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 Monday, October 26, 2009
For VIPS (Very Important Pastelists)
Posted by anne
 If you're a fan of F+W's fine art magazines and books (and I know, already, you're a fan of The Pastel Journal, of course), you're going to want to hear about a new program that just launched. The Very Important Painter (VIP) program is a new membership program that supplies—for an annual fee—access to free content and gifts, as well as regular savings on all the art-inspiring books, magazines and digital materials you might need to support your passion. Here's how it works: With a one-year paid membership of $49.99, you get your choice of either a one-year subscription to The Artist's Magazine (a newsstand value of $51.90) or any one pick of a North Light art book (a retail value of $32.99)! You'll also receive three months of unlimited access to all the online workshops at artistsnetwork.tv. Finally, as a VIP member, you'll receive 10% off every purchase you make at www.northlightshop.com. This is the online store where you can find, among other things, The Pastel Journal's back issues, annual issue CDs and digital downloads; 144-page books by pastel artists such as Maggie Price, Margot Schulzke and Bob Rohm; and DVDs with pastel artists Deborah Secor and M. Katherine Hurley. Click here to see the complete program details.
Art Inspiration | North Light | Overheard
Monday, October 26, 2009 8:30:20 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00) 
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Friday, October 23, 2009
Art Works Defined
Posted by jessica
National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Chairman Rocco Landesman defined "art works" three ways Wednesday at the National Grantmakers in the Arts conference: It's a noun, verb and declarative sentence.
In an effort to learn more about the ways in which art works around the country, Landesman will begin a six-month national tour next month—and the NEA has launched a blog where you can post your account of how art works for you. Check it out at www.arts.gov/artworks.
MORE RESOURCES FOR ARTISTS
* Online
Seminars for Fine Artists
* Instantly download fine art magazines, books & video
workshops
* Sign up for your
Artist's Network email newsletter & receive free fine art tips &
demos
Art Inspiration | Overheard
Friday, October 23, 2009 4:24:39 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Eight Great Pastelists
Posted by jessica
"Many artists put the cart before the horse and they apply technique with such rigidity that it suffocates the art. Technique has to come out of the search for the art."
— Jimmy Wright
In celebration of a Pastel Journal milestone, in the June 2009 issue we debuted the 10th Anniversary "Artist Interview Series"—a series in which we reconnected with eight beloved pastelists who had been featured in the magazine over the years—with pieces on Jimmy Wright and Elizabeth Mowry. We're pleased to now offer the entire series in one digital download, which includes those interviews with Wright and Mowry, plus more with Albert Handell, Daniel Greene, Fred Somers, Lois Gold, Sally Strand and Brennie Brackett (all pictured above, L-to-R). At $6.99, it's an affordable treat!
The download is in PDF format, so you'll need Adobe Reader (a free program, which you can download here).
Click here for the download, Eight Greats: The Pastel Journal's 10th Anniversary Artist Interview Series.
MORE RESOURCES FOR ARTISTS
* Online
Seminars for Fine Artists
* Instantly download fine art magazines, books & video
workshops
* Sign up for your
Artist's Network email newsletter & receive free fine art tips &
demos
Art Inspiration | Tips and Techniques
Wednesday, October 21, 2009 7:31:59 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Notes from North Light: Mixing Colors With Pastels
Posted by Mary
Award-winning pastel artist and author Bev Lee knows the secret to creating lively, exciting pastel paintings is through creative mixing and layering. Read on for Bev's tips on creating beautiful color combinations in your painting:
When painting a portrait, look for places where you can use mixed colors. Pastel can be layered as heavily or as lightly as you choose to mix the colors. You can also lay colors next to each other, or crosshatch them to achieve exciting results.
Mixing Greens
Green is probably the easiest color to mix. There are so many shades of blue and yellow to work with, the sky is the limit, which is great because there is such a variety of green in nature. Tread lightly when adding a third color, but a hint of orange or light warm brown added to a green mixture can make some nice shades of olive and neutral green.
To discover more mixing tricks and techniques, check out Bev's book Painting Children: Secrets to Capturing Childhood Moments.
North Light | Tips and Techniques
Tuesday, October 20, 2009 6:47:24 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Wednesday, October 14, 2009
As Seen on TV
Posted by jessica
Artist newlyweds Justin Gignac and Christine Santora joined forces a couple of years ago on a project, Wants for Sale, wherein they paint items they'd like to own, sell them for the actual price of the objects and then buy the objects (a painting of a gold Nixon watch went for $287.19; Sleep, however, was free).
In 2007 they modeled Needs for Sale, a site that offers paintings of specific items that others need—for example, a painting of a fish to benefit City Harvest, a New York organization that "rescues" excess provisions from the food industry and distributes it to community programs. Now they're back with a new batch of acrylic-on-canvas works, the "As Seen on TV" series. This series includes the—you guessed it—infomercial-influenced ShamWow, the Chia Pet, Snuggie (pictured below), and so on. The set goes up for sale today at noon (EST); check out the site for details.
