receive three months of unlimited access to all the online workshops at artistsnetwork.tv. Finally, as a VIP member, you'll receive 10% off every purchase you make at www.northlightshop.com. This is the online store where you can find, among other things, The Pastel Journal's back issues, annual issue CDs and digital downloads; 144-page books by pastel artists such as Maggie Price, Margot Schulzke and Bob Rohm; and DVDs with pastel artists Deborah Secor and M. Katherine Hurley.

Click here to see the complete program details.

"Many artists put the cart before the horse and they apply technique with such rigidity that it suffocates the art. Technique has to come out of the search for the art."
                                                                            — Jimmy Wright