PSWC Magazine Spring 2019

PSWC magazine

Christine Ivers

This Master Master of of the the Night Night Scenes Scenes gives gives An An Artist Artist This to Artist Artist interview interview to to Laura Laura Pollak.

Pollak. to

Membership Show Show Winners Winners Membership All the the winners winners and and accepted accepted works, works, and and aa little little about about All Judge Terri Terri Ford.

Ford.

Judge

Mastering Marketing

Graeme Stevenson and Jennifer King offer their professional take on how to market yourself, and Debee Holland-Olson builds her own website.

TriARTisan Project

Artists Linda Roemisch, Suzi Long, & Marti Walker learn the joys of painting as one!

Pa s t e l S o c i e t y o f t h e W e s t C o a s t Volume 12, Issue 2

Spring 2019

PSWC Magazine | Spring 2019

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Join the most dynamic pastel group in the USA for less than 20c per day You don’t have to live on the West Coast to become a member. With PSWC members located around the US, as well as international members, the Pastel Society of the West Coast offers a strong voice for expanding the presence of soft pastel as a major fine art painting medium.

PSWC was organized in 1984 to promote pastel artists and the soft pastel medium. Today, PSWC is one of the most recognized pastel societies in the country, with an ever-increasing international presence.

Benefits include: Pastels USA Annual Exhibition | Members Only Online Competition | Workshops by Noted PSWC Artists | PSWC Social Media Exposure Opportunities | Free Online Gallery | Critique Program with Master Pastelists | Membership in IAPS | No Juried Membership, unlike other societies

We. Are. Pastelists.

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PSWC magazine

Table of Contents FEATURES SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT Membership Online Show The Interview Christine Ivers sits down with Laura Pollak Tri Artisan Collaboration When Three Work as One-Linda Roemisch, Suzi Long, and Marti Walker Meet the Members Members by the Dozen Mastering Marketing Jennifer King talks about Mistakes Artists can avoid.

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ABOUT ART Art in Motion Graeme Stevenson on video legacy, marketing, and making a difference.

Web Maker Debee Holland Olson builds a website and you can, too

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Art School Lavone Sterling shows you a thing or two

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Art Workshops Workshops Coming Up

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REGULARS Letter from the PSWC President From Sabrina Hill

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News & Notes All the latest from our Members

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PSWC Housekeeping Here’s what’s happening with the Society

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New Members Welcome to our newest PSWC members

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Contributors

In Jennifer King, you’ll find a blend of an entrepreneur’s head for business and an artist’s heart for creating. In addition to being a landscape painter, Jennifer has had a long association with art and artists. She is the former editor of International Artist Magazine, The Artist’s Magazine, and several other noted art publications. Fascinated by the business of art, she spent several years working in an art gallery, and she later returned to school to earn a master’s degree in marketing. Today, she brings all of these interests together in her own business, Connect Artist Marketing, which offers personalized marketing services specifically for fine artists.

WANT TO GET INVOLVED? There’s always room for more.

Let us know what you want to do, and we’lll find a spot for you!

KEEP IN TOUCH & FOLLOW US!

ABOUT THIS ISSUE Our magazine format was a big hit! This format allows us to add more art and gives readers a PDF version or an online digital version to read on mobile devices.

InDesign Magazine Template Designed by Erick Ragas StockInDesign Inc. www.stockindesign.com @stockindesign Fonts: Sabon, Aller Display, and Open Sans All photos are property of the artists

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Laura Pollak is an award winning Fine Artist, showing her works in galleries and museums across the nation. Her works have been juried into National and International Shows. Most recently Laura won First Place in the North Carolina Statewide Show.

She has garnered acclaim in the very prestigious International Association of Pastel Societies, and the Pastel Journal’s top 100 pastels. Her work has been published along with an interview in the THE PASTEL JOURNAL and in November 2019, will be featured in the book STROKES OF GENIUS available worldwide. Pollak holds a Masters Degree in Fine Arts from Michigan State University with Post Graduate studies from the Center for Creative Studies in Detroit, Michigan.

LaVone Sterling, is an internationally published, awarding winning artist, who lives with her husband in Visalia, California. LaVone hails from many generations of artists and musicians Her aunt, Eunice Sargent Johnson, was her first art teacher.

Her love of the California landscape and people is evident in her landscape and portrait paintings. LaVone works in oil and pastel. LaVone has a Master’s Degree in Art from California State University, Fresno and is a former community college art instructor. She has studied with Daniel James Keyes; Richard McKinley; Kim Lordier and others. She is a Signature Member of the Pastel Society of America; the Pastel Society of the West Coast and the Alliance of California Artists.

Letter from the Editor

Dear Pastelists,

This year PSWC is celebrating its 35th year! Founded in 1984, we have achieved so much as a society. Our annual Pastels USA competition represents some of the finest pastelists in the world. Our Online Membership Show, seen online and in this issue of the Magazine, promotes pastels and encourages artists to advance towards elevated membership status. This year we had one of the largest online membership shows in our history.

With such a rich and proud history, it is sometimes difficult to make changes at the organization level. Modernization of procedures, elimination of that which no longer serves us, and changes to the very database can be difficult. In 2018, because of the forward thinking of our Board of Directors--Susan Goodmundson, Bonnie Griffith, Jerry Boyd, Dug Waggoner, Deborah Pepin, Cindy Riordan, Russell Frank, and Rita Romero--the PSWC began making changes to our basic organizational systems.

The Board took sometime to evaluate the social, financial, and operational aspects of our society and how these issues reconciled with our mission statement. We determined our strengths and weaknesses and made some clear choices about the tools and techniques we would need to move forward and still honor our initials goals and aspirations. One of our biggest issues was having an accurate, reliable, and consistent communication path. Expanding our Regional Representative program helps to bring members together face-to-face, and the addition of new membership database software and a new website has allowed us to offer more to our membership through access to workshop information, a free online gallery for every member and shows online for all to see. With this important aspect of our communication path established, we continued to work on our ever expanding magazine. Our publication division is working on a book on the favorite tips and techniques of some of our best pastelists. When completed, it will be like taking mini-workshops from some of your best friends.

We are working in partnership with Terry Ludwig Pastels to create a limited edition 60-piece pastel set that will be available in 2020. We are planning another online show just for our general membership in the Fall 2019, and planning an online fundraising auction in partnership with DailyPaintWorks.com. And we’re going to IAPS in June!

Whew! We said goodbye to the end of one busy year and hello to the beginning of another busy, wonderful year in the PSWC. We. Are. Pastelists.

Happy Painting,

PSWC President and Editor, PSWC Magazine PSWC Magazine | Spring 2019

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News & Notes

News & Notes Awards & Honors

LaVone Sterling

Twenty pastel portraits by LaVone Sterling, comprised a third of the portraits in a three-woman show titled: “Look At That Face - An Exhibit of Portraiture”, at the Exeter Courthouse Museum and Gallery in Exeter, CA.. The show ran from January 26-March 31, 2019. There was an opening and a closing reception. Both receptions were well attended and LaVone was fortunate in selling two portraits. A reporter from Life Style Magazine attended the second reception and wrote an article reviewing the show. “Chance Encounter” and “Jessie”, two of LaVone’s portraits were included in the article.

Lavone was also thrilled to receive notice that her painting “This Path I Am On” was juried into IAPS Pastel World 2019 Exhibition. The reception is June 5, 2019.

Rita Kirkman:

Bobbye West Thompson Rita Kirkman has won Third in Show at the Austin Pastel Society Juried Member Exhibit with her painting “Persephone” (8x6 inches). (at left)

Rita is also offering an all-inclusive Pastel Art Retreat “Paint the Light in Pastel” in South Dakota this summer.

See page 79 for more information on this outstanding art vacation opportunity.

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Bobbye West-Thompson is honored to be awarded 1st Place (see “Breaking 3” below) in the exhibit juried by Dottie Hawthorne, nationally known pastel artist, now living in Portland. 23 American artists are showing 36 works.This is the first annual Spring Exhibit for California Central Coast Pastel Society (3CPS) is now open: Morro Bay Natural History Museum, 20 State Park Rd. April 3 - May 31 Meet the Artists Reception: Saturday, April 6, 1-4PM.

News & Notes

Around the Society New Board Chairs We are thrilled and delighted to announce that Pat Stoddard Aragon (Ways and Means Chair) and Jan Miller (Pastels USA) have joined the Board. Both women are accomplished artists and have been active in their art communities for many years.

Jan Miller says,” As an artist, I have tried multiple mediums, but pastels have been my greatest enjoyment and challenge. Pastels are so versatile that I am continually discovering new approaches to their use, application, and presentation. Pastels have a never-ending variety of applications and it is stirring to discover a new aspect of the medium. Artists Jan Miller such as Margot Schulzke, Anita Wolff, Richard McKinley, Waif Mullins, Alain Picard, and the late Bob Gerbracht have each been wonderful mentors.”

Pat Stoddard Aragon, a native Californian, has been involved with art most of her life. In her own words, “Painting equine portraits and “anything western.” about sums it up for me...I have always worn ‘cowboy boots’, jeans, and been a western person. It Pat Staddard Aragon shows in the way I dress and the way my home is decorated...the way I live everyday. I have always painted, had horses, dogs, and animals of all kinds.

