Artist Andrea McFarland

Artist Andrea McFarland: Capturing The Ridge In Pastels

by Annie O’Neill

Andrea McFarland’s intricate pastel paintings had me fooled on first glance. I thought a photographer had captured the essence of the dramatic Shawangunk landscape. But it was the subtleties of an accomplished pastelist that made her impressive renderings fool me!

Andrea’s road to artistic competence took many turns, deviations and one major snowboarding bump before personal discovery was possible. Brought up by an impressionist landscape painter and a photographer, in California, her immersion in the wonders of the natural world made a deep impression on her.

She was a mom at 21, and all her creative efforts went into costumes, birthday cakes, quilts and fabulous gardens. Andrea’s earlier plans were to be a wild plant botanist, but then psychology beckoned and it wasn’t until she was 40 that Sonoma State University gave her a bachelors degree.

For thirty years, Andrea played traditional Irish fiddle music (and still does, with her partner Jonathan Pazer, at places like New World Home Cooking in Saugerties and some more local venues).

If it hadn’t been for a snowboarding accident that broke her wrist, she might not have tuned in to her other artistic side. While healing, and not able to fiddle, she took up drawing in different mediums and then finally discovered dry pastels. Within two years, she was selling her work. She moved east to Gardiner after meeting Jonathan in music camp. He met Andrea and gave up his law practice to follow his passion—creat-

Blue Pond by Andrea McFarland. Image courtesy of the artist.

McFarland, continued page 11

1278 Albany Post Road, Gardiner, NY • 845-895-7433

Brookside-Farm.com

Brookside Farm Store ... Stop by our new location! 121 Main Street, Gardiner

Organic Grass fed beef, pastured chicken, free range eggs and Berkshire Pork