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# Wednesday, June 24, 2009
New Issue!
Posted by sarah


The August 2009 issue of The Pastel Journal ships to subscribers this week, but you can also order a copy online. Here's what to expect:

Features

Degas & Whistler
By Tamera Lenz Muente
We celebrate the 175th anniversary of the births of these two art masters with a special feature that looks at their lives, ground-breaking pastels and sometimes thorny friendship.

Pioneering Spirit
By Robert K. Carsten
In the third installment of our "Artist Interview Series," Daniel E. Greene walks us through the back stories of 10 of his exceptional pastels from a career that spans four decades.

Red Tree, Blue Tree
By Bob Rohm
Every artist who wants to paint landscapes with vitality has to learn how to handle the greens. Find out, in this step-by-step demonstration, how stretching the range of color can help.

Reaching for Peace
By Deborah Secor
Pastel artist Lynn Goldstein approaches an enduring and majestic subject—trees—from a unique vantage point, creating a fresh and compelling series of pastels.

Earth and Sky
By Michael Chesley Johnson
Mixed-media artist Elissa Gore combines oil pastel and watercolor to great effect in her quiet, panoramic landscapes that celebrate the light and the land.

A Touch of Magic
By Anne Hevener
In the fourth installment of our "Artist Interview Series," Albert Handell describes his pastel application technique, an approach that's color- and value-sensitive.

Columns
Art Matters
By Anne Hevener
A group of artists reach new heights in the search for inspiration. Plus, your summer reading list, and more.

In Detail
By Albert Handell
In this in-depth look at a painting, ?nd out how subtlety makes a powerful impression.

Professional Practices
By Maggie Price
Entering juried exhibitions is an opportunity for recognition and evaluation. Make sure you get noticed for all the right reasons.

Pastel Pointers
By Richard McKinley
If you want to create harmonious color in your painting, then learn how to maximize the power of gray and other visual effects.

Creative Spark
By Lynn Goldstein
Take a second look by painting a favorite subject from a new vantage point.


Art Inspiration | Tips and Techniques | Tools and Materials
Wednesday, June 24, 2009 5:29:46 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)  #  Comments [0]
Pastel Society UK News
Posted by jessica

pastel_society_UK.jpgAn update from The Pastel Journal contributor, Ken Gofton:

A candle-lit Pastel Society UK dinner Saturday at London's Mall Galleries marked not only the closing of its annual exhibition, but the retirement of President Moira Huntly. She has been president for the past six years, but, as many friends and colleagues have pointed out, she has been a force in the organization's development for many more years than that.

Huntly was elected a member of the society in 1978, and almost immediately took a place on its council. She served as honorary secretary and then honorary treasurer. In 1993, she began a decade working as vice president alongside first the late John Blockley, and second, Tom Coates—two past presidents who did a great deal to raise the profile and status of the society.

"When I joined, the society, quite honestly, was not very good," Huntly said. "There was very little exciting work, and too many chocolate box paintings and portrait sketches. Now I believe we put on one of the best shows in London."

Vice President Bob Last then made the first of a carefully sequenced series of presentations, starting with an etched, stainless steel commemorative plaque. Huntly's love of ceramics was marked with the presentation of a large pot in the style of the famous potter Hans Coper. She also received a check for £1200—"toward a holiday in Venice"—and a large bouquet of peach roses.

As one artist at the dinner noted, "Unusually, she has been able to combine great charm with a steely determination. She has been a very popular president." Huntly will continue to serve on the council of the Pastel Society UK. She is succeeded by John Ivor Stewart.

(Pictured: New Pastel Society UK President Bob Last made the first of a series of presentations to outgoing President Moira Huntly. Photo: Ken Gofton)




Shows and Events
Wednesday, June 24, 2009 5:01:23 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)  #  Comments [0]
# Monday, June 22, 2009
More Competition News
Posted by anne

logo.bmp
The Pastel Society of America would like to remind us that there is still time to enter their 37th annual juried show, Pastels Only, scheduled for viewing at the historic National Arts Club in New York City, September 8 through September 27.

The postmark deadline for entries is July 1, 2009. You'll find a prospectus on their website. And, because entries need to be in a slide format, if you need to have digital images converted into slides, you can use a service such as Gamma Tech at www.gammatech.com, which offers a next-day service.

So, if this is one of your 2009 goals, it's not too late!



Shows and Events
Monday, June 22, 2009 5:15:10 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)  #  Comments [1]
# Friday, June 19, 2009
Art Competitions Insider
Posted by sarah

Our very own Anne Hevener (editor of The Pastel Journal) and Maureen Bloomfield (former editor of The Pastel Journal and current editor of The Artist's Magazine) will join forces on June 23, 2009, to present, "Entering Art Competitions: Enhance Your Chance of Success," a live, online seminar that will show you how to make strong choices when deciding which shows to enter, and share strategies for saving money and time. (Just by signing up for the class, you'll get a free copy of "How to Photograph Your Work for Contests and Shows.") Click here to reserve your spot.


Shows and Events | Tips and Techniques
Friday, June 19, 2009 3:08:15 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)  #  Comments [0]
# Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Whistler’s Pastels at The Frick Collection
Posted by jessica


James Abbott McNeill Whistler (1834–1903)
The Cemetery (1879; pastel on brown paper, 8 x 11 7/8 inches)
The Frick Collection, New York
Photo: Michael Bodycomb

Currently on view (through Aug. 23) at The Frick Collection in Manhattan is Portraits, Pastels, Prints: Whistler in the Frick Collection. In addition to The Frick’s assembly of four full-length portraits by James Abbott McNeill Whistler and his 1866 seascape, Symphony in Grey and Green: The Ocean, the exhibition features three pastels and 12 etchings from the artist’s travels to Venice in 1879–80, which propelled an especially prolific period in his career.