My kids were all involved with 4-H animal projects, and I have always lived way out in the ‘boonies’ so

to speak. The most ‘way out’ place was on the Wind River Indian Reservation in the middle of Wyoming, where my husband and I raised cattle, horses and hay. I really lived the western lifestyle, and stored away many memories to paint. Memories of cowboys, special cowhorses, wildlife, Native Americans, ornery cows, real and true western family ranchlife, ranch community brandings, cattle drives, Pow Wows and Indian gatherings. Lots of beautiful, wild, open country.. and harsh winters. A lifetime of subject matter from my firsthand living experiences! I hope I am able to share some of these experiences and feelings with you through my artwork...”

We can’t wait to work with them!

New Website & Gallery Page For Every Member If you haven’t checked our website lately, you should. We are NEW & IMPROVED! We have a regular blog, shows online, and best of all, with the use of our new membership database, EVERY MEMBER can have their own online gallery at no additional charge! Please contact our webmaster here if you have any questions or issues. Check us out at www.pswc.ws

Call for Fall Fund Raisers The PSWC will be working with DailyPaintWorks to host and online auction and fund raiser for our scholartship program. The auction, Mini’s for Education, will take place in October. Artists can enter up to 3 pieces each, no larger than 9”x12” in any medium. Bidding will last over 30 days and winning bids will be split 70% to artists and 30% to PSWC. Proceeds will go to the scholaship fund to empowering new artists at college level and beyond. Details will be available online in July, but start painting now!

Terry Ludwig Pastels Terry Ludwigs Pastels is teaming up with the PSWC to create a special collection of pastels bearing our name for sale in 2020. The 60 piece set will be selected this summer. This is an amazing opportunity to have a set created by and for our members. Contact Sabrina Hill if you have a favorite color of suggestion about the palette. And to get ready to purchase your set in 2020, by put ting TLP on all your wish lists!

PSWC Magazine | Spring 2019

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Christine Ivers’ “Fishing in Brooklyn” 20” x 16” • Black Textured Gator Board

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Featured Interview: Artist to Artist

Christine Ivers

Master of the Night Scene

by Laura Pollak

When our illustrious President, Sabrina Hill, asked for volunteers to interview an artist for the next PSWC magazine edition, I jumped at the chance! And when Sabrina assigned me to Christine Ivers I was elated!

Christine’s work has delighted me for years and I was thrilled to have an hour to chat with her!

When did you realize you were an artist?

When I was in kindergarten it was coming up on Thanksgiving. The assignment was to draw a turkey! I’m sure many of us remember placing our hand on the construction paper, spreading our fingers and drawing around them. When I was done the teacher came over and said to me, “You must be an Artist!” I guess my turkey was better than the other kids, but from that day on I sort of owned it.

What was your childhood like?

I was born in Bronx and grew up in northern Morris County, New Jersey. My parents were born and raised in New York City, and my dad became head of exhibits and displays for the military. I grew up in very nurturing and creative atmosphere.

Christine Ivers

Who or what has had a strong influence in your work?

My Dad was a craftsman and my Mother was a crafter. Although neither had the ability to draw, they were always creative in their own ways. On top of that, they were the most supportive parents that any child could hope for. They saw that I had been given an inherent ability to draw and so when I was twelve my Mom found an oil painting teacher in a town a half and hour away from us. I remember going up to this lady’s attic where she had a painting studio and there I was…learning about oil paints! My first painting was that of a two-foot squirrel eating a nut! I made it up out of my twelve-year old head and so wish I had it today.

Since I tend to paint a lot of architectural night scenes many instructors, and other artists have told me that I “channel” Hopper! I also love his sketchbooks. Although I have never really used sketchbooks since my college years. (Having spent 42 years in the Graphic Arts, my “sketchbook” was a camera lens!) His simple black and white sketches with hundreds of notes to explain how he was feeling about PSWC Magazine | Spring 2019

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Featured Interview: Artist to Artist

“Looking For Love” 24” x 18” • Textured Black Gatorboard

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Featured Interview: Artist to Artist the weather, the day, the colors, and everything that helped him create his work enamored me.

What other jobs have you had?

MANY! I was a deli waitress, worked in a pharmacy, worked reproducing needlepoint canvases, was head waitress at a fancy nightclub, got my first graphics job in a tech illustration house and finally worked in advertising until 2007 when the economy crashed. That’s when I put a sign out on my front lawn at the office….”Art Lessons”….and moved stuff around in the ad agency that I owned and started to teach.

cluded ComputerLand, DataProducts NE, General Electric, Laticrete International, and many more. I was forced to leave the Ad business because one of my main clients was GE. All of a sudden in early 2006 they had NO BUDGET!!! All of the work was going to Mexico when NAFTA was signed. That’s when it all started to crumble and when work started go-

How did you get into Graphics?

I sat at drafting board at 16 years old as a paste up board artist in a printing plant. I came from college and worked at the tech illustration house during the day and at night I worked at a high class night club as head waitress. It was very fancy. That helped me put myself through college. It was called THE HOUSE OF ZODIAC and when they figured Christine’s first night scene; “Late Night Dinner” 17” x 23” • Wallis Museum White [Chris even designed the logo for this restaurant!] out that I could draw, I was paid to paint zodiac symbols on their ceiling. I was lying on my back painting like ing to China I knew I was doomed. My last two cliMichelangelo! I would work until 2-3 a.m. and then I’d ents were a Veterinarian Clinic and Funeral Home.

I went from making a six figure salary to $15,000 in go to class the next morning at 8 a.m. one year. That’s when I started giving art lessons. It Once I graduated, I got the job with a Technical Illustra- really was a natural transition from graphics to fine tion company. (I still have a brand new, complete set of art, but I went from an unstable advertising career Rapidograph pens!) I was doing technical illus- to an unstable Fine Art Career. tration and schematic drawings of the JT 90 Pratt & Whitney engine that had 9002 parts! Then GE Who has helped you along the way? wanted me to come work for them and they My two best friends are Richard McKinley and wanted me to move to Pittsfield, Massacusetts. Claudia Seymour. Richard has helped me all but I didn’t go. At one time I was offered a job in NYC along the way with his mentoring and incredible patience. I met Richard when I first coordinatbut it was too expensive to live there. ed a Connecticut Pastel Society workshop. We What types of clients did you have at your Ad just clicked and have been buddies ever since.

Agency?

When I started my agency in 1986 I was working in my Claudia is another story! attic. I took an equity loan on my house to buy a copier that is still running today. I could work fast on a drafting I entered my first competitive art show in Pen and board so I came late to the computer. Once I became Brush Gallery in Manhattan and got in! But I had a proficient on the computer, I could always beat the wedding to attend and I had no way to deliver the quotes, so I always made a good living. My clients in- piece to the show. I posted an SOS through ConPSWC Magazine | Spring 2019

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Featured Interview: Artist to Artist the meantime, Claudia had computers but didn’t know how to use them and offered to pay me to teach her. So Claudia was helping me with my painting career and I was teaching her how to use her computers. Over time we now refer to ourselves as sisters by a different Mother. So those two mentors helped me get to where I am today and they’ve taught me things I could never learn from books. By the way, that painting still hangs upstairs in my living room.

Do you work exclusively in pastels?

Like many other pastellists, I also work in oil. On occasion I dabble in watercolor. And like many other “Pastel Junkies” I’m in love with the immediate gratification and response I get when I’m painting. No waiting for it to dry, not having to clean brushes, and the fact that I can just cover the boxes so that my three crazy cats don’t get into them! But most of all I love that I can correct anything without a problem.

Just grab the brush and brush off the mistake!

“Faster Than the Speed of Light” 24” x 18” • Black Textured Gator Board

necticut Pastel Society to see if anyone was going in to the city and would be willing to take my piece in and Claudia Seymour offered. At the time she was President of the Salmagundi Club (I didn’t even know what that was back then!) Claudia opens the door to me with my short, spiked, gelled, hair and says, “Welcome.” But she really didn’t know what to do with me. (Christine chuckles at the memory). In 12

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What are your Favorite pastel brands?

ALL OF THEM! I was unhappy when NuPastel went to Mexico, but I still use them for cutting edges. The more the merrier and I experiment with anything new.

What was your biggest artistic milestone?

THE DAY I DISCOVERED PASTELS! We have Pastels Anonymous in my classes. I warn students that they will get hooked. If students buy anything during the week they must come in to class and confess.

What type of paper do you use? Do you prep all your own boards?

Featured Interview: Artist to Artist I prep gatorboard. I use black ArtSpectrum Colorfix Pastel & Multimedia Primer on black gatorboard.

This last winter I painted on different paper samples that I’d been given.

I’m trying the Chinese papers, UArt, and others, but honestly I like most papers.

Why do night scenes captivate you so much?

I always keep going back to the subtle undertones of value and temperature. You don’t even realize it until you keep looking at halogen, neon, and incandescent lights and how they bounce off of everything. Even the white lines in a road will pick up the light even in the dark. You’ll see 6-7 layers of temperature in the darks. I figured it out from one photo that I took with the lights that were beaming down from restaurant my daughter worked at. I had a good camera with me and after dinner ran across the street to take the shot. The light was reflecting everywhere!