MORE RESOURCES FOR ARTISTS
* Online
Seminars for Fine Artists
* Instantly download fine art magazines, books & video
workshops
* Sign up for your
Artist's Network email newsletter & receive free fine art tips &
demos
Overheard
Wednesday, October 14, 2009 4:06:34 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Tuesday, October 13, 2009
The Obamas Go Art Shopping
Posted by Anne
Here's a fun game. Pretend you get to go shopping (well, borrowing) in the collections of the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the National Gallery of Art and the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden; what pieces would you select for your home? President Obama and the First Lady got to do just that, and their 45 choices show an eclectic taste. Coming to the White House are paintings by Josef Albers, Mark Rothko and Jasper Johns; sculptures by Degas; paintings by contemporary
African-American artists—William H. Johnson, Glenn Ligon and Alma Thomas—and more. Read more and view a slide show at The New York Times web site.
Art Inspiration | Overheard
Tuesday, October 13, 2009 5:29:21 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Thursday, October 08, 2009
Pastel Community Loses Another Friend
Posted by anne
I received more sad news this week. Michigan artist Jerry Power died on Sept. 27, 2009, at his home. He was 64 years old. Power was an award-winning pastel artist, whom we recently featured in the April issue as the winner of the Art Spirit foundation/Dianne B. Bernhard Silver Medal Award of Excellence in the 10th annual Pastel 100 (read more about that here) for his beautiful pastel Springtime (at left; 13x19).
Jerry was a member of a number of art organizations, among them, the Great Lakes Pastel Society; the International Association of Pastel
Societies, of which he was a Master Circle member; the Great Lakes
Plain Air Painters Association, in which he held a master painter
designation; and The Pastel Society of America, signature member. You can read the entire obituary as published in the Traverse City Record Eagle here.
The Pastel Journal staff would like to extend our sincere sympathy to Jerry's family and friends. I know we will miss him as a presence in the art community.
Overheard
Thursday, October 08, 2009 8:42:20 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Wednesday, October 07, 2009
Indulge Your Wild Pastel Side
Posted by jessica
Art Inspiration | Overheard
Wednesday, October 07, 2009 7:31:14 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Tuesday, October 06, 2009
Notes from North Light Books
Posted by anne
Just about two aisles down from The Pastel Journal's offices sit the editors of North Light Books, publishers of all kinds of art instruction titles on topics ranging from pastel and watercolor to fantasy and manga. We've invited the book editors to visit us on the blog a few times each month to share some news and notes from their side of the business. Today we'll hear from Mona Michael, managing editor of North Light Books, with an introduction to one of the authors she's been working with recently:  It generally takes one to two years to create a North Light Fine Art book. That means that those of us who are North Light Books editors generally get to know our artist/authors pretty well. Or do we? To find out, we’ve begun sending authors little “Q+As” once their books come out. For this, our first Pastel Journal blog, I thought I’d share a little insider info with you. First up is Ann Kullberg. Ann’s most recent North Light Book, Colored Pencil Secrets for Success: How to Critique and Improve Your Paintings was featured as one of Jen’s North Light Picks not too long ago. I spent a year (or more? I can’t remember now) working with Ann on this compilation book, and I can tell you she’s a delightful person who holds up like steel under pressure and aggressive deadlines. But what else? Here are a few factoids:  Hometown: Forest Grove, OR Current residence: Federal Way, WA Kids and/or pets? Both a daughter and a son, but no pets Favorite food: My mom’s Lemon Pork Chops…yummmmmmm! Favorite movie: Cool Hand LukeFavorite website(s): Huffington PostFavorite artist: Mary Cassatt Favorite book (art instruction or other): To Kill a MockingbirdFirst job ever: Picking strawberries every summer, starting at age 9! Best job ever: Teaching colored pencil workshops When did you know you wanted to be an artist? I’m not sure I ever did want to be one as much as it just seemed I was one, and I could choose to nurture those talents, or choose not to and pursue others. Give us a taste of your latest project? Creating the first online colored pencil directory, listing hundreds of colored pencil websites, blogs, books, videos, etc. What’s the best piece of career advice you’ve received? I didn’t actually receive this advice, but it is advice I could pass on, just the same. It’s never about the “big break.” It’s about all the baby steps that move you forward in your career inch by inch by inch. Websites: www.annkullberg.com and www.ColoredPencilCentral.comCheck out (and save on) Ann’s previous book, on portraits, Colored Pencil Portraits
Follow North Light Books, Fine Art on Facebook
Check out the latest video workshops from Artistsnetwork.tv
Art Inspiration
Tuesday, October 06, 2009 8:27:04 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Wednesday, September 30, 2009
New Pastel Download
Posted by jessica
Art Inspiration | Tips and Techniques
Wednesday, September 30, 2009 8:42:21 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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