July 11 would be the artist’s 175th birthday, by the way. Look for a joint celebration for Edgar Degas and him in the August 2009 issue of The Pastel Journal, which ships to subscribers next Tuesday and hits newsstands July 14.




Overheard | Shows and Events
Wednesday, June 17, 2009 5:00:37 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)  #  Comments [0]
# Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Top 20th-Century Artists
Posted by jessica

The votes are in: The Times (UK) and the Saatchi have released their list of the top 200 artists working since 1900, with Picasso—whose Château de Vauvenargues is now open to the public—ranking in at No. 1, and Cézanne, Klimt, Monet and Duchamp rounding out the top five.

Paula Rego, who was featured in the December 2006 issue of The Pastel Journal, landed at No. 142. Who would make your list?



Art Inspiration | Overheard
Wednesday, June 10, 2009 3:33:14 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)  #  Comments [0]
# Thursday, June 04, 2009
Living Art Project Update
Posted by jessica

Pastel artist Penny Creasy founded the Living Art Project (featured in the October 2008 issue of the magazine), a series of free art classes offered to cancer survivors at St. Mary’s Regional Cancer Center in Grand Junction, Colo., in 2007 with a $1,000 grant from the Pastel Society of Colorado. Last fall, Creasy had just launched the Living Art Project’s second year; she recently e-mailed with an update:

"We have completed another eight months working on the Living Art
Project. The instructors—all professionals, and not necessarily pastelists—stepped up and gave amazing classes. I would like to recognize them in this report: Bev Lee, Gerri Harris, Dawn Sagar, Deb Bonzek, Chuck Morris and Lorraine Sells.

“Sometimes the numbers of participants didn't reflect the quality of the accomplishments. We decided as a group that three or four needed it as much as 10 or 12. The gravity of the illnesses made us realize that sometimes they just couldn't come. We discovered the value of what we were doing in the individual responses. We heard things like, ‘You changed my life,’ or ‘You have been my inspiration.’ That hour and a half twice a month gave each of those people that amount of time they didn't have to think about cancer. I asked one lady at the beginning class what her expectations were for the class. She said she wanted to ‘learn to draw while this destroys me.’ I told her that wasn't going to happen—and it hasn't. She came in one afternoon and said, ‘This wig is driving me nuts!’ I said, ’So take it off!’ She threw it in a sack and got on with the artwork. (I can't say giving her a voice through her art has healed her, but it sure has given her a reason for being.)

“St. Mary’s feels there is such a value in what we do that they want to continue and I believe they will come forward with some financial help. When people have heard what the project is about, they’ve volunteered to help with instruction or donate supplies. The Board of Directors of the Pastel Society of Colorado has agreed to supply funds for the next session beginning in September.”


What good things like this project are happening in your community?


Art Inspiration | Overheard
Thursday, June 04, 2009 3:06:48 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)  #  Comments [0]
# Monday, June 01, 2009
IAPS begins with an "I" for Inspiration
Posted by anne

It's the last day of the International Association of Pastel Societies (IAPS) show in Albuquerque, and outside the skies are sunny and dotted with a half-dozen hot air balloons. Inside it's the energy of some 600 pastel devotees that's running sky high. Attendees have been treated to presentations and demonstrations by such pastel luminaries as Duane Wakeham, Alan Flattmann, Jimmy Wright, Richard McKinley, Maggie Price and many others. And speaking of Maggie Price, we learned at the Saturday evening banquet, that she will be taking on the presidency of IAPS this summer as Urania Christy Tarbet, the founder and president of the organization, will be stepping down after 15 years. The excitement of this year's show is the perfect testament to Urania's accomplishment!

Of course much of the show's excitement surrounds the trade show, where the manufacturers of pastel materials sell their wares and showcase new products, which this year includes new semi-hard and medium-soft Richeson pastels (now available open stock), new "confetti" pastels from Terry Ludwig, new Box Top sets from Great American, a new pastel box manufacturer, a brand-new fixative (see Richard McKinley's blog from last week)  and lots more. We'll give you the whole scoop in the September issue of The Pastel Journal.

For artists who sometimes feel like the lone pastelist in their local art community, spending a few days with wall-to-wall pastleists is invigorating. If you couldn't make this year's convention, be sure to mark your calendars for the first week of June 2011. IAPS will be back in Albuquerque. I know I can't wait to return for another shot in the arm of inspiration!


Shows and Events | Tools and Materials
Monday, June 01, 2009 12:08:44 AM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)  #  Comments [0]
# Saturday, May 30, 2009
Let Them Have Cake!
Posted by sarah



The Pastel Journal
celebrated its 10th birthday in style yesterday with a reception honoring our friends in the pastel community. Highlights included thoughts from editor Anne Hevener, co-founder Maggie Price and publisher Jamie Markle, letters from long time contributors, a slide show presentation, and (of course) the birthday cake. Anne and Jamie are pictured here in the moments just before we sliced the cake and kicked off the party.

Shows and Events
Saturday, May 30, 2009 6:30:42 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)  #  Comments [0]
The Pastel Journal's IAPS 10th Anniversary Celebration
Posted by sarah

If, for some odd reason, you happened to have missed our special 10th Anniversary Celebration yesterday, you can experience at least a little of the festivities with our slide show honoring a number of our longtime friends and contributors.


Art Inspiration | Shows and Events
Saturday, May 30, 2009 6:21:26 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)  #  Comments [6]
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