Even on hubcaps. And, I just love to paint hubcaps!

What’s imperative for an artist attempting to paint a night scene?

Most newbies to painting nocturnes don’t have enough dark pastels and need some really light lights.

I paint with black and with white and everything in between.

Do you travel for workshops?

Yes. I’ve slowed down this year. Last year I went to 7-8 different places. It is tiring. I don’t know how Richard McKinley does it with 13 workshops every year! Travel is hard at this point. I had four kids and never really went anywhere and now I’m hopping all around the country. (laughing) You can tell I’m so shy and reserved… But I LOVE teaching. I really

“Stop It!” 20” x 16” • Black Textured Gator Board

enjoy it so much better than the old world.

Do you still take workshops?

Yes I do! I like to throw myself out there and see how others think and because having had the Ad Agency I needed to learn how others think. I’ve taken workshops from Susan Ogilvie, Frank Federico, Doug Dawson, Liz Haywood-Sullivan, Tony Alain and many others.

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Featured Interview: Artist to Artist What do you think about when choosing multiple pieces for a show?

I consider what is a “body of work.” Are the pieces working together or is there an argument between them. It’s important to me that a show tells a story about the way I think. It’s just as important to make sure that the paintings be pieces that I am proud of. I want my audience to hopefully respond to the feeling that I had when I painted any individual

Insomnia,” Pastel on Board, 18” x 24”, NFS

piece so they can better understand why I paint in the first place.

What advice would you give to artists contemplating an entry in a show?

For many artists, the idea of entering a juried show or competition is terrifying! I tell my students to start local. Join an art association and volunteer to help.

This way the artist can become more familiar with the processes that create the competition. Help with the hanging or learn how the judge makes decisions.

They will find that there are many others out there who are just as shy as they are about competitive shows and you’ll probably make new friends. That’s what happened to me. By dipping their pinky toe in a little pond to begin with they will be able to gain

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confidence to possibly jump to the next competition level.

What advice would you give your 20 year old self regarding art?

One of the things I would say is to paint as much as you can. Artists learn to see color much more subtly the more you paint in any medium. It’s how I learned about the nuances of temperature and value and all of those basics that you read about in books, but it never makes any real sense until you start actually delving into the fine art of painting. I would also tell myself that it’s okay if I go through a period of stagnation where you wonder if you will ever feel like painting again!

The first time I hit one of those “dead” periods I was floored by the fact that I couldn’t face my easel. I sat in a chair at night and watched (or not really) TV shows when I normally would be painting. I did this for three months!

Then, all of a sudden, the veil lifted and I started painting again like it never really happened. Now I know there are those periods and I’m not upset when they creep up on me.

Usually the fact that I’m faced with a demo pulls me out of it quickly these days, but to a young me it was terrifying.

At the end of our conversation Christine was eager to add that her very best work was between her and her husband with their four lovely daughters and their seven grandchildren.

Laura Pollak is a Signature Member of PSWC. laurapollak.artist@gmail.com www.laurapollak.com

“Beauty After Dark” 23” x 17” • Wallis Museum White

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Artists Making Art

A TriArtisan Collaboration

By Suzi Long, Linda Roemisch, and Marti Walker with Sabrina Hill

Suzi Long

Consensus. It’s a word that we don’t usually associate with making art, since most artists work alone.

But consensus was the keyword when three PSWC members began working on a single painting.

Linda Roemish

Marti Walker

the aspect of creative play and incorporates this into her work once the basics are down.

Suzi Long brings a different set of skills to the easel. Her extensive mural experience ranging from cartoons to impressionism cubism and trompe l’oeil makes her a versatile and impressionistic painter especially when working with pastels. She also believes in establishing a strong underpainting often in a complementary color or by using dry pastel with rubbing alcohol.

Inspired by the work of Lisa Ober‘s BiArtisan Project, Linda Roemisch, Suzi Long, and Marti Walker decided to take a group art project one step further and make it a TriArtisan project. The BiArtisan Project requires two artists to work on one painting separately, but with communication, collaboration, and cooperation.

These three women “What a fantastic project this was. I want to keep going! Beadded a third artist ing the second or third artist gave me a chance to critique the into the mix, effective- piece and put my pastels where my mouth was! I allowed ly turning the game of several days after receiving a piece to examine it mostly for toss into a juggling act. improvement in composition before I added anything. The And they nailed it! most difficult was being first and not knowing how far to go.

Marti Walker describes herself as a plein air landscape painter with a realistic impressionistic style. She employs a careful, focused Working with two other award-winning artists was a joy and I approach, but she Long time PSWC memsincerely appreciate their levels of commitment to this enter- prefers to just start a ber and former board prise.” Suzi Long painting with a desire member Linda Roemisch categorizes herself as a contemporary repre- to capture a strong emotional response into work. sentational artist. She does both plein air and studio With three strong, focused, and talented women, it’s art, but she has a strong adventurous spirit. It was possible to see this project as being a joy to partica sense of adventure that attracted her to this projipate in or a disaster. Yet all three women remain ect. While she incorporates a disciplined approach friends! to the theories of design and composition, she loves 16

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Artists Making Art In their painting Jug Handle, Suzi begin the painting selves as an artist from operating in this process. of a favorite place on the coast. She painted quite Marti answered, “I can’t think of any other exercises a bit before she passed it on to Linda, and then that could give me the opportunity to so intensely wondered if she had gone too far. Linda adored study another artist’s work. Because I was personalthe subject matter and loved the movement of the ly contributing to each painting, I had to decide what crashing water on the rocks from her perspective to add, what to change, and what to leave alone. It she felt the warmth of the day and so she added pushed me to work outside my comfort zone, more textured substrates, warm tones and col“The collaboration was stimulating.

Right away the question different under paintors to help create this mood of a sun- was how much to do on the start and as the middle artist. ings, different subject ny day on the coast. The process required far more thought and pre-planning than matters. The collabNext was Marti’s turn. action. The challenge was to add and enhance the painting oration of it all was While the underpaint- while still preserving each artist’s contributions. There’s a fine the most challenging. ing and major tones of line between ‘making it your own’ and keeping it a collabo- I stretched in ways I couldn’t do on my the work had already ration.” Marti Walker been laid out, there were areas that needed tweak- own.” ing. Marti felt some of the rocks seemed unnaturalSuzi commented, “I’ve learned that I have a natural ly round and squared them off, which worked. She ability to create a pleasing finished piece of art from played with the water to give a sense of the rolling rough beginnings. It’s like cooking. If you’ve studwaves coming across the shore. As you can see Jug ied the recipe and have all the ingredients, you’re Handle has benefited from the challenge and eyes bound to make something delicious! And I also feel of three different artists. that good composition is intuitive now, thanks to exWith the painting, Sierra Spring, a meander- cellent classes by Margot Schulzke and Albert Haning mountain river wanders before snowcapped dell, and years of practice.” mountains in the Sierra. Marti started this painting Linda added, “To me this was a lesson in getting working on Wallis warm beige sandpaper. She conalong and respecting the other artists contributions centrated on the back and middle grounds leaving and holding back so my contribution would add to the others to create the sky and background. Linda the conversation not take it over. So I learned to worked on the paintslow down, think hard ing next, and while “I personally liked the challenge of working on a piece that I about what the previshe had not worked didn’t start and seeing how I could add my skill and style into ous artist had given on a toned back- that painting. On the flip side I was intrigued to see how the me and then contemground in a while the other two artists changed the painting I started and what style plate what my contrichallenge was fun. they added.” Linda Roemisch bution would be. The The reddish tones hardest part was when to stop and let it go, it’s easy provided a complementary background for the to get caught up in the painting and be in the mobeautiful blue skys and waters of the river. Finally, ment but these paintings are everyone’s moments the piece was ready to go to Suzi. With the addition not just mine.” of trees and water movement and ripples she was able to finish out the peace adding the tiny details This project is over, but I wanted to know what the that bring a painting to life. Sierra Spring captures ladies were working on now. Linda is working on a the tone and temperature that many travelers to series of ocean wave paintings. “I love the ocean the Sierra Mountains have experienced and will and the movement of water so this subject speaks to my heart!” On Suzi’s easel is a portrait of a baby recognize. goat born on March 1, 2019. She commented, “I’m The ladies worked on a total of six paintings, clearly anxious for some dry weather so I can go out and enjoying the process of collaboration and creativity. plein air paint once again.”

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Artists Making Art JUG HANDLE

Jug Handle 1 Suzi Long

Painter One: Suzi Long. “A new favorite place to paint on the coast, I was excited to share this view with Linda and Marti but I might have gone too far with the first session. I love how the textures were warmed up, and the new wave in the foreground is a wonderful lead-in for this painting.”

Painter Two: Linda Roemisch. “I loved this subject and the movement of the crashing water on the rocks. When I looked at this start I could just feel the warmth of the day so I thought why not add warm colors to the mood. After all, I love warm sunny days at the coast! “

Jug Handle 2 Linda Roemisch

Painter Three: Marti Walker. “I liked how Linda had warmed up the scene. Two things I wanted to change - the Square left edge of the main rock didn’t jive with ‘nature’ and the wave hitting the rock didn’t extend on either side. I felt the back ground and sky and water colors were spot on so I concentrated on playing with the rock and giving a sense of the rolling waves coming ashore.”

