Free Updates
Navigation
Search
Archives
Categories
| October, 2008 (4) |
| September, 2008 (8) |
| August, 2008 (11) |
| July, 2008 (8) |
| June, 2008 (11) |
| May, 2008 (12) |
| April, 2008 (11) |
| March, 2008 (10) |
| February, 2008 (12) |
| January, 2008 (13) |
| December, 2007 (8) |
| November, 2007 (11) |
| October, 2007 (14) |
| September, 2007 (12) |
| August, 2007 (13) |
| July, 2007 (15) |
| June, 2007 (17) |
| May, 2007 (14) |
Links
|
 Wednesday, September 05, 2007
Artist Website of the Week: APOW
Posted by Sarah
Art Inspiration
9/5/2007 10:00:54 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00) 
|
|
Tuesday, September 04, 2007
History of Art in a Matter of Minutes
Posted by anne
"500 Years of Female Faces" is a stunning slideshow on YouTube that celebrates the female face in art, smoothly moving from one inspiring masterwork to the next for an engaging 3-minute montage. It was posted in June and may be "old news" for some, but I decided that just in case even one of our blog-readers missed it, I'm hear to alert you—because it's just so fun!!
Art Inspiration
9/4/2007 11:45:22 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
|
|
Friday, August 31, 2007
Washington Square Outdoor Art Exhibit
Posted by jessica
 For those of you lucky artists near NYC this Labor Day weekend, take advantage of the 77th annual Washington Square Outdoor Art Exhibit along the sidewalks of Greenwich Village. Event promoters say the juried show, held every Labor Day weekend and the weekend following, as well as Memorial Day weekend and the weekend after that, features varying media—traditional and avant-garde—from pastels, oils and watercolors to graphic art, crafts, photography and sculpture. Some artists are up-and-comers, while others are well-known in esteemed galleries and museums. The exhibit’s creation is noteworthy: According to the event’s website, it began in 1931 with Jackson Pollock and fellow artist Willem DeKooning. Desperate for rent money, they hauled their works to the sidewalk with the hope of attracting buyers. Pretty soon they caught the attention of the New York City art world—Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney, founder of the Whitney Museum of Art, and Alfred H. Barr Jr., director of the newly established Museum of Modern Art—and the rest, as they say, is history. Enjoy your long weekend.
Photo courtesy of the Washington Square Outdoor Art Exhibit
Overheard | Shows and Events
8/31/2007 11:07:30 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
|
|
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Rendezvous in Monet's Garden
Posted by Sarah
Not that you'd need another excuse to visit Ohio (it is the official birthplace of aviation, after all, and the duct tape capital of the world) but an upcoming exhibition at the Columbus Museum of Art may give you cause to book your B&B now: Rendezvous in Monet's Garden; Ideas, Insights & Inspiration from the Painter's Garden Saturday, October 27, 9:30 - 11:30 AM.  Here's the skinny: Elizabeth Murray, photographer, author, and
gardener, will share her experiences assisting with
the restoration of Monet's Garden at Giverny. Her
photographs, taken during all seasons, illustrate
the story of Monet the painter, the gardener, and
the man. She will reveal the design elements,
color, and plant combinations that Monet used to
create this great work of art—his garden. Following the presentation, guests will enjoy
French pastries and coffee at a reception and
book signing in Derby Court. The cost is $40 for members and $45 for
nonmembers. Purchase tickets online or order
by phone at 614.629.0309.(Lest you think I don't heart the state of Ohio, I'll recommend two of Cincinnati's excellent museums: the Contemporary Arts Center, designed by renowned architect Zaha Hadid, and the Cincinnati Art Museum, which houses more than 60,000 works spanning 6,000 years. We also have very interesting ice cream and famous chili. And a theme park where they filmed an episode of the Brady Bunch.)
