January 26, 2012 – 5:27 pm
I recently ordered a package of eight large (24″ x 36″) pastelbords from Above Ground Art Supplies in Toronto (ordered by phone, they arrived on my doorstep by special post, but took several months–I had been warned by the clerk that this could be the case, and I wasn’t in a hurry, so that was [...]
January 26, 2012 – 5:02 pm
Ok, so I’m not so young, but it just doesn’t sound right to say “Go west, middle aged woman!” Anyway, I’ve just returned from a two-week stay at a lovely house on the Sunshine Coast, just north of Vancouver. In an attempt to escape Ontario’s bleak January weather, we fled to B.C.’s warmer, albeit much [...]
December 6, 2011 – 4:26 pm
Early in December, five students gathered to tackle the painting of winter snow scenes. I think they were pleasantly surprised to discover that it’s easier than they thought! Here are some of the key ideas from the lesson: Snow scenes work best with fewer layers of pastel, to allow texture of underpainting to show through, [...]
December 6, 2011 – 3:57 pm
Recently the Robert McLaughlin Gallery in Oshawa mounted a wonderful exhibition featuring the work of William Brymner and some of his students, including Clarence Gagnon and Maurice Cullen. Although a Scot, Brymner visited and painted in Canada frequently, and his influence on early Impressionist-era painters in Ontario and Quebec was significant. The exhibition includes both [...]
November 6, 2011 – 11:15 am
Yesterday three students and I enjoyed a session together exploring the power of neutrals. These subtle tones are often neglected by the new pastelist seduced by the jewel-bright intensity of pastels, but they are critical to the success of paintings that aspire to be naturalistic. Nature is sparing with her intense hues, and when we [...]
September 18, 2011 – 9:47 am
I’m talking about a painting that just…doesn’t…quite…work! And what you might try to get yourself out of the problem. Take this perfectly “ok” painting I did last weekend during an open studio session. It’s ok but not stellar–a bit boring, a bit flat. I like the field of goldenrod and the willow on the [...]
August 29, 2011 – 6:08 pm
Although I have been teaching pastels for about three years, and have more than thirty years of teaching experience, the thought of completing a complete demo for my students was still daunting! I wasn’t sure I could articulate what I was doing and why I was doing it ( a “left brain” analytical kind of [...]
As the summer progresses, grasses start to take on a warmer tone, and late summer paintings benefit from underpaintings in orange and purple. I recently completed this one, titled ‘Til the Cows Come Home, by underpainting entirely with tones of orange (pale peach under the sky, pure orange under the grasses, and deep orange under [...]
One of the toughest problems painters face in the summer months is the challenge of GREEN. Sometimes it seems as if the whole world is a sea of green, as in Paul Simon’s song Kodachrome, “Give me the greens of summer; makes me think all the world’s a sunny day.” An upcoming lesson in my [...]
Every two years, the International Association of Pastel Societies (IAPS) holds a three-day convention in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and this year I was lucky enough to go to represent the Pastel Artists Canada. I love the experience because it’s a chance to experience a number of great pastel artists in a short period of time, [...]