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Artists Making Art SIERRA SPRING Painter One: Marti Walker. “I decided on a mountain scene with a meandering river. I chose one of my remaining pieces of the now-defunct Wallis Warm Beige paper as it warm reddish tones are a perfect foil for the snowy coolness of the scene. I concentrated on the back and middle grounds, leaving the others to create the sky and fill in the foreground.”

Painter Two: Linda Roemisch. “I have not worked on a toned surface for a while so this was a good challenge for me. This was a great choice - a nice warm reddish tone thanks Marti! I kept wanting to paint more but I knew I needed to stop and let Suzi have her fun. “

Painter One: Suzi Long. “And fun I did have! What a joy to be able to complete this beautiful scene. Ripples in the water, and the addition of a few trees to populate the mid-ground pulled this piece together. I had this on my easel for a week, scrutinizing, fixing, changing, adding, subtracting, and playing. “

Sierra Speings Top: One Middle: Two Bottom: Final

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Membership Online Show

Membership Online Show Winners BEST IN SHOW Signature/DP The Membership Online Show is one of our favorite events.

All the drama of a heated competition featuring some of the best pastelists in the world, with none of the worry over framing and shipping!

We are a very fortunate society to have such a strong group of dedicated painters who are willing to put their work out in a competitive environment.

Judge Terri Ford, an accomplished artist, mentor, and teacher was this year’s judge.

She had her work cut out for her with over 500 paintings to view and judge.

Our thanks to her for her keen eye and thoughtful consideration and to you, the artists of the PSWC who entered the show.

Beginnings by Stan Bloomfield

And the winners are.....

BEST IN SHOW General Member

Out of a Dream by Karen Israel

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Membership Online Show

First Place Signature/DP

Autumn Fairies by Kim Lordier

First Place General Member

The Marsh in Spring by David Wolfram

PSWC Magazine | Spring 2019

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Membership Online Show

Second Place Signature/DP

Second Place General Member

Dying Hope by TaiMeng Lim

Third Place Signature/DP

There Went My Diet by Judith Leeds

Third Place General Member

Lazy Dribble by Jean Myers River Holiday by Clark Mitchell

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Membership Online Show

Honorable Mention Signature/DP

Rock Creek Winter Gold by Barbara Benedetti Newton

Neve by Christine Obers

Honorable Mention General Member

Whispers of the Meadow by Christine Troyer

Joyful Prelude by Heidi Hornberger

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Membership Online Show

Accepted Entries

Molly and Smokey Calf by Pat Stoddard Aragon Where’s the Path

by Shirley Anderson

In the Blacksmith’s Shop by Lynn Attig Brass and Onions

by Barbara Archer Baldwin

Morning Meditation

by Willo Balfrey

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Sunbather at Carmel Beach by Bobbie Belvel

Membership Online Show

Cactus Flower

by Deborah Breedon

Golden Glory by Kris Buck

Castle Mountain by Tonya Carpenter Sawhill Road by Dawn Buckingham

Cascade of Roses by Gina Carsten

Sailor Sky by Nan Carillo

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Membership Online Show

Wilder Coast

by Sandra Cherk

Paige Portrait by Patti Woodward Christensen

Memories of Alsace by Laetitia Comps-Agrar

Big Pine Creek by Jean Choi

Rolling In by Joanne Cotton

Springtime Hay

by Lynda Conley

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Membership Online Show

Lacemakers of Burano by Diane DeSantis

Moonlit Walk by Garry Drake

Let Me at ‘Em by Donna Dutra

Verdant Glow by Janis Ellison

Snow-Capped Crabapples by Esther Engelmann

Wildflowers

by Linda Evans

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Membership Online Show

January Sun

by Jen Evenhus

Look to the West by Jeannie Fine

Colorado River by Patricia Ford

Tahoe Shadowed Path by Robin Fourie

Gondolas by the Moonlight by Thomas Frey

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Candy Coast by Thaleia Georgiades

Membership Online Show

Bright Autumn by Emily Goldfield

Treasurers from the Past by Irene Georgopoulou

Koi Friends

by Susan Goodmundson

Japanese Vows by Marie Gonzales

Toward the Foothills by Alejandra Gos Cityscape by Cory Goulet

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Membership Online Show

Monterey Dunes by Morgan Green

Black Phoebe by Donna Gross

Twilight Trail by Bonnie Griffith

Flurries by Debbie Harding

Call It a Day by Ellen Gust

Moss Covered Tree

by Chad Greene

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Membership Online Show

Rivers Light by Patti Hagan

Rocky Yuba River Glen by Paul Harnon

Creekside Drama by Dotty Hawthorne

Wanna Snuggle? by Marianne Harris

In the Hills Above Cape Mendocino by Debee Holland-Olson

Pharaoh for a Day by Carol Lois Haywood

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Membership Online Show

Blue Apron by Karen Horne Golden Hour Gates Park by Gary Huber

San Miguel Allende by Mike Ishikawa

Time to Reflect by Katherine Irish

Deep Reflect by Randy Jensen

Watching a Sawwhet Owl

by Becky Johnson

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Membership Online Show

Vernal Pools by Lucinda Johnson

Colorful Repose by Tricia Kaman

Gus by Vicki Johnson

Morning Light by Christina Karras

Vantage Point b y LouCinda Laughlin

Good Boy by Bonnie Kempner

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Membership Online Show Carneros Trail by Suzanne Leslie

Chester & Bunny by Sandy Lindblad

Lookin for a Friend by Stephanie Long

Exciting Times Ahead by Paula Darby Lipman

Under the Moon by Yael Maimon

Out of Darkness by Negin Majd

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Membership Online Show Morning with Calm Water by Joseph Mancuso

Pat the Tourist by Evalynne McDougall

PomPom & Gaugin by September McGee

Falling Water by Catherine McKeever

Russ Point Landing by Eveline Miller

Los Pelicanos by Judy Miller

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Membership Online Show

Crepe Myrtle Explosion by Karen Miller

Avocado Sunset by Maryann Mullett

Pandora by Carol Murphy

Rhythm of the Dunes by Linda Mutti

Creature Comforts by Debbie Patrick

57 Chevy by Ugo Paradiso

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Membership Online Show

Clouds Meet Mother Earth by Janet Patteron

Cape Dissappointment Water Tower by San Pearson

Mojave Sky by Deborah Pepin

Light My Way by Denice Peters Years of Beauty by Zahra Pezesgk

The Old Cueva Mill by Sandra Place

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Membership Online Show Rushing Home by Laura Pollak

Emerald Waters by Peggy Davidson Post

Williamette Farm by Laura Pritchard Still Life with Pears by Barbara Reich

The Vernal Equinox by Elizabeth Rhoads

Rustic Bed Frame by Judy Richardson

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Membership Online Show

Devotion by Lisa Rico

Beckoning Ocean by Denice Rizzo

Last Sip by Darcie Roberts Coastal Haze by Teresa Ruzzo Feeding Frenzy by Tamra Sanchez

Dawn by Ann Sanders

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Membership Online Show Be Here Now by Renay Shaffer

Remembering You by Deborah Shea

Beauty Coast by Lynn Byrne Simon

Lost in Thought by Kathleen Shy

Listening for the Truth by Terri Sloat The Road Home by Kahn Smith

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Membership Online Show Shady Path by Mary Stahl

Love is Kind by LaVone Sterling Tangled Up in Blue by Sarah St. George

Time for Reflecting by Vianna Szabo

Tethered by Carol Stromberg

Breaking Through by Terri Tabor

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Membership Online Show Golden Light by Carol Talley

Whispering by Solene Tartivelle

Old Vineyard Road by Janice Thomas Faded Heirlooms by Nori Thomas

Red Gerbers and Stripes by Marie Tippetts

Untitled by Marshall Toomey

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Membership Online Show

Pastels USA 32nd Annual International Exhibition

Yellow Cottage by Helen Turner Ladies Lunch by Leslie Trujillo-Batts

Morning in the Tropics by Jim Tyler Morning Showers Ghost Ranch by Doug Tweddale

By the Willow by Anna Wainright

Determiined One by Dug Waggoner

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Membership Online Show

The Setting Sun by Marti Walker

Know Thyself by Daggi Wallace

Salmon Creek Could Bank by Patricia Westmen

Back of the Elevator

by Sharon WIll

Spring River by Pam Walker

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PSWC Magazine | Spring 2019

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Meet the Members

Members by the Dozen!

We connected with a dozen members to give you a taste of artist flavor from around the society!. Each artist was asked three questions, 1.) Is art a hobby or more than a hobby for you? 2.) Have you always been an artist, and when did you start painting? And 3.) What is on your easel right now? (And yes, laundry can be an answer!). Here’s what they told us in their own words!

Aurora Dominguez

I copied the brown pelican, but it was a neat recognition, nevertheless.

I am in the middle of another pet portrait which has become my main focus nowadays. Usually done for fund raising events, I often remain 9 dogs and 3 cats behind. Enthusiasm emerges whenever I begin a pet portrait. However, with each impending portrait, this also brings the slight terror and fear of not quite capturing the personality and spirit of the beloved pet. Those fears are allayed however, when wide grins or tears of joy are received in response to the final rendition. Those are the best rewards that I enjoy receiving over and over again.