Shows and Events
8/29/2007 12:12:08 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
|
|
Monday, August 27, 2007
Pastel Painting Around the World
Posted by anne
 Maggie Price (left) was just in our offices earlier this month to teach a pastel workshop, and she's already off again to teach another. The location is a tad more exotic this time—she's heading first to a remote village in Scotland. And, following that excursion, she heads to Cortona, Italy, until September 26, to teach another group of pastelists. The final stop on her global teaching tour is Juzcar, one of the lovely white villages in Spain's Genal Valley. In each locale, Price will be leading painters on plein air exursions to capture in pastel the unique beauty of the area. I have considered stuffing myself in her suitcase (but you'll read below how she's short on space). With that idea thwarted, I have instead invited her to share with us, by way of this blog, some stories (and photos) throughout her journey. Look for these periodic posts all this month and next, starting with this pre-departure note from the artist: I love teaching workshops, especially plein air classes in beautiful locations, so I’m really looking forward to that part of the trip. But I’ll be away for almost two months, so the biggest, most immediate challenge is packing! To get ready, I’ve been sorting my pastels and other art supplies while listening to my Italian language lessons. I emptied all the pastels out of my Heilman box and washed the foam liners so I could start putting them back in with these locations in mind as I make my color selections. The light in Scotland is generally a cool light; in Italy, it’s warmer; and in Spain, it's hotter still. In the central highlands of Scotland, we’ll paint lots of landscapes, lochs, and perhaps a castle or other old buildings. In Italy and Spain, the subjects will often be buildings—warm ochre tones in Cortona (the heart of Tuscany), and white-washed buildings with red-tiled roofs in the “white villages” of Andalucian Spain. There will be wonderful masses of flowers and foliage everywhere, so I’m taking a good assortment of greens, and pinks, purples, reds and near-whites for blossoms.
Fortunately, for the Scotland workshop, Jack Richeson & Co., the workshop sponsor, is furnishing the supplies for participants. So, I know that when I arrive, I’ll have a lovely set of 108 Unison pastels waiting for me. And since I selected the colors myself, I know they’ll work for that cool light. A good supply of the new Richeson pastel surface will be there as well, which lightens my load for the outbound trip. But I still must take enough supplies for the workshops that follow. This doesn't leave a lot of room for clothing, so my immediate future is sure to include hand-washing clothing in hotels on a daily basis! —Maggie Price
Art Inspiration | Overheard
8/27/2007 3:28:07 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
|
|
Friday, August 24, 2007
Artist Website of the Week: Marianna McDonald
Posted by jessica
 I happened upon Lexington, Ky., artist Marianna McDonald’s pastel landscapes last weekend while at the Woodland Art Fair (in Lexington). From her website, I learned that I missed her at this year’s Summerfair, held here in Cincinnati each June. I'll be sure look for her there next year! From her site, you can see how McDonald’s warm scenes—in both pastel and oil—convey her love of the land, whether that be Kentucky farmland or West Virginia valleys. My favorite element is the narrative underneath each piece explaining her inspiration for and setting of each painting.
Art Inspiration | Shows and Events
8/24/2007 12:07:44 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
|
|
Thursday, August 23, 2007
A Workshop with Richard McKinley in Your Own Home
Posted by Sarah
Art Inspiration
8/23/2007 8:57:10 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
|
|
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Have Pastels, Will Travel
Posted by anne
 Plein air artist Reif Erikson has traveled the world to paint a variety of masterful pastel landscapes. On his website, you'll find a world map
where you, too, can "travel" the globe to link to galleries of his
artwork. Jump from California to Hawaii, then to England and China, and
on, to see the results of his plein air experiences. In the new October issue of The Pastel Journal, we introduced a new column, "Painting Spot," in which pastel painters share a favorite plein air location and corresponding painting. For this issue, I invited Erikson to write about his recent painting excursion to Canyon de Chelley
in northern Arizona, where he travelled into the canyon on horseback to experience the
beauty and mystery of a place once home to an ancient Anasazi
community. You'll see his piece,  Sensuous Desert, in the article, but he produced a number of inspired pastels on the trip, such as Anasazi Spiritland (top; pastel, 9x12) and Clouds Dancing (pastel, 9x12).
Art Inspiration
8/21/2007 3:25:36 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
|
|
Friday, August 17, 2007
Unearthing Monet’s Journal
Posted by jessica
 If you find yourself near Massachusetts before Sept. 16, you might want to head to The Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute to catch The Unknown Monet: Pastels and Drawings exhibition before it closes. Featured are 23 pastels, 36 drawings and four bound sketchbooks (on loan from the Musée Marmottan Monet in Paris) that date back to the 1860s through the 1920s. The intrigue—aside from getting to view the artist’s pastels and sketches in person—is that Monet refuted drawing as part of his process. Here’s a recent review from The New York Times’ Benjamin Genocchio. To find out more about the show, which brings to light insights on the young mind of the Impressionist master, see the Art Matters column in our June 2007 issue.
