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 Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Creative Spark Winners
Posted by sarah
  In the April 2009 issue of the magazine, Peter Seltzer challenged artists to keep viewers engaged by repeating elements in their compositions with his Creative Spark challenge ( read the article online here) and readers responded in droves.  We're now pleased to announce that the editors' choice and the winner of the prize (a half-stick set of Colourfix Pastels, a Rainbow Pack of Colourfix Paper and a Colour Shaper blending set) is Lisa Fricker with her pastel diptych, Lazy Day (24x30) and Summer Stillness (24x30), which are pictured above. The artist describes the process of  painting the winning works: "The problem of moving the eye is magnified in a diptych: The intended path is from the left, where a large wedge of lily pads points toward the upper right, then down to lower right within the second panel across the lily pads, brought back to the left by an upturned edge, a brilliantly colored stem and shadow patterns on the pond's bottom. This is followed by a back-and-forth movement across the two from the smaller Koi shapes straddling both images, and the large Koi moving upward toward a bursting lily bud and repeating the figure-8 path," she says.  Our runners up include Marie-France Oosterhof with Eggs, Ann Marie Torrez with Momma, and Brian Mathas Burt with Home-a-Rama. To see the past winners and challenges from all our Creative Spark contests, and the current challenge, visit the Creative Spark hub on our website.
Art Inspiration | Tips and Techniques
Wednesday, May 13, 2009 8:44:23 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00) 
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Monday, May 11, 2009
Now Showing: Inspired By Light
Posted by anne
 The pastel work of plein air painter and Pastel 100 award-winner Kim Lordier will be the subject of a new show opening this week (May 14) at the James J. Rieser Fine Art in Carmel, Calif. The show will include 28 land- and seascapes inspired by the scenic central California coast and bay lands of the San Francisco peninsula. Lordier describes her subjects as "rugged coastline alive with long shadows and rolling surf, clear green pools sparkling in the sun, sand and scrub shimmering under a lifting bank of fog ... and light." The gallery will host a "Meet the Artist" event on Saturday, from 12-2 pm, just one of many Saturday art events taking place in the town which also hosts the The Carmel Art Festival this weekend. Above: Cypress Dance (pastel, 24x18) by Kim LordierKim Lordier was the winner of The Pastel Journal Grand Prize Award in the 8th annual Pastel 100 competition. You can read more about the artist in a feature article in the April 2007 issue of the magazine.
Shows and Events
Monday, May 11, 2009 3:50:13 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Wednesday, May 06, 2009
Van Gogh's Ear
Posted by sarah
 A new study suggests that Vincent Van Gogh may have fabricated the famous story of self-mutilation surrounding his severed ear, which he wrapped in a cloth and presented to a prostitue, in order to protect the artist Paul Gauguin, who'd lopped it off with a sword during an argument in front of a brothel. From Telegraph: German art historians say the true version of events never surfaced as
the two men both kept a "pact of silence" – Gauguin to avoid
prosecution and Van Gogh in a vain attempt to keep a friend with whom
he was hopelessly infatuated. ... Other Van Gogh experts, including those at the Van Gogh Museum in
Amsterdam, disagree with the authors' claims. However, Nina Zimmer, the
curator of a major Van Gogh exhibition in Basel, was less sure:
"Perhaps they're right, but all the hypotheses are valid given the lack
of material," she told Le Figaro. In short, anything is possible. Read the whole sordid tale here. A nd see the ABC news coverage here.
Overheard
Wednesday, May 06, 2009 5:04:07 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Monday, May 04, 2009
Westward, Show!
Posted by anne
 The Elk Horn Art Gallery in Winter Park, Colo., will present a new show with award-winning artist Clive R. Tyler next month, June 26 through July 12. The solo show, entitled "Telling the Story of the West" will feature more than 20 news pastel works, which portray the skies, the land and the animals of the American West that so inspire the artist. Tyler will be giving a demonstration at the gallery on June 19 and is also offering a 3-day plein air workshop, June 20-22, in conjunction with the show June 20-22nd. Contact the gallery for more information.
Long Horns (above; pastel, 22x28) by Clive Tyler
Shows and Events
Monday, May 04, 2009 4:49:24 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Thursday, April 30, 2009
New Creative Spark!
Posted by sarah
  Using the finished work, Red, Yellow, Blue (top; pastel on paper, 29½x22½) as a model, Jimmy Wright painted Study From Red, Yellow, Blue (bottom; pastel on paper, 10½x14½), a more graphic and turbulent version of the same composition. To read the full text of Wright's challenge, cick here.To join in the fun, show us an example of a pastel painting in which you reinterpreted a
previously finished work. E-mail your image/s (4x6-inch JPGs with a
resolution of 72 dpi) and a description to pjedit@fwmedia.com by June 22, 2009.