For me art is a challenging passion and has been for my whole life. Where travel and professional experience had once kept my love of art at bay, we now are inseparable. Taking annual breaks from those unrelenting professional work times, it was Bob Gerbracht and his workshops which I took for over 10 years that kept my passion from diminishing, and, why I remain a PSWC member.

Born in Chicago, raised in Birmingham and New Orleans, further educated in New York State and Central California, I was always allowed the freedom to paint and explore drawing as soon as it was recognized that I could draw. My first award, an Honorable Mention from the Audubon Society for the best illustration of a poem, came when I was in the fourth grade in New Orleans. It wasn’t my poem and Standing Sentry by Aurora Dominguez

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Meet the Members

Carol David her love of pastels. She loves all of the lush colors of pastels and what happens when you layer colors on top of each other. Colors applied to sand paper give a quality that paint does not have. She finds inspiration from people and places around her in their natural settings. Then she looks at the light and shadows that will make the object stand out.

She is one who loves a good story so hopes her paintings will stir your imagination. She answered the questions below:

Born and raised in Davis, California, Carol started at an early age to draw alongside her Dad who was a pen and ink artist. He encouraged her to take an Art Correspondence course with him, which she did. An early influence in her life as an artist was Wayne Thiebaud and his billboards along Highway 80. She got her BA in Commercial Art at San Jose State University and also two teaching credentials.

She taught school and did posters on request until a husband and four children came along and art was put on hold.

In 1990 she started taking workshops and found

“Everyday art is a part of my life including color, design, and shadows. Yesterday the sky was full of colorful clouds after a rain storm. Today almond blossoms are popping out. My only problem is finding enough time to put all my thoughts on paper.

When I was 9 years old I remember drawing a horse in a field across the street from my home is in Davis, California. I would come with a cube of sugar in one pocket and a pencil and paper in the other. Later I was fascinated by the pastel drawings showing a trial scene in the newspaper .

Right now I have 5 small paintings on my easel showing trees changing with the seasons. They show winter Aspens with no leaves and today’s spring almonds blossoms along with beautiful clouds and a colorful sunset.”

Paintings by Carol David

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Meet the Members

Denise Schryver Denise Schryver has often been called a Renaissance Woman. Always knowing she was an artist from age 4, art has been a major drive in her life. Combining her love of nature with painting on location with her beloved Belgian Shepherds.

Denise is primarily a painter who paints en plein air, from life, in pastels or oils. She is also a weaver specializing in unique, one of a kind, freeform handwoven wearables.

Currently, Denise is producing certified organic olive oil & skin care products under the name of Kitehawk Farm from the 3,000 Arbequina olive trees she planted with her husband on their rural property outside of Atascadero, CA. Denise is an active member in S.L.O.P.E. San Luis Outdoor Painters for the environment. Also a member of 3CPS, Central Coast Pastel Society,CAC, California Art Club, CCW Central Coast Weavers.

On her art, Denise says, “Art is a passion and I’m driven to create. So in my mind it’s more than a hobby.

I began drawing at age 4 and never stopped. I always knew that I would be an artist although I didn’t begin to paint with pastels until 1998, then I was in a position to devote more time to my art.

I have several pastel paintings on my easel currently. A seascape, a local wildflower landscape and a landscape with clouds, both done plein air with some finishing touches in the studio from my memory...and my 4 Belgian shepherds keep me busy between paintings as does my weaving!” www.deniseschryver.com

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Meet the Members

James Johnson A man of few words, this talented artist loves painting a variety of subjects. Go to his website below to see more of this prolific artist’s work.

As James tells PSWC Magazine, “I started painting when I was 45 as a hobby because I always liked art.

I was a draftsman in my professional life. I have a web site jrjart.com.

I have a photo of a stream in Sedona AZ that I am working on.”

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Meet the Members

Joanne Unger much, but once I added pastels to my watercolors, I felt way better able to express myself. Annual workshops with Richard McKinley have added immensely to my knowledge and his encouragement has also been an important factor.

Right now, I’m getting ready for an upcoming show in Malibu with my Allied Artist group. Based on a photograph and some smaller plein studies, I’m painting an elongated, 8” x 16” of the Visitor Center at King Gillette Park in Malibu. I have about 10 other pieces that are awaiting varnish and frames.

Painting is way more more than a hobby for me. I’ve been painting for 15 years now and hope to continue for the remainder of my life! I’m in a gallery in Laguna Beach, California (Forest and Ocean Gallery) and belong to a couple of local plein air groups including Allied Artists of the Santa Monica Mountains and Seashore and the Laguna Beach Plein Air Society. Both groups provide opportunities to show and sell my work. I also have a studio in Pacific Palisades, California where I work on larger pieces and refine my plein air paintings.

Like so many artists, I’ve been interested in art since I was a child. I have a BA in Art History and studied Art Psychotherapy in graduate school. I always danced around the idea of actually creating art rather than studying it. Finally, about 15 years ago, I took a watercolor class at the local park and I was hooked!! I liked watercolor very

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Meet the Members

Linda Nelson Painting is an avocation for me. Although I am an artisan/creative in several media/forms, painting en plein air painting brings me great joy. Drawing, painting, illustration, sewing, fine jewelry, Medieval cooking, Pastry, Landscape and Green Garden design all fight for time in my week.

At my insistence, my Grand Uncle Charles would carry me to visit the horses at the paddock at the end of our street. I believe that horses and animals were my first subject matter. Later in life, I became a Natural Scientific Illustrator then taught K-12 students comparative animal anatomy in small after-school classes.

I started watercolor painting in college, oils in 2004, pastels around 2007. wash. The subject matter is sunset-lit storm clouds raining over a California mountain range.

On what’s on her easel: Hahahahaha! I’ve bit off more than I can chew. I’ve got an 18 x 24” sheet Linda is the current president of Pastel Society of of Wallis paper, which has had a pastel & alcohol the Gold Coast.

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Meet the Members

Marianne Harris Art started out as a hobby, but has since become my career. Some time ago, I asked the owner of the dog agility facility where I compete with my two dogs if I could paint her dog in pastel. I had recently taken a workshop from Lesley Harrison, who has become my good friend and mentor, and I wanted to try my new skills out with a dog other than my own.

I gave the painting as a thank-you gift for providing a wonderful place to play agility with our dogs. The painting received a lot of attention and before long I had a long list of commissions to create. Two years later I quit my daytime graphics job and became a full time artist.

Marianne Harris, with Sierra and Dakota.

I spent 30 years in the graphic arts field...so if that counts as being an artist, then yes. I drew horses as a kid, but that disappeared after elementary school.

Somewhere around 2003 my husband Pat, suggested I take a drawing class, which woke the beast inside me. I started getting serious with fine art in 2010 after getting an AA in Fine Art, as well as attending workshops. I love painting animals of all kinds, including dogs, horses and, lately, wildlife.

I Just finished a dog commission that will be shipped to Connecticut, and getting ready to start another commission.

I have a long list of future paintings that I’m anxious to get to, and many of my past dog commission clients have been getting puppies! I’m always happy to work on more commissions.

Left: 30 Years Wise, a Portrait of Picasso, 14” x 14” pastel on velour, photo reference by Scott Wilson, used with permission.

Note: Marianne recently published her book “Puppies!

Featuring the Pastel Art of Marianne Harris”. Twenty-one paintings of puppies complimented with a notable dog quote. Available on Amazon.

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Meet the Members

Olga Polášek Olga Polášek is a celebrated painter of fine arts, portraits, landscapes using pastels. She is selftaught artist who began painting at a very young age. Polášek moved to California from Switzerland, where she spend 3 years in Fribourg. She took multiple classes in live painting at Loyola Marymount College in Palos Verdes and in Crafton Hills College in Yucaipa, California. Her interest in landscape, people, animals, and traveling have been a driving force in the trajectory of her subject matters. She says that living in different parts of the world, Europe, Central America, South America, and U.S.A. has made a profound influence on the subjects she chooses to paint.

Polášek, uses soft pastels for their flexibility, enjoying the creamy, soft feel in her paintings. She believes the beauty of soft pastels looks stunning on almost any surface and is a powerful medium. In 2015, she won first place in the medium of soft pastels in an international competition. She has been commissioned to make several works of art for individuals.

She is currently exibited in a local gallery of art in

Redlands, California. She belongs to the Redlands Art Association, and The Pastel Society of America.

In answering the questions, Olga said, “I started to paint as a hobby while my children where small, after discovering pastels, my painting flourished, and I became a full-time artist. Now is not a hobby anymore is my passion I guess I have always been an artist at heart. I have always had an interest in the arts and I always been inspired by visiting museums of art. At the age of 26 I started painting in my spare time and I never dreamed to become an artist.

I knew I had a passion When I started to get up at 3:00 am to paint.

My easel has my new creation of art.

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Meet the Members

Pat Stoddard Aragon For Pat Stoddard Aragon, drawing and painting has been her life long occupation spanning more than 50+ years. Her subjects have always been of the western genre, horses, cowboys, and dusty scenes.

She sold her first commission of a chestnut Arabian horse when she was 14.

