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# Friday, May 25, 2007
New Alan Flattmann Book
Posted by jessica

pas0207.jpgAlan Flattmann is no stranger to The Pastel Journal. You'll remember our February cover for his vibrant painting, Brass Band Revelry. The artist continues to inspire us here at the office, especially when a copy of his latest book lands on our desk.

9781589804074.jpgThe Art of Pastel Painting (Pelican Publishing), originally published in 1987, has been re-released in light of what Flattmann calls a "pastel renaissance." New paintings and updated techniques illustrate Flattmann's oeuvre in all its splendor and provide current advice for pastel artists.


Happy Memorial Day reading!





Art Inspiration
Friday, May 25, 2007 9:27:51 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)  #  Comments [3]
# Thursday, May 24, 2007
Test Your Own Pastels
Posted by Sarah

logo.jpgWhile at the IAPS convention, Anne and I had the pleasure of meeting Michael Skalka, task chair for the American Society of Testing and Materials (ASTM) Pastel Standard. Skalka oversees the Modern Art Materials Collection and Study Center and is known for his clearly superhuman knowledge of the science and history of art materials. He's also a regular blogger for our sister publication, The Artist's Magazine. At IAPS, Skalka gave a presentation on the lightfastenss of pastels. Now, he's blogging about it. Here's a little excerpt:
Pastel artists don't have to be held captive when it comes to knowing what colors are good performers and those that fade fairly quickly when exposed to light. A protocol that provides a very good indicator of how materials will behave if exposed to light, is available for anyone to use. The method is fairly simple. Artists can prepare a suitable sample card that exposes a portion of the pastel to light while leaving a portion masked from any exposure.
Read the whole post on Skalka's Anatomy of Art Materials and download a free how-to on testing your own pastels.  And when you're done with that, come on back and tell us what you think about it.



Tools and Materials
Thursday, May 24, 2007 1:47:40 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)  #  Comments [0]
# Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Art Festival Season
Posted by jessica

dolce_far_niente.jpgThe Pastel Journal’s August issue will be featuring California artist Jane Portaluppi Durand, a renowned street painter whose larger-than-life re-created masterpieces have adorned pavements across the world. The artist (pictured here creating her street version of John William Godward's Dolce Far Niente) first began street painting in The I Madonnari Festival in Santa Barbara, an annual event that happens to be taking place this Memorial Day weekend. Click here to see some of Portaluppi's other street creations.

Looking at the article this morning got me thinking about art festivals of all kind, and how they seem to complete a spring or summer weekend. Check out ArtFairCalendar.com and ArtFestival.com’s schedules for festivals near you in the next couple of months.

photo: Joseph Tedesco


Art Inspiration | Shows and Events
Tuesday, May 22, 2007 4:12:51 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)  #  Comments [0]
Got £15 Million?
Posted by jessica

If so, a Raphael portrait that hasn’t been displayed in public in 40 years could be yours! The BBC reports the work will be on view at Christie’s starting June 30, and up for auction on July 5. It’s expected to go for £15 million.


Overheard
Tuesday, May 22, 2007 4:05:23 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)  #  Comments [0]
# Thursday, May 17, 2007
The Greatest Pastel of All Time
Posted by anne

pas_blogkahn.jpgWho doesn't like a list? And they are everywhere--from the American Film Insitute's best 100 films of all time to Rolling Stone's 500 greatest songs to David Letterman's nightly Top 10. And, of course, the art world likes its lists, too, with most list-makers pointing to Diego Velazquez' Las Meninas "Ladies in Waiting"; Rembrandt van Rijn's The Night Watch, Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa; Vincent van Gogh's The Starry Night; and Michelangelo Buonarroti's Sistine Chapel ceiling as some of the most monumental works. Maybe the reason we like lists is that we enjoy taking argument with them--what's on the list that shouldn't be, and what's missing from the list. Being a fan of this game, I decided it was time we created our own list for The Pastel Journal of "the greatest pastel paintings of all time," and we want your input. What specific painting do you think should make the list? The temptations are plenty with incredible pastel works by Degas, Redon, Cassatt, Liotard and Millet--for starters. And then there are a number of contemporary painters, such as Wolf Kahn, who are certainly worthy of consideration (pictured here is Kahn's In the Gloaming pastel, 11x14). Ready to vote? You can contribute to the discussion here or at our artist's network forum where we've already seen votes for a Whistler, a Redon and a William Merritt Chase.