Type “Creative Spark” in the subject line and include your name, e-mail
and mailing address. The “editors’ choice” will receive a $250-value
fine art media gift basket, including a six-month subscription to
ArtistNetwork.tv online video
workshops, $60 worth of North Light art books or DVDs; the 2006, 2007
and 2008 Pastel Journal CDs; and a one-year subscription (or free
renewal) to The Pastel Journal, The Artist’s Magazine or Southwest Art. Come back soon to see the winners of our last Creative Spark challenge, Perpetual Motion.
Art Inspiration | Tips and Techniques
Thursday, April 30, 2009 2:34:40 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Monday, April 27, 2009
A New View
Posted by anne
 Although I use my email calendar function to keep track of my schedule, I still hang a wall calendar on my office wall. It's decoration, and I look forward to flipping that page each month. Similarly, I now look forward to a new piece of desktop wallpaper art for my computer every month, and the new images from the June issue of The Pastel Journal are now ready. The two paintings (shown here) are: Jimmy Wright's floral,  Pompeii No. 7 (top; pastel, 29x41) and Rick Stevens' Divine Convergence (pastel, 24x30). Download them for your own computer desktop at our website. For "bonus" wallpaper selections, be sure to sign up for our email newsletter (see the link under "Navigation" at left)—and get access to an extra page of selections.
Art Inspiration
Monday, April 27, 2009 7:33:37 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Wednesday, April 22, 2009
10 Questions for Elizabeth Mowry
Posted by sarah
Wednesday, April 22, 2009 8:24:35 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Monday, April 20, 2009
Congratulations to Flora Giffuni
Posted by anne
 This week, Floral Giffuni (pictured at left with Urania Christy Tarbet and myself at the 34th annual "Pastels Only" awards dinner in 2006) will receive the prestigious Salmagundi Medal of Honor in recognition of her tremendous achievements as an artist and arts supporter. As both the founder of the Pastel Society of America (PSA) and the patron of the Flora B. Giffuni Gallery for Pastels at the Butler Institute of American
Art, Giffuni has been a tireless champion for pastel. Explaining, in a June 2007 feature in The Pastel Journal, the motivation for creating a national pastel society back in 1972, Giffuni said: "I realized how few people knew or respected pastel. It became my life's mission to do something about correcting the problem." Claudia Seymour, President of the Salmagundi Club, will award the medal to Giffuni at the Club's President's Dinner on April 23rd. Rae Smith, President of PSA; Jimmy Wright, PSA treasurer; and O. Alden James, president of the National Arts
Club, will offer tributes.  Please join me in congratulating Ms. Giffuni on this tremendous honor. It is certain that the current positioning of pastel in today's art world would not look the same had it not been for her efforts. If you would like to write a note of congratulations, you can send it c/o the
Pastel Society of America, 15 Gramercy Park South, New York, NY 10003. Three Faces (pastel, 18x24) by Flora Giffuni
Overheard
Monday, April 20, 2009 7:31:10 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Thursday, April 16, 2009
Shipping to Subscribers Next Week!
Posted by sarah
Features
One Still Life, Three Visions
By Anne Hevener
Explore the power of creative expression when three
painters—Leslie Lillien Levy, Claudia Seymour and Rainie
Crawford—paint from a single still life setup.
Bold Variations
By Sarah A. Strickley
In the first of our 10th Anniversary “Artist Interview Series”
installments, we chat with Jimmy Wright about his latest encounters
with the still mesmerizing sunflower.
Sacred Silence
By Deborah Secor
Elizabeth Mowry, the second painter in our “Artist Interview Series,”
talks about her current experience with pastels, landscape painting,
and how her creative goals have evolved.
Regal Resonance
By Ken Gofton
British artist and Royal Academician Anthony Eyton, who finds
inspiration in a variety of subjects, turns his artist’s eye to
everything from portraits, to botanical gardens, to abandoned power
plants.
The Pastel Royals
By Ken Gofton
Four members of Britain’s Royal Academy also share the distinction of
honorary status in the Pastel Society UK, making them the “crown
jewels” of England’s pastel scene.
Cosmos of Pattern
By Tamera Lenz Muente
Rick Stevens’ abstracted landscapes burst with colorful patterns that mimic the naturally occurring patterns of the land.
Columns
Art Matters
By Jessica Canterbury
Find out where pastels and pigs meet, celebrate Old Masters, and discover new online videos.
Pastel Pointers
By Richard McKinley
When a photograph must be your reference, use your tools to make sure it captures the live experience as much as possible.
Artist’s Viewpoint
By Margot Schulzke
When it comes to the use of black and white in painting, there are some gray areas.
Studio Smarts
By Deborah Secor
Discover a few illuminating tips for creating a well-lit studio.
Creative Spark
By Jimmy Wright
Sharpen your descriptive powers by returning to a subject you know for reinterpretation. To order your copy of the June 2009 issue of The Pastel Journal, click here.
Art Inspiration | Tips and Techniques | Tools and Materials
Thursday, April 16, 2009 4:09:17 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Art in Arizona
Posted by sarah
Shows and Events
Wednesday, April 15, 2009 6:50:57 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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