Besides raising a family of 4 children, she successfully handled a mail-order animal portrait business for many years, working in pastels from her client’s photos. During the summer she would sit on the tailgate of her pickup at local horse shows and do quick $15 pastel portraits of horses for their owners, with many commissions to follow! She taught art classes from her home studio as well as in the adult education system, and was a commercial artist and a cartographer (map drawing) for a Sacramento, CA advertising firm… before computers!!

“Painting anything Western” about sums it up for Pat. She has always been a ‘western’ person, worn jeans and cowboy boots, had horses and animals all around her and lived way out in the ‘boonies’, so to speak. The most way-out place was when she ended up on the Wind River Indian Reservation in Wyoming! In 1990, after her husband passed away and

her children were raised, she went there just for a visit, and to paint her favorite subjects up close and personal. But, she married a Shoshone Indian cowboy and spent the next 18 years there on a ranch where they raised cattle, horses and hay.

Working in oils or pastel Pat’s artwork records her ranching and western subjects from this firsthand experience. She has many memories stored away of special cowhorses, the cowboys, ornery range cattle, brandings, Indian PowWows, Rodeos, and cattle drives. In between herding cows from horseback in beautiful, wild open country…she painted.

She is glad to share her experiences through her award winning artwork. Pat returned to California a few years ago and now lives on her family’s ranch in Newcastle, CA. A little tamer than Wyoming, but still surrounded by cattle, sheep and wildlife. Every day all around her seeing inspiration for paintings!!

Pat has been a member of PSWC since it’s beginning, is a member of the American Women Artists, and was a past President and signature member of the Sierra Pastel Society. She paints at her studio at the Newcastle Packing Shed Studios and Gallery – 455 Main St #8 – Newcastle CA 95658. To see Pat’s western art, stop by her studio or visit her website www.patstoddardaragon.com

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Meet the Members

Ugo Paradiso Art is more than just a hobby. Yes, my art room is a place where my creation and imagination takes over. I have done several commission works. It’s the connection to the viewer that is what is important to me. Yes, I might have a special connection to painting one subject more than another but at the end, I try to tell a story with my painting.

I have always been an artist. To me it all started in elementary school where my pencil and my drawing book were my “happy place.” I used watercolors in my teenage years. But I re-discovered my passion for art in 2011, after taking a break for 20+ years.

I discovered soft pastel, and here I am today. I have spent hundreds of hours trying to understand this medium which I love.

I am currently painting an Owl. It is a small project.

I recently took an amazing photo of an owl which is my current inspiration. I learned photography to be able to have my own reference photos for my

paintings. This way I felt I had a better connection to what inspired me to paint. I try to paint more towards realism. But that’s not all what I do. I paint what inspires me and can be any subjects.

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Meet the Members

Vicki Brink I’ve been a professional off and on for over 30 years, since a little after the time I discovered pastels. There were years with less activity, but once you try to convince those tax guys that you’re serious, you can’t slack off for too long!

Does the parakeet drawing on our fridge count? I was about five I think. My mom was my first oil painting teacher and that was in my teenage years. I’m a fourth generation artist.

I have paintings by my mom (oils and watercolor) and one by my grandmother in pastel! And I have a small box of my grandmother’s pastels from Paris (the pastels, not the grandmother). I’ve tried just about every medium over the years, but discovered pastels in the early 80s and haven’t looked back since.

There are currently five easels in my studio and I wish I had room for more! Currently there’s one close up of foxgloves, another one of one of my grand nieces and four landscapes.

Yes, that’s more than five. I keep moving them around. That’s why I need more easels!

After more than forty years working in a broad range of media including watercolor and oil, I now work almost entirely in pastel preferring the vibrancy and spontaneous, hands-on application of this powerful and direct medium.

As a fourth-generation artist, I have studied under various masters including Richard McKinley Susan Ogilvie and Jim Smyth. I have won awards in national, solo, and group shows and my work can be found in both private and corporate collections. I am a Signature Member of the Sierra Pastel Society and Northwest Pastel Society and hold membership in a number of state and regional pastel societies.

Whether en plein air or in her studio, I strive to make common place things magical with the use of light and perspective or vibrant color. I seek to turn the mundane into extraordinary and move people to see the beauty in all things.

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Blaze Of Glory - Pastel on Archival Paper - 22 x 16

Meet the Members

Mary Beth Sasso My art is my life, my passion for living. I eat, breath, sleep art. It defines my being and I devote gratitude everyday for this gift that has been bestowed upon me. One of my other passions is sharing my gift with others from ages 8-98. Nothing gives me more gratification when I see the sense of accomplishment on a student’s face when they have just finished a portrait something they told me they couldn’t do.

I was born an artist. My earliest memory at age 3 was sitting with mother while she taught me to draw three circles to create a kitty cat. From that point on I never stopped creating art. My favorite subject in school was art class and at age 15, I began studying under the guidance of my mentor, Claudia Post, who introduced me to pastel painting. She polished me like a diamond in the rough bringing out the talent and passion she saw in my soul. Claudia nurtured me to become the artist I am today and I will forever be grateful to her for sharing her gift.

Right now I have a portrait of 2-year-old Noah that I’m working on sitting patiently on my easel. Plus dozens of other projects that are waiting in line to be next!

Baby By Mary Beth Sasso

Mr. B By Mary Beth Sasso

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Mastering Marketing

7 Mistakes Artists Make When Marketing Their Art… and How to Fix Them!

By Jennifer King Connect Artist Marketing

Having spoken to more than a thousand artists about marketing, I’ve noticed that all of us fall into one of three categories: The first group are what I call the “art for art’s sake” artists. All they want is to make art, and they have absolutely no interest in selling their work. They’re perfectly happy to stay in their studios, merrily working away.

I call the second group the “self-satisfied” artists. These artists are selling their work, and each of them has figured out their personal formula for success. Some may be selling $500 worth of art every year, while others sell $500,000 a year. What ties them together is that they’ve figured out how to achieve whatever goals they’ve set for themselves.

And then there’s the third group. These artists recognize that their work has value, and they’d all love to be selling their work, but somehow they can’t crack the code on marketing and sales. Probably 85% of the artists I’ve met fall into this category, which I call the “zone of discontent.” Some are mildly disappointed and others are ready to throw in the towel, but they’re all unhappy.

The zone of discontent is a rotten place to be because it causes frustration and self-doubt.

Are you stuck in the zone of discontent? Don’t despair!

It’s possible to become a self-satisfied artist—if that’s what you want—by developing some marketing skills.

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can do for yourself is to shift your mindset. Read on to discover seven important concepts that will help you move forward on your journey.

Do you ever get frustrated with marketing your

art? Do you think you’re doing everything you can to promote yourself as an artist, but you’re just not seeing results? Or maybe you’re fairly satisfied, but you wonder if you could be doing better?

As a virtual marketing assistant to artists, I’m always studying how artists market themselves, and I’ve noticed some simple mistakes that many artists make.

So now you’re probably wondering if your lackluster results are the result of making one or more of these marketing errors, aren’t you? Great! Read on to discover seven of the most common mistakes and how to fix them.

Mistake #1: Avoiding marketing because of misconceptions.

Food for Thought: It took me a long time to understand that many artists object to marketing because they equate it with advertising, especially the kind of loud, annoying messages used by so many advertisers today. This misconception has prompted many artists to shy away from marketing because it feels

Mastering Marketing like they’re bragging. They assume they’ll have to be pushy and manipulative and command people to “buy now!” For most artists, these self-congratulatory claims and hard-sell tactics feel wrong.

Another harmful misconception many artists share is the idea that marketing is the same as selling.

It’s not. Marketing is the precursor to selling. Artists who don’t understand this often skip over the

all-important preliminary step of marketing and rush headlong into seeking opportunities to sell, only to fail.

So what is marketing? I define it simply: Marketing means building awareness of you and your work.

That’s it. Marketing involves a whole slew of faceto-face and online activities that get your name and examples of what you do in front of the eyes of people who may be interested in your work. For an artist, marketing messages say, “This is who I am, and this is what I do.” Through your marketing efforts, you invite people to enter into the life of an artist—your artist’s life. Done right, marketing allows you to authentically connect with people who want to support you because they like and admire what you do, which will hopefully result in sales and other valuable opportunities.

Ideas to Consider: This mistake is easy to fix. Now that you know what marketing really means, you can just relax into it. Understand that marketing is something you must do to reap sales eventually, but that it won’t involve bragging or using hard-sell tactics.

Mistake #2: Thinking that “getting into a couple of good galleries” will free you from having to market your artwork yourself.

Food for Thought: Many, many artists believe that

if they can just land gallery representation, they won’t have to “waste” time on marketing themselves anymore. The galleries will do all the promotional work, plus handle all the sales. Let me address why this is untrue.

Let’s say you’ve been fortunate enough to be accepted into one or more “good” galleries. Chances are good that you’ll be one of 40, 60, or even 80 other artists represented there. How much promotion do you think your gallery will give you as an individual? Truthfully, not much. There simply isn’t enough time in the day for your gallery’s staff to promote each one of their artists, which might mean you’re getting less attention than you deserve. So really, your only option is to supplement what your galleries do for you with your own marketing efforts.

Yes, of course, when you have a healthy relationship with your galleries, you should encourage collectors to purchase through them, but you should always continue to promote yourself. (Again, marketing is a separate, preliminary function before sales.)

