Indholdsfortegnelse for July/August 2020 i The Pastel Journal

Aesop taught us millennia ago that “slow and steady wins the race.” More recently, Malcolm Gladwell has popularized the idea that it takes 10,000 hours to learn a new skill. Plein air landscape painter Willo Balfrey provides clear evidence of the truth behind these suppositions; her artistic journey has been ongoing and persistent, and she’s reaping the benefits. HEADING OUTDOORS Balfrey grew up in Durango, Colo., and although she had some interest in drawing, she had no drive to be an artist as a child. Still, the Colorado landscape must have seeped into her subconscious. “There were such beautiful mountains surrounding my family home,” she says. “Even though I didn’t know I wanted to be an artist, I think back now and realize what a huge influence the landscape has…

Because composition makes or breaks a painting, I’m an avid believer in beginning with a thumbnail sketch. For this dazzling sunset over the water, I sketched on tan-toned paper with hard pastels. I chose a low horizon line and cropped my reference image in order to create a closer, more graphic approach. Inspired by how the cloud patterns and sunlit areas of the sky were echoed in the water, I created interlocking forms of light and shadow to direct the viewer’s eye up and down the painting. Utilizing a strong leading line draws the viewer into the scene on a curved slope, which then intersects with contrasting light and shadow shapes at the horizon. Ultimately, the lightest light and the warmest color is reserved for the magical sunset alongside the…

The Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, dedicated to the work of the Dutch Post-Impressionist Vincent van Gogh (1853–90), has made a major acquisition that will aid in contextualizing the work of the artist. Earlier this year, the museum announced that a pastel work by French Impressionist Edgar Degas (1834–1917) had entered its permanent collection. The 1896 work presents an intimate view of a nude woman washing herself with a sponge. Woman Bathing is one of approximately 10 ambitious pastels from a period in which Degas focused all his effort on depicting female nudes. Van Gogh was a great admirer of these drawings, and his own work was influenced by them. Degas As Innovator Woman Bathing belongs to a group of pastels on which Degas worked in the years between 1884…

When I first visited Crete on a six-week journey in the fall of 1985, I was looking for new inspiration. There was a mystique about the island—a place associated with the beginnings of European civilization. The Bronze Age Minoans flourished there between 3000 and 1100 B.C. and then mysteriously disappeared. Crete is also the largest of the Greek isles by area, with everything an artist could wish for: extraordinary scenery and people noted for their hospitality. It was with good fortune that a close friend of mine, who happens to be Greek, arranged for me to stay with her elderly mother at their family home in the small mountain village of Korakies. Her mother didn’t speak any English, and I could only speak a few words of Greek, but somehow…

MATERIALS For a surface, Mull opts for either UART sanded paper (grade 320) or Sennelier La Carte in peach, sienna or sand. Her favorite pastels include: • Caran d’Ache pastel pencils, which have “an exceptionally velvety feel and great hues, including neutrals for detailed areas,” Mull says. • Schmincke pastels, which she describes as an “especially soft, velvety and intensely pigmented pastel line.” • Unison pastels, which, Mulls says, “offer great neutrals, especially for clouds and sky.” • Girault pastels, which the artist appreciates for the “very extensive shades of green for landscape.” Step 1: Mull follows a similar process for most of her paintings. To begin, she prepares the ground with a watercolor tone or imprimatura; in this case, she used a mix of burnt sienna and red. She…

Akhriev is an artist who works in multiple media—oil, watercolor, pastel, even mosaic and bronze. “My process varies,” he says. “Sometimes I need a study for a large oil painting, and I work out the solution in pastels. Other times, the pastel medium speaks to me and says, ‘I am the medium for this subject.’ ” Whether he’s working in watercolor, as he did in Beach Series III (at left; 4x6), or pastel or oil, Akhriev’s goal for his beach paintings is the same: to capture the color, light and joy found at the seashore.…

