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 Friday, June 20, 2008
Free Download: Guide to Pastel Supports
Posted by jessica
As you know, choosing a support for your painting is no easy task. Luckily, in our June 2008 issue, Maggie Price examined all the various surface options out there for pastelists. Click here to download the PDF, and keep the file handy on your desktop! 
Tools and Materials
Friday, June 20, 2008 4:22:20 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00) 
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Monday, June 16, 2008
Four Prize-Winning Pastels for Your Edification
Posted by sarah
It's been our pleasure as Ohioans (and pastel enthusiasts) to draw your attention to International Association of Pastel Societies's (IAPS) Eleventh Juried Exhibition at The Butler Institute of American Art in Youngstown, Ohio. We're currently plotting an escape from the offices (shhhhh) to see this show and others in the area. Maybe we'll see you there? In any case, here are four more of the fabulous winners. Enjoy! (Thanks to Maggie Price for the skinny.)  Prix de Pastel: Painting Projects by Sharon Will
Gold Award: Reed Crecent by Richard Lundgen
Silver Award: Mandarins and Morning Glories by Claudia Seymour
Bronze Award: Blue Motorcyle by J Kay Gordon
Overheard | Shows and Events
Monday, June 16, 2008 7:52:37 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Friday, June 13, 2008
Instant Art Critique Phrase Generator
Posted by jessica
 Here’s a fun site for your Friday: The Instant Art Critique Phrase Generator. No longer will you rack your noggin trying to come up with something insightful—or perplexing—for your peer critique group. Just plug in any 5-number combination, and in seconds the generator will reveal your, um, “observation.” Here are a few generated for yours truly: “I'm surprised that no one's mentioned yet that the mechanical mark-making of the negative space seems very disturbing in light of the eloquence of these pieces.”
“I agree/disagree with some of the things that have just been said, but the reductive quality of the sexual signifier endangers the devious simplicity of the eloquence of these pieces.”
“It should be added that the optical suggestions of the spatial relationships endangers the devious simplicity of the remarkable handling of light.”
*Thanks to Deborah Secor for passing along the link!
Art Inspiration | Overheard
Friday, June 13, 2008 3:17:03 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Monday, June 09, 2008
On With the Show
Posted by anne
 More exciting exhibition news: Over the weekend, The
Shows and Events
Monday, June 09, 2008 7:06:53 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Friday, June 06, 2008
Pastel News for Your Quiet Afternoon
Posted by sarah
Here's a little positive pastel news for your Friday afternoon: San Jose artist Terri Ford has won the Best Pastel Award at the 15th Annual Carmel Art Festival’s Plein Air Event. The winning painting, Carmel Dusk (above) was inspired by Ford's affinity for the Carmel landscape, the sand dunes at Carmel Beach in particular. “The dunes are most captivating to me in early morning and at dusk when the play of light and shadows is most magical,” she says. (Ford was our December 2006 cover artist.)
Overheard
Friday, June 06, 2008 6:28:36 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Thursday, June 05, 2008
What Does the Magazine Mean to You?
Posted by anne
 The edit team and I have just spent some time sifting through recent reader survey results, and one of the survey questions prompted us to restart a conversation we haven't had in awhile (that's us, at left, mid-conversation, from left to right: Sarah, me, our art director Cindy, and Jessica). The discussion is about a little detail called the "tagline." A "tagline" is that short, descriptive phrase that appears with the logo on the magazine cover (something like an advertising slogan) and there's debate over how important it is to have one; most wonder, for instance, if even devoted subscribers can tell you what a magazine's tagline is. That being said, it is an opportunity to offer potential readers at the newsstands an at-a-glance description of what your magazine is all about. Right now, our current tagline for The Pastel Journal is "The Magazine for Pastel Artists" and, while this is certainly spot-on, I think it could be improved by telling us more about what the magazine does than who it's for (since the title of the magazine takes care of that). What we learned in our survey is that 46% of readers think of the magazine as their "guide to becoming a better artist;" 40% view it as their "source for pastel inspiration;" and 13% as a "celebration of the best in pastel." So, with this information in hand, we've been trying to craft some potential taglines, and we'd love to hear your comments right here on the blog, or email us at pjedit@fwpubs.com. For your consideration: a. Your Definitive Source for Pastel Instruction and Inspiration b. An Artist's Guide to the Medium c. Creative Nourishment for Pastel Artists d. Improve Your Skills. Inspire Your Art. e. Cultivate and Celebrate Your Passion for Pastel Tell us which is your favorite. Or, if you have another idea you want to have us consider, go for it. If we choose it, we'll offer you a new or renewed one-year subscription to the magazine. And thanks for helping, everyone!