Ideas to Consider: Just like Mistake #1, resolving this issue is a simple mind shift. No matter where you are in your career, accept that you must take control of your marketing by handling it yourself.

Don’t rely on gallery representatives to do it all for you.

Mistake #3: Living with a fuzzy impression of your “brand.”

Food for Thought: Once again, we should probably start by defining the word “brand.”

Put simply, when it comes to an artist’s brand, you are your brand, and your brand is you. To be more specific, your brand is the sum total of your personal characteristics, qualities, and values that are reflected in your work. It goes beyond merely your style and subject matter to include what you stand for. You PSWC Magazine | Spring 2019

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Mastering Marketing need to present your artist-brand accurately and consistently so viewers develop a clear perception of who you are and what your art represents.

When it comes to marketing, all of your decisions should flow from your understanding of your brand.

In other words, the perception you want people to have of you and your work should guide all of your choices about everything from framing and pricing to website design and social media activity, even which shows and galleries you pursue. If you want your work to be perceived as classical, traditional, and highly valued, all of your branding and marketing efforts should reflect that. Or, if you want your work to be perceived as whimsical and lighthearted, your branding and marketing efforts should reflect that.

I’ve discovered that many artists operate on a somewhat intuitive understanding of their own brand, which can cause a few problems. If you have only a fuzzy or vague handle on your brand, you might make inconsistent choices in your marketing.

Ideas to Consider: There are a number of ways you can clarify and articulate your brand. First, make a list of your own personal characteristics and values, as well as the formal artistic qualities, you see coming through in your artwork. If you find this challenging, enlist the help of a few close friends and relatives who know you well and can explain what aspects of your personality they see in your work.

And finally, another excellent way to round out your understanding of your brand—if possible—is to listen to those people who have seen or purchased

your work. The sum total of all this is your brand, and in fact, it’s normal and desirable to have many facets to your brand.

Mistake #4: Failing to define who you’re selling to, the 60

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group known as your target audience.

Food for Thought: No matter what it is that you’re building awareness of—from artwork to shampoo to legal services—you should never try to spread your message to everyone under the sun. There’s no point, and it would require far more money, time, and energy than you have. After all, you wouldn’t try to sell expensive sports cars to parents of large fam-

ilies, would you?

And yet, time and again, when I ask artists to describe who they think is most likely to buy their artwork, the answer is something like “anyone who likes art.” This is too broad and needs to be reigned in, otherwise you’ll waste a lot of your resources on building awareness among people who are never going to buy your art, no matter how good it is. Instead, concentrate your marketing efforts on one or two well-defined groups of people.

Ideas to Consider: At the very least, try to describe your ideal collector in terms of age range, gender, income level, place of residence, and interests. If you’ve been fortunate enough to have presented your work directly to the public through art fairs, group shows, co-op galleries, and your website, you may have actual data on who’s interested in your work. But if not, you may have to make some assumptions. Your goal is to narrow the focus of your marketing efforts so you’re not trying to reach “everybody.”

Mistake #5: Failing to network and nurture relationships with your “fan base.”

Food for Thought: While marketing involves a lot of different factors and steps, the big granddaddy of them all is networking. Networking is an essential,

Mastering Marketing two-part process that means a) making initial contact and b) nurturing and building relationships with those people who fall into your target audience as described in Mistake Solution #4. Through networking, you will build a fan base of people who not only buy your artwork but introduce you to others who become fans as well.

Fortunately for us, we now have two arenas where we can network: in face-to-face settings, such as shows, fairs, meetings, and parties, and on the Internet through blogs and social media. Networking and talking about your art is essential, but it is also admittedly time-consuming. That’s why you want to get the most bang for your buck. Be smart about the time and energy you invest in networking.

Ideas to Consider: First, make contact by networking in places where you are most likely to encounter people from your target audience. Go after exhibition opportunities specifically geared toward your kind of work because the attendants already like that style or genre. Participate in group activities where the other group members fit your profile of an ideal collector (age, gender, income level, etc).

Online, identify the blogs read by your target audience and the social media platforms used by your target audience. (If you’re not sure, pick Facebook and/or Instagram.) In both arenas, interact with people and let them know who you are and what type of work you do.

Mistake #6: Passing up opportunities for exposure.

Food for thought: I know many artists who believe that shows and competitions are nothing more than get-rich-quick schemes for the organizers, but here’s why I think legitimate juried competitions are worth it: Juried competitions are an excellent path to exposure. Even if you don’t win awards, even if you don’t earn membership in the sponsoring organizations, and even if you don’t sell your work, these opportunities are still valuable. They show you where you fit into the art market, add to your professional credibility, build your resume, introduce you to fans, and give you impressive content for your social media/e-mail messaging.

Perhaps best of all, they provide you with reasons to ask for media coverage, which will give you exposure to an even bigger audience than you had before. If you capitalize on them correctly, participating in juried art competitions pays big dividends, making them worth the entry fees and shipping expenses.

Ideas to Consider: With a quick Internet search, you will easily identify a handful of websites that list art competitions. I recommend getting in the habit of reviewing these once every two to four weeks, looking for the best opportunities for the type of work you create. I’m not suggesting that you go af-

Then, regularly invite people to visit your website and give you their email addresses so you can build relationships with them. Yes, you can and should continue to interact with your social media contacts, but you also want to build and maintain a list of email contacts so that you can send them monthly e-newsletters that you use to share new work, highlight upcoming shows, or announce your successes.

The most important thing to remember is that every message you send out is an opportunity to build a closer bond with your fans. Let them know more about who you are and what you’re doing with your art. Welcome them into your world, and always make them feel like special guests at your party.

ter every single one, only those that are most likely to accept your work. Start locally and grow into regional and national exhibitions, and establish a monthly budget for entry fees and shipping costs.

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Mastering Marketing Mistake #7: Not developing a sustainable, strategic plan for marketing your art.

Food for Thought: There are many reasons why some artists don’t market their own work, but if you’re not, you’ve got to find a way around it, whatever the reason. If you want to achieve any kind of success in selling your art, you first have to build awareness. You need a strategic plan that you can easily implement day in and day out.

find the plan that yields the results you want. And, of course, if you need help along the way, reach out for it. Buy a book, take a course, enlist a coach, or hire an assistant. There is plenty of information available to you.

If anything on this list made you cringe because you’ve been making a mistake, don’t feel bad. After

Consider this: You can name at least 10 ways to exercise—everything from taking a daily walk to joining a gym to signing up for jiu-jitsu lessons—but do you have to do all of these to get in shape? No, of course not. You would probably choose one or two of those tactics, and probably for reasons that are uniquely personal to you. And if the tactic you chose wasn’t working, you’d quickly change your plan, perhaps by working out more often or trying a different tactic altogether. It’s the same with marketing your art.

Ideas to Consider: Considering how hard you’ve worked to become the best artist you can be, you owe it to yourself to learn all you can about marketing so that you can do it efficiently and effectively.

There is so much advice available to you, much of it for free or at minimal cost. Just don’t assume that you have to practice all of the marketing activities

at one time. Decide which marketing tactics you want to try first, and set up a routine schedule for working on networking to attract new fans as well as nurturing relationships with existing fans. After practicing these tactics diligently and consistently for a time (say four to six months), evaluate how well they’re working for you. Keep tweaking your plan, honing your skills, and trying other options until you 62

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all, your expertise is in making art, not in marketing.

Instead, consider the ideas for improvement I’ve offered here, and take heart in knowing you can get better at art marketing as you move forward. ***************** In Jennifer King, you’ll find a blend of an entrepreneur’s head for business and an artist’s heart for creating. In addition to being a landscape painter, Jennifer has had a long association with art and artists. She is the former editor of International Artist Magazine, The Artist’s Magazine, and several other noted art publications.

Fascinated by the business of art, she spent several years working in an art gallery, and she later returned to school to earn a master’s degree in marketing. Today, she brings all of these interests together in her own business, Connect Artist Marketing, which offers personalized marketing services specifically for fine artists.

To learn more, visit ConnectArtistMarketing.com.

Tell us about your marketing successes (or failures).

Where have you found success in marketing your art.

Contact the Magazine to share your story with the Sociey!

Puppies!

A book of quotes about these sweet creatures with pastel illustrations by

Marianne Harris Available at amazon.com PSWC Magazine | Spring 2019

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Art in Motion

Art in Motion Making a Video as a Recorded Legacy and a Marketing Tool If you haven’t heard of Graeme Stevenson yet, you’re about to get acquainted with this dynamic artist and filmmaker from Australia. I found his work while scrolling through YouTube about five years ago. I wanted something to watch while I was on the treadmill when I landed on a series of short videos about artists in Australia and New Zealand.

Each video introduced a talented artist their studio, explored their art and life philosophy ,and demonstrated some of the tricks or techniques that the artist used to create their art.

What could be more interesting to walk to? The one hour walk flew by, and I was HOOKED! I couldn’t get enough of these wonderful mini-movies. Imagine my delight when I discovered that there were hundreds of them. I began reading up on this series which airs on public television in Australia.

