PaintingsDIRECT.com - Exhibition

Pastel is pure pigment, the same pigment used in making all fine art paints. The pure, powdered pigment is ground into a paste with a small amount of gum binder and then rolled into sticks. An artwork is created by stroking the sticks of dry pigment across an abrasive surface, embedding the color in the "tooth" of the surface. Pastel paintings reflect light like a prism. No other medium has the same color power. Edgar Degas is generally recognized as the most prolific user of pastel and its champion.

This exhibition includes artists who use pastel in their work. It includes works by JoAnn Bishop, Cecy Colichon, Diana DeSantis, Maureen Keough, Karen Nangle, Maida Rosenheck and Richard Rutner.

Drawn to Pastels

PaintingsDIRECT artists will give you one perfectly obvious and sensible reason they use pastels. They're portable! Whether traveling or commuting to their day jobs, it's much easier to carry along a box of pastels and pastel paper than an easel and paint. Karen Nangle tells us "My use of pastels grew out of my frustration with not having time to paint. I had been commuting to work for nearly 10 years. In anticipation of an automobile trip to Virginia, I bought a box of Nupastels and a 9" x 12" sketch pad. It could fit easily on my lap, and the pastels fit on the seat of the car between me and my husband. Nupastels are hard, cover an expanse of space quickly, and their sharp edges make lines easily - perfect for use in the car, as long as I had a chauffeur!" JoAnn Bishop concurs. "Pastels lend themselves so readily to outdoors painting. A pad of paper and a box of pastels are extremely portable. The only drawback is if it rains." Richard Rutner was ultimately attracted to pastels because of "immediacy and portability", but he says he was "initially introduced to pastels by my (a) teacher at the School of Visual Arts in New York City. I was using soft pastels on a small stretched canvas that was prepared with pumice stone. I found it very much like painting with oils." Diana DeSantis started using pastels almost by accident. She says "I started painting with oils, and one Christmas my son gave me a small set of pastels which intrigued me. I loved the feel of them, and I thought "wow, no brushes to wash!"

Tongue & Tundra Series #1
(1997)
Richard Rutner

Boats at Rest - Cape Cod
(2007)
Diana DeSantis

Challenges

Pastel artworks, however, do have special needs. Without appropriate care, the applied pastels may smudge or particles may fall from the artwork surface. Karen Nangle has talked to many professionals to find the best way to preserve her pastel artworks. She is one artist who uses a fixative solution that is sprayed on the artwork once completed. In addition she says "I make a hidden double mat, so if pastel particles fall off, they drop out of sight. I use plexibox frames, because they do not break easily or interfere with the aesthetic of the mats which I cover with silk. I also prepare the inside of the plexibox with anti-static spray." Cecy Colichon doesn't use a fixative, rather "I use the tip of my fingers to fix the pastels, and I protect the art by means of appropriate materials, e.g. mats, glass and frames." Selecting the surface on which the pastels are applied is another important consideration. Maureen Keough tells us "One of the main challenges that I have experienced using pastels is selecting the right surface. Currently, I use Sennelier La Carte Pastel Card and Wallis sanded paper." JoAnn Bishop adds "I prefer to use pastel cloth as it has more 'tooth' than paper. Therefore, it holds more pastels and retains them better. Pastel cloth is very tough and versatile. Sometimes, I gesso a background color on the pastel cloth, and then when it's dry I use pastels over it. Also I've wet down the pastel cloth and then drawn on it with the pastel while it was still wet."

Trees in a Blizzard
(1995)
Karen Nangle

Spatial Translusion VIII
(1998)
Cecy Colichon

Preferences

While some artists make their own pastels and papers, ours largely prefer to use their time painting. Karen Nangle tells us about her materials of choice. "Although I have a collection of oil, soft and iridescent pastels, I prefer Nupastel and Canson 50lb, acid free, 9 x 12" perfect bound sketch books without spirals. I have never made my own pastels, but have made pastel papers using sand. I do not like having the grain interact with my composition, so I don't use Me-Teintes or other laid papers." Maida Rosenheck was once a fashion illustrator where she used charcoal with touches of colored pastels as accents of color. She adds that now, "I use pastel pencils for details and Nupastels and soft pastels for larger areas." Cecy Colichon's surface materials of choice are "...papers that have a smooth surface. Since I use my fingers and my goal is to achieve that softness that invites spirituality, it is important that the tips of my fingers flow throughout the surface of the paper." Alternatively, Richard Rutner says "I use Rembrandt soft pastels and I like various textured paper. I have been using Fabriano 140lb paper. Over the years I have experimented with anything I can find."

Rest at Last
(2003)
Maida Rosenheck

Torso Study V
(1997)
Cecy Colichon

Color and Brilliance

Once the right materials are selected based on the artist's preference, and caution given to preserving the artwork, the use of pastels creates opportunities. One feature that Maureen Keough notes is "I don't have to wait for a section of work to dry. Pastels are more forgiving as corrections can be made easily." She further explains "In the early 1970s, I was in a museum figure-drawing class. My instructor suggested that I could get more high lights and improve my work by using some pastels. It was as though a door of opportunity opened for me. Gradually, pastels became my medium of choice." Maida Rosenheck believes that pastels differ from other media "because of the airy, luminous quality I can obtain." Diana DeSantis appreciates their versatility. "I use pastels for all subjects, as well as oils. My aim was to become equally proficient in both mediums, and to have my pastels look like oils. I think I have achieved this because clients say they cannot tell the difference between the two." Along with our other artists, JoAnn Bishop remarks that she especially appreciates "The immediacy of the media and the brilliance of the colors. There is nothing between the pastel chalk and me; it becomes an extension of my hand. While I am applying pastels to paper/pastel cloth with one hand, my other hand is blending the colors."

Bermuda Sunset
(2005)
Maureen Keough

Shakespeare's Garden I
(1996)
JoAnn Bishop