Thursday, June 05, 2008 5:01:13 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Wednesday, June 04, 2008
Degas Pastel Society to be Honored in France
Posted by anne
 Congratulations to the Degas Pastel Society for being invited by the oldest pastel society in existence, the Pastel Society of France, to be the guest of honor at its International Pastel Festival this summer. Held in Feytiat, France (July 5 through September 7), the festival attracts more than 20,000 people. Ten Degas Pastel Society members in the New Orleans area—including Alan Flattmann, Marcia Holmes, Darlene Johnson and Ed Dyer—were asked to submit two pastel paintings each for the exhibition. As the program says, “The Societe des Pastellistes de France pays homage to these American artists of Louisiana, who still preciously preserve the French district of New Orleans and who chose Degas as their emblem.” Our thanks to Flattmann for sharing the good news. Have any announcements of your own? Let us know by e-mailing pjedit@fwpubs.com and you could see the news here.
Overheard | Shows and Events
Wednesday, June 04, 2008 2:11:03 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Monday, June 02, 2008
Glenna Hartmann, Remembered
Posted by anne
 Pastel artist Glenna Hartmann, a beautiful plein air landscape painter, passed away last week. She was an inspiration to many and will be very much missed in the pastel community especially (See artist Richard McKinley's tribute to his friend on the Pastel Pointers blog here). Ellen Easton, who represented the artist in her Easton Gallery in Santa Barbara, Calif., graciously shared her obituary with me. I'll print it here in full.
A thing of beauty is a joy for ever:
Its loveliness increases; it will never
Pass into nothingness; but still will keep
A bower quiet for us, and a sleep
Full of sweet dreams, and health, and quiet breathing.
[John Keats]
Born in Morristown, N.J., in 1948, Glenna Hartmann, the daughter of Erhard Hartmann (a scientist involved in the top-secret nuclear submarine project), studied mathematics and physics at Wells College in New York. Answering the call of her adventurous spirit, she transferred to the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts where she was awarded a Schiedt traveling scholarship for independent studies in Europe and mural painting school in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. When she moved to Carpinteria in the 1970s, her mural painting skills were put to use in the high school and at city hall. For a period of time she concentrated on painting animal portraits in pastel and gradually moved to painting the landscape on location.
In her twenties, she battled Hodgkin's lymphoma. After that, her strong spirit willed her often-frail body to amazing feats of achievement. She and her former husband, Albert Stevens, spent considerable time exploring Baja California. Their many whale encounters and experiences diving with dolphins inspired Glenna to paint numerous large paintings of marine mammals, including a collaboration with fellow Oak Group member, John Iwerks, on a mural for remote Santa Barbara Island.
 In 1987 Glenna was invited to join the fledgling Oak Group. She quickly became an indispensable force helping the group fly and then soar. She joined many other groups and participated in invitational trips that took her to the Forbes' Chateau de Balleroy in Normandy, a rafting trip in the Grand Canyon and to many other places, but her passion and commitment remained with the Oak Group and their causes. Of particular importance to her was the collaboration with the Nature Conservancy’s Santa Cruz Island project. She conceived the audacious idea of having a yearly art show on the island’s main ranch to benefit the island and its creatures.
Glenna enjoyed painting the historic ranchos and remote ranchlands of Santa Barbara and Marin counties; she also collaborated closely with her good friend Ellen Easton in the realization of a series of books published by the Easton Gallery, where her work was represented for 18 years. Many of Glenna’s painting adventures culminated in important shows and sometimes in national art magazine articles. Ray Strong called her the most fully realized painter in California.
Despite her many accomplishments and recognition she remained unassuming, warm and accessible. She was down to earth and enjoyed simple pleasures. Through the years she loved her many pets, including the pair of geese that used to fly behind her as she ran down a hill behind her house. She always looked forward to her weekly outings to the movies with her beloved brother Robert of Santa Barbara. Her brother and her mother, Norma Jean Hartmann of New Jersey, survive her.