Inspired by Hard Times Graeme Stevenson was born and raised in Australia; however, he spent a number of years in the Santa Rosa, California area and has a great love for this part of the country. He was working as an artist during an economic downturn in Australia nearly a decade ago and watched as many of his colleagues struggle to survive on income from their art, often having to give it up to take a better paying job out of the art industry. He was concerned that the essential skills and techniques of these talented artists would be lost forever, and he wanted to do something about it. A digital 64

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record, a video of them would be a way to capture their techniques and their art and preserve it for future generations.

With little movie making experience, he decided to go back to college (at age 51) to get a degree in filmmaking. In one of the first classes, the final project was to complete a short two to three minute film about a topic of interest.

He completed six 24 minute videos about artists he knew and the techniques that they employed to create their art.

He got an “A” for the class and the beginning of a television series. Working with the vision “To build a library of the minds of artists; to preserve a digital record of creative spirit, culture and techniques for future generations.” He created “Put Some Colour In Your Life.”

Now, nearly a decade later, his shows are seen in thirteen countries, and he has film crews in seven countries including the United States.

Millions of people are now Graeme on his Famous Bike familiar with his famous motorcycle ride along a quiet Australia road to his next destination, with his trademark voice over, “G’Day Viewers, I’d like to invite you to join me on a journey of creativity, learning, and adventure...” He is currently working on putting together a film crew for artists in India.

Sharing Legacies of Living Artists Garth Lena is an aboriginal artist who’s story Graeme and his team told in 2011. Creating fan-

Art in Motion tastical creatures from his imagination and the old folklores of his ancestors using natural materials is his forte. In the episode, Garth used a chain saw to carve a porcupine’s body out of a huge log. Then he made quills from clay which were fired and glued into dozen of holes he had drilled into the log body.

The result was whimsical, bold, and beautiful.

The episode shows us where the artist works and how he picks his materials and prepares for a project. And it demonstrates how critical it is to have a digital record of work for the sake of history. Garth’s work and other artists like him might be lost to the world without these videos.

the need for an art forum became more evident.

The Colour in Your Life website has been expanded to have a positive impact for artists by providing a Facebook-like community for artists to share, speak their minds, and have access to all the videos.

There are also “Bucket List” art workshops offered throughout Australia with amazing artists designed for those who have “seeing Australia” on their bucket list!

Creating Your Own Video If you think a video may be for you, you can make

More than a Legacy Record What Graeme discovered along the way is that these videos were not just legacies of art and artists, but were wonderful marketing tools as well. When they were shown on public TV, the featured artist suddenly became a star and attracted interest from around the country and now around the world. There is no other marketing tool that is as effective as video for artists.

As the productions grew in number,

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Art in Motion your own or have one made for you by a production company. Creating a video with an iPhone, SmartPhone or digital camera is one way to capture your art. There is software like Adobe Premiere that can help you edit your film, add narration and music, cut in still shots of your work, and polish it into a finished product. You will probably need to have some assitance (and assistants) to capture the angles and lighting to get all the shots needed. Narration can be done after the final edit--be sure to prepare a script. Once your video is complete, post it on your website and social media for maximum exposure.

Putting Some Colour in YOUR Life For those who are more comfortable in front of an easel than behind a camera, consider having a production company make a video for you. Grame’s company is surprisingly affordable with videos starting at $6,000 .

Here’s how Colour in Your Life videos work: 1. Apply online for a spot.

2. Be contacted by the show for film crew availability and dates.

Venetian Blood

3. Pay your film fee. Prepare for your shoot.

4. Spend a day with Graeme or one of his international crews filming what you do best.

5. Wait for the show to air and to be added to the Colour In Your Life social media platforms and change your life.

There are testimonials on his website if you want to see the impact 24 minutes of tape can have on an artist’s career. The response to the videos has been so overwhelming to the artists who participate. One artist, who has a studio on an island off the coast of Australia reported that the weekend after the show aired on television, she opened her studio door to find hundreds of people waiting to get in to see her.

As Graeme says, “So bring your kids, your brothers and sisters, your Aunties, Uncles, and Mums and Dads and see how the best artists in the world do what they do. Put some colour in your life!”

Graeme Stevenson is an artist in his own right. Here are some examples of his amazing work!

Cosmic Tiger 66

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Art in Motion

Go to www.colourinyourlife.com.au for more information on productions, workshops, and the art forum.

The Dark Conch of Man

by Graeme Stevenson

Ivory Mist

by Graeme Stevenson

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Mastering Marketing

Art Business If You Build It, They Will Come

by Sabrina Hill and Debee Holland-Olson

We will be creating a website for Debee Holland-Olson. Debee is an amazing artist, but she’s never had time to set up a website. I caught up with Debee while she was babysitting her grandson in Florida.

Her home-away-from-home office was a laptop under a palm tree on the beach. Even though I’m in sunny California, I was jealous.

The first step in creating a website is to determine what your skill level is and how much time you wish to devote to website upkeep. I have found that FASO.com offers a wide range of templates and one of the easiest platforms available to build and mauntain your own website. There are lots of features that you can incorporate such as a blog, shopping cart, newsletter, and multiple galleries. After discussing Debee‘s goals, we determined that FASO. com would be a good fit for her.

Your Website is like a Restaurant For the purpose of this exercise, imagine your website is like a restaurant. There’s the front of the 68

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house--the part that the customers see which is FORWARD FACING. There is the back of the house where all the stuff happens or BACK END. There is a MENU so you can choose what you want to eat--or see if you are a website. You need a phone so you can take reservations (EMAIL) and an address so people can come in and see you (DOMAIN NAME).

The forward-facing part of the website needs to look good, be well-maintained and clean, but so does the back end. If something is broken in the kitchen, it ends up affecting the front of the house. A lot of times, the things that are broken on the back end of the websites are links. If links are broken, it can affect how your website functions on the web. In addition to your links, there are functions named

by ACRONYMS! There are dozens of these, but you only need to know a few in the beginning. As the site’s functions become more familiar to you, you can explore other acronyms and their use. Here are a few:

SEO, SSL, Analytics, Ranking SEO. Search Engine Optimization. This helps the internet find you. Just like in the restaurant when all the waiters are wearing the same shirt or apron so you can find them in a sea of people. Tagging is one way of helping the search engine find your work.

SSL. (Secure Sockets Layer) Security is good. Many website templates offer this at no additional charge.

You may opt for it, but you don’t need it to set up your site. The web defines SSL as “...the standard security technology for establishing an encrypted link between a web server and a browser. This link ensures that all data passed between the web serv-

Mastering Marketing er and browsers remain private and integral.”

ing story with a little bit of personal history and perspective. It’s a way to let people get to know you a little bit. And it makes art investors feel like they understand you a little better which turns them from fans to buyers. Note: A blog is not mandatory for a website; however, it is a great way to attract traffic to your site. This is important if you were making sales or trying to promote your work in a gallery or your workshops. The more activity your website has such as the number of views of your blog with comments, the higher your website will rank in a Google search.

Analytics. This is the data that tells you who is coming to your website, when, how often, and from where. At the beginning, there’s not much to see, but over time, this information can help you plan where to market and who to market to.

Ranking. Who’s number one? Ranking will tell you.

And it will tell you where you are on Google and other search engines like Bing and Yahoo. This matters down the road, but not in the early life of your website.

Getting Ready to Build I instructed Debee to gather some information so that we could easily prepare her website in a few hours. Here’s what she needed to get started: •

A 250 to 300-word artist biography. Your artist bio which is also referred to as an artist statement should be a little bit about your history, but mostly be about your artistic inspiration, perspective, and mission.

It’s a good idea to include an interesting tidbit about yourself, for example you juggle to relax or you know how to yodel, etc.

•

A list of any awards, gallery shows, exhibitions, or acknowledgements you have received

•

10 to 20 high-quality, high resolution (300 dpi) jpeg images of your work with details like title, dimensions, and medium

•

Contact information such as email address, phone number, and studio address if separate from your personal address

•

A list of any workshops you are offering

•

A list of galleries to carry your work including addresses and websites

•

Primary entry for a blog— A blog is usually a glimpse behind the scenes of your life as an artist. You may want to show works in progress and the various stages you have put into a piece until it is completed. You may want to describe how are you prepare for an exhibition or show.

The most successful blogs combine an interest-

•

A list of tags. These are keywords that will pop up in a Google search. For example, if you have a painting with the title “Horse Race at High Noon” it may come up in Google search of the key word “horse race.” So horse race is a good

tag, and horse is a good tag, and horse racing, horses running, painting of horses, pastel painting of horses, horse painting—these are other search words that could be entered by someone looking for a horse painting. I find that there are certain words I try to tag consistently like pastel painting, pastels, impressionistic and so on.

Once all this information is loaded onto the website, we will manage SEO, SSL, and all the BACK END stuff that will help you track how you’re doing.

Let’s Build it!

Debee got all her information together, and in a series of phone calls from her “office” in Florida, I gave her the following tasks to do:

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Mastering Marketing 1. Go to GoDaddy to purchase her domain name.

For artists, I recommend using your actual name. If someone else has already taken it, add “art” or “fineart” after your name.

2. FASO will give you an email address or you can select one when you set up your GoDaddy domain. The advantage of using GoDaddy is that your email includes you domain name. (Mine is art@sabrinahill.com) I recommend GoDaddy for the website because they have PHENOMENAL support. If you are slightly confused or have any questions you can call