Art Inspiration
Thursday, May 17, 2007 5:48:38 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)  #  Comments [3]
# Wednesday, May 16, 2007
Stealth Pastel Reporters
Posted by Sarah

We're back at F+W Publications headquarters in Cincinnati, but we've got ever so much more news from IAPS yet to share. You might be interested to know, for example, that this year's convention was the biggest ever, with an estimated 600 pastel devotees in attendance. Not only was it the biggest convention, but many veteran attendees (including Maggie Price, who has been there from the very start) attest it was the best. Perhaps the most important measure of the convention's success, however, is the apparent growth in the sense of community among pastel artists. To witness the connections made between artists was a remarkable thing indeed and we hope this blog will serve as a continuation of the spirit we witnessed in Albuquerque. While there, we invited you to share your photographs of the convention and they've already begun to arrive in our PJ inbox. Recognized pastel artist Brenda Mattson shares these fine photos of the Paint-a-Round:


Carole Katchen


Duane Wakeham

To learn more about the artists, click on their names. And if you'd like to share your IAPS photos, thoughts or observations, we welcome you to become a stealth pastel reporter and send them to pjedit@fwpubs.com

Shows and Events
Wednesday, May 16, 2007 7:37:39 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)  #  Comments [1]
# Tuesday, May 15, 2007
The IAPS Candy Store
Posted by anne

Much of our time spent as representatives of the magazine was spent on the Trade Show floor, affectionately known by convention attendees as the candy store. You can see why in the photos below.  Imagine walking up to a table and selecting the pastel set of your dreams, for example, or meeting the Heilmans and giving one of their pastel boxes a spin.





Shows and Events
Tuesday, May 15, 2007 3:46:47 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)  #  Comments [1]
# Saturday, May 12, 2007
Bright Old Albuquerque
Posted by Sarah



There's a remarkable light in Albuquerque--it seems to polish surfaces (see the flowers above) rather than sit on them as it does in the Ohio River valley.

Anne and I are gearing up for a full day of workshops, talks, and meeting and greeting our readers at the Trade Show.  We've met so many wonderful pastelists already--it's so nice to put faces to the names.

Yesterday, we lunched with two of our favorite PJ luminaries Maggie Price and Deborah Secor.  We talked about the magazine's history, our hopes for the future, and the bright new world of blogging.  As it turns out, Maggie and Deborah have blogs of their own.  We're hoping to entice them to blog here from time to time.  We also attended the Grand Opening demonstration in which Leslie B. DeMille painted a portrait of IAPS President Urania Christy Tarbet.  "How large would you like me to paint your ring?" he asked her as he painted her hand. 

Finally, a special invitation for convention attendees: Send us your photos of the conference for a chance to win a spot on the blog, or in our pages.  E-mail pjedit@fwpubs.com for details.

Shows and Events
Saturday, May 12, 2007 2:43:24 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)  #  Comments [1]
Live from IAPS
Posted by anne

The energy is high and the excitement intense at the 7th International Association of Pastel Societies (IAPS) convention taking place right now in Albuquerque, NM. Because there's nothing that makes you quite as hungry as air travel, Sarah (managing editor) and I started things off with lunch at a restaurant which we afterward learned was named after a famous madam out of Albuquerque history--a signal of what we knew would be an interesting few days in the Land of Enchantment!

Our afternoon was filled with the wisdom of artist Richard McKinley who welcomed us into his all-day workshop "Interpreting the Landscape." As Richard demonstrated his technique, he spoke about the importance of knowing your concept and making choices that support it. "Without a concept, it's just another good painting." he said. "Think about what you want to do with it, and then follow the serendipty," later adding: "Approach your painting as though you're a child who's been given a puzzle without a box top. See with the innocence of a child again--with wonder and fascination."

Richard McKinley

In the evening we were treated to a Paint-a-Round, a pastel whirlwind with five distinguished pastel artists rotating through five paintings. Richard McDaniel, Jimmy Wright, Duane Wakeham, Carole Katchen and Maggie Price each began a painting, painted for 10 minutes until a bell rang. Then, each artist shifted to the right and worked for 10 minutes on the next painting, and so on until--after an hour--they came back to their original painting. The crowd was pressing in and you could feel the heat rising as spectators clamored to see the excitement.

Stay tuned for highlights from Day 2!

Shows and Events
Saturday, May 12, 2007 12:04:02 AM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)  #  Comments [1]
# Wednesday, May 09, 2007
IAPS Bound
Posted by Sarah

The International Association of Pastel Societies (IAPS), a non-profit organization representing pastel societies around the world, is hosting its biennial convention in Albuquerque, New Mexico, May 11-13. As the official media sponsor of the convention and invested members of the pastel community, the editorial staff of The Pastel Journal will be hosting a booth on the convention floor. We invite you to stop by and visit us--we'd love to meet you. If we can't coax you there with the sheer charm of our personalities, we hope to entice you with these must-see events: Meet PJ luminaries Maggie Price and Margot Schulzke and get your signed copies of their books. Plus, watch Deborah Secor demonstrate pastel techniques throughout the day on Saturday.
                                                      


And if that doesn't get you there, we hope our show specials will.  (See the details on our poster below.)  Of course, we don't want to leave those of you at home out.  Visit our website now and get a free gift when you subscribe.



If you haven't made your convention reservations yet, there's still time to do so. For more information on the convention, or to see a schedule of events, visit the IAPS website.

Interested in locating a pastel society near you?  Visit our comprehensive society listing. If you'd like to add your society to the list, please write us at pjedit@fwpubs.com

Shows and Events
Wednesday, May 09, 2007 8:21:51 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)  #  Comments [0]
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