Pastel Exhibition Anticipation

I had two paintings selected from 200 pastel paintings by the nationally known pastelist Richard McKinley www.mckinleystudio.com/artist.html , to be included in an Intertnational Pastel Exhibition. "Flower Thoughts", and "Banana Seller" will be on exhibit at the "Mile High International Exhibition" sponsored by the Colorado Pastel Society, August 20,2011.  That's coming up and soon, this Friday! Here's a preview-



"Flower Thoughts" 17"x 23"

I think it's really an honor to be included with all the other pastelist's that have been selected by Richard McKinley. (*1) This is a special collection of paintings from artists around the country and showcases the best in contemporary art in the pastel medium.

Both of  my paintings which were selected are from my "Guatemalan Suite". If you have been following this blog you know I have been influenced by my volunteer experiences in Guatemala. The above pastel is based on the flower sellers I saw on the cathedral steps at the Chichiconstenango Sunday Market, on the first Sunday of Lent. I will show you the second pastel in a later post.

The Exhibition is open to the public and can be seen at the Curtis Arts and Humanities Center, 349 East Orchard Rd, Greenwood Village Colorado Mondays through Fridays from 10 - 4. Admission is free and the art is available for purchase. The Exhibition begins with an Awards Ceremony on Saturday August 20, 2011,from 5:30 to 7:30 PM. The exhibit is available for public viewing until September 15.

Do stop on in, I would love to see you and based on the beautiful pieces I saw when I took my art work in, I know you are in for a treat.

*1-- Check out Richard McKinley's art blog "Pastel Pointers" on my side bar of this blog. He always has interesting observations and ideas.

Getting Edgy

Alla Prima, final cut

Yesterday I got to take part in a workshop at the studio of Michelle Torrez. I did an earlier post about her work at Saks gallery here in Denver (www.saksgalleries.com). Look for an upcoming show in the winter months in Naples, Florida ( for those readers who live there). At any rate she has been working on renovating a new space for the past year for her studio. It was fun to see that, however looking at my photos I can see I didn't really take photos of it. Just let me say, it's a lovely place in which to work.

Heather and Skye working on their final painting.

During the workshop we painted from 9 AM to 4 Pm, with a lunch break. We had a model in the morning and did 1 minute gesture drawings, then 5 minute paintings (I was the only pastel painter the rest were oil painters), then we did 10 minute and finally 20 minute paintings. In the afternoon we worked from a photo taken of the model in the AM, an worked on using our former paintings and the photo to create a painting.

Morning reference painting.

The take away for me from this workshop was to be aware and to work with a variety of edges rather than always making a hard edge.  Now the other thing I loved was the gesture drawings and drawing the body when you could not see it, that is it is hidden by clothes,etc. That happened a lot as the model was wearing a great long, white, fluffy tulle skirt. So the day was filled with good ideas and the work of the other students was motivating. A great way to spend a Saturday.

Virtual Plein aire Painting

  As I said in my last Post I decided to paint in my studio here in Denver at the same time my fellow June/French travelers were painting in Iowa. That is between 1 and 4 PM Iowa time. I pulled out my first plein aire piece and decided to do a studio piece. Here are some photos reflecting my process, progress, procedures.
My original plein aire painting was a 7"x10" size, painted in the morning of our first day. I truly didn't know at the time I painted this piece what was beyond the arch which cars in the early morning were driving through.

Under-painting using Rembrandt pastels on Wallis  paper.

Under-painting painted with turpenoid.

I decided to use a larger format (11"x14") in the studio, and actually a vertical rather than horizontal format.

#1

#2

#3 t I removed a car
at this stage and modified various forms.

Next follows a series of photos showing how I put the pastel on, wrestle with shape, color and composition.

#4 Working with front and fine tuning shadows and forms.

 

#5 Final piece for now/ "Morning Drive in Beaune, France"