A memorial service for Glenna will be held sometime in the near future, its date and location to be announced in this paper [The Santa Barbara News-Press]. It is requested that in lieu of flowers donations be made to the Nature Conservancy’s Santa Cruz Island Project [Santa Cruz Island Preserve. 3639 Harbor Blvd., Suite 201. Ventura, CA 93001]. Glenna leaves us in her paintings many things of beauty that “will never pass into nothingness.”
If you aren't familiar with Glenna's work, I am happy to be able to share some of it with you here (from the top): Approaching Storm (20x17), Estuary Cliffs (17x12) and Sunlit Cliffs (14x18). You can also find a feature on the artist in the July/August issue of the magazine, which is still available for purchase here.
Art Inspiration | Overheard
Monday, June 02, 2008 9:35:22 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Concerned About the Copyright Controversy?
Posted by sarah
 Have you been confused by the recent flurry of debate surrounding the Orphan Works Act of 2008? The legislation may have a significant impact on artists but the specific ramifications are somewhat unclear, which is why it's important to get a good sense of the matter from a legal perspective. Our sister publication, The Artist's Magazine, has commissioned several attorneys to address the controversy on our website: "There appear to be strong feelings about orphan work legislation based
on misinformation, a lack of understanding of the proposed laws or a
fear of change. Alarmists have incorrectly stated that the orphan works
bills would deprive copyright owners of their rights or force creative
people to register their works with the Copyright Office. Others have
characterized the proposed legislation as confiscatory and aimed at
depriving copyright owners of their ability to obtain fair compensation
for the uses of their works. None of these positions is accurate,
though the legislation does have practical problems." Read the entire article (by
Leonard D. DuBoff and Christy O. King) here. And read The New York Times' "Little Orphan Artworks" here. (Thanks to Grace Dobush for the legwork.)
Overheard
Wednesday, May 28, 2008 2:46:20 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Tuesday, May 27, 2008
If You Hang It, They Will Come
Posted by anne
 We talk a lot in this community about the importance of educating the buying public about the pastel medium, correcting for one, the mistaken idea that pastel is the same thing as playground chalk. But what we may not always realize is that, along with the buying public, many gallery owners may also be in need of some education. And, the fact is, if they won't hang it, it's harder to familiarize the public with the medium. There are many galleries, such as Ventana Gallery in Santa Fe, N.M., who proudly represent pastel artists ( Albert Handell and Doug Dawson, in the case of Ventana), which has done a lot to expand certain art markets, but there is work to be done. I recently received a plea from a reader of The Pastel Journal, Lisa, who just had a run-in with a skeptical gallery owner. I asked her if I could post her letter here, and open up the discussion to our Pastel Journal community for comment.
Dear Pastel Journal,
I have a marketing question. Recently, our local museum and art organization put together a presentation on how to get into galleries. I emailed some images to one of the presenters, a gallery owner, per his request, after I called him to ask questions (Don't ever send images to a gallery unless they ask you to!). Long story short, he said that my technique was good, but that works on paper do not sell, and that it is hard to sell pastels in Indianapolis, Ind. He explained that people see them as fragile, less valuable, and as something that they can do themselves. He also said that people continually confuse pastels with chalk. I was very disappointed to hear this.
I also know of a pastelist who gave up and switched to oils because he got tired of educating the public.
I asked an artist friend for her thoughts. She suggested that I quit using the term "pastels" in any of my marketing materials, but refer to them instead as mixed media pieces. But I am stubborn! I love pastels and I want people to know that I use them. I want people to realize what can be done with pastel. I do art fairs. I post little "Did You Know?" signs with facts about pastels. People actually take the time to read them and sometimes comment that they "learned something today." But how do I "sell" pastels to galleries?
I would like to know how other pastelists deal with these issues. Am I just in the wrong state? The same gallery owner that I mentioned at the beginning told a wood turner and carver who was at the same presentation, that he needed to go to N.C., N.M. and Ariz.
Sincerely,
Lisa
If you've been at a similar point in your career, and have some advice for Lisa,
please share! We'd all love to hear how other artists have had success
opening doors or spreading pastel enlightenment. (To post a comment,
simply click on "comments" tab below, type your response into the
comment box and submit. You do not have to include your e-mail address
in the form box in order to submit.)
Tips and Techniques
Tuesday, May 27, 2008 4:43:02 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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