Overheard | Shows and Events
8/17/2007 2:00:58 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
|
|
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
Gallery Owners Embrace Works on Paper
Posted by Sarah
 I'm so pleased when I happen upon yet another fine gallery that champions works on paper and I'm even more pleased when I find one that makes the promotion of those works its central mission. Proving yet again that we should really get back to Chicago soon (it's only a few hours away from PJ headquarters in Cincinnati), Printworks Gallery, in the River North neighborhood of the windy city, specializes in works on paper and features a large number of established artists, as well as emerging artists. The gallery's catalogue is impressive to say the least (check out the sample works on their website) and I'm also impressed by their Affordable Art initiative, in which they present a collection of works by gallery artists for $300 or under. Hooray for that. The shameless book-lover in me can't resist mentioning too their extensive selection of books, many of them works of art themselves. The above image is from their current exhibition Flights of Fancy, a group show that runs through August 18, 2007. Do me a favor and tell me about your favorite gallery-champions at pjedit@fwpubs.com
Overheard | Shows and Events
8/15/2007 12:42:12 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
|
|
Monday, August 13, 2007
A Visit With Albert Handell
Posted by anne
  Last May, after attending the International Association of Pastel Societies (IAPS) in Albuquerque, N.M., several of us from the magazine (group publisher David Pyle, managing editor Sarah Strickley and myself) rented a car and took a short drive north to Santa Fe, the beloved art mecca of the Southwest. Here we paid a visit to the celebrated artist Albert Handell in his picturesque adobe-style studio. We spent a wonderful morning talking about his life in art, his techniques and materials, while also enjoying a private showing of his artwork—mostly landscapes with esquisite color like the pastel landscape La Vista (16x17) below, but also pastel still lifes and figures, and a number of lively drawings, too.  One result of our visit is a print feature about the artist in the new September/October issue of the magazine; the issue mails to subscribers this week and hits newsstands September 4. Also, because David was able to play the role of camera-man during our conversation, we also were able to create four short video clips with selections from our discussion. Mind you, I'm quite sure our videos won't be winning any awards at Cannes, but I know you'll enjoy hearing about the artist's methods and materials straight from the source. Start your viewing with " Orchestrating With Contrast,"in which Handell describes how he came to use watercolor as an underpainting for his pastels. In "Plein Air Painting Trip," he describes the structure of a typical day painting on location—where to, how long, how many paintings, etc. In "Plein Air Setup & Supplies," you can see what Handell carries with him on location as he packs up supplies from trunk to luggage carrier. In "Managing Color With Value," watch the artist demonstrate how to find different colors of similar value. In workshops, Handell suggests this as an organizing method—a way to get a handle on the many colors in one's pastel box. But you'll see—in a peak inside his own box—that he doesn't actually follow his own organizational advice. He, personally, prefers a bit of chaos in his pastel box which he says keeps his eyes more awake. Our thanks to Albert for graciously inviting David and Sarah and I (and our camera!) into his studio. And, by extension, inviting our whole family of magazine- and blog-readers too!
Tips and Techniques | Tools and Materials
8/13/2007 10:15:34 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
|
|
Friday, August 10, 2007
Artist Website of the Week: Robert K. Carsten
Posted by Sarah
 This week's website belongs to an artist who will be familiar to PJ readers: Robert K. Carsten. He's a frequent contributor to the magazine (he wrote the feature on Chilean-born artist Claudio Bravo for the June issue, for example) and a popular workshop instructor. His website features a pair of slideshows that makes viewing large images of many of his paintings a quick and easy task for visitors--I love that about it.
On his site, Carsten remarks of his work, "More
and more, it has become the achievement of a painterly luminosity that
is my pursuit. A certain luminescence, that appears to glow from within
as well as from an external light source, as much felt as it is seen,
has become the well-spring of my inspiration."
By the way, the above painting, Renewal (Vernal Equinox), won the “Best in Show” award at the 3rd Annual Northeast National Pastel Exhibition at the Old Forge Arts Center in Old Forge, NY.
Overheard
8/10/2007 9:29:41 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
|
|
|