Watching an artist develop over time can be fascinating—and British artist Judy Tate is currently experiencing a blossoming of creativity and success. For the past six years, her work has been accepted at Mall Galleries, in London. Among these paintings, Midnight Sonata (page 54) was included in the United Kingdom’s Pastel Society Annual Exhibition this year; From the Depths (page 59) appeared in the 2019 exhibition. The latter highlights how her use of color has become more adventurous. Roots and Wings With a degree not in art but in biological science, Tate began her career by moving to Italy and working in the medical testing lab of a hospital. After a few years, she returned to England, changed career paths and eventually became the director of a U.K.-wide IT recruitment…

EMBRACE NATURAL LIGHT As much as possible, take advantage of daylight hours to paint with the light coming through a window. Relying more on natural light will reduce energy consumption, saving you money on your electricity bill while also helping the environment. When lighting is needed, consider energy-efficient bulbs like CFL and LED options. PROPER DISPOSAL Art products that contain hazardous materials should never be poured down the drain or diascarded in garbage or recycling bins. Improper disposal of art supplies can lead to contamination of the water supply and soil. To dispose of toxic materials, use an appropriate container and then carry the waste to your nearest hazardous disposal site. EVERYTHING OLD IS NEW AGAIN If you have usable supplies lying around that you no longer want or need,…

In the vineyards that crisscross Germany’s wine country, Susanne Mull sees patterns inscribed since the time of the Roman Empire. In a French bar, she sees Édouard Manet’s famous painting come to life, and a scene with three women calls to mind a composition by 19th-century German artist Wilhelm Leibl. Describing her studio, Mull says, “It’s a little bit similar to Adolph Menzel’s Balcony Room.” This reference to the 1845 German painting readily evokes the artist’s serene, sun-filled space with tall ceilings, hardwood floors, and French doors opening to a balcony. Mull’s home—a 19th-century brick building with a top-heavy Mansard roof—keeps her connected to the past. So, too, does the wine-growing region of Rheinhessen in which she lives. Located on the Rhine River, this area was a stomping ground for…

The twinkling dance of sunlight on waves, the sleek highlights on sea-soaked limbs or the dark eddies of Venetian canals project powerfully from Daud Akhriev’s sea-inspired paintings, transporting us to the glories and sensual pleasures of summer days. Amidst the surf, he presents bathers, masterfully drawn to capture the characteristic movements and gestures of people playing in the ocean: shivering children running from the water, clusters of young girls giggling and splashing, people lifting their arms above the water as they wade deeper into the waves. “My beach series is inspired by how people are in a relaxed environment without being self-conscious,” says Akhriev. “They’re on vacation, playing and swimming, jumping in the waves and playing ball on the beach, moving in ways they don’t in their regular lives.” The…

Junko Ono Rothwell felt the joy of sketching from life at a young age. In elementary school in her native Japan, her class had plein-air days where they would go to a park or beach and paint what they saw with watercolors. When she was in junior high school, Rothwell’s art teacher encouraged her to fill a sketchbook over the summer. “Draw anything you want,” he told her. She spent that summer covering pages with sketches of her family, landscapes and even insects. She wasn’t sure if her teacher would approve of them—some were almost scribbles—but he was, of course, delighted. Some of his comments about her sketches stay with her to this day. Like, “What a beautiful pattern” for her sketch of the wing of a cicada. And “Good…

MATERIAL TIPS • I generally use Colourfix pastel paper or Ampersand Pastelbord as my surface because of their ability to take water or alcohol while also being sufficiently primed to take several layers of pastel. The advantage of paper over a panel is the ease with which paper can be cropped. • Pipe insulation is great for moving wet pastel around on a painting’s surface. It’s inexpensive and clean, and it can be cut into wedges of ½ to 1 inch, producing a point and a long edge. • Colourfix primer restores a paper’s tooth that has become clogged. This works with gouache, acrylic, charcoal, graphite and other media. Often when I start a painting, I don’t have a detailed plan but rather a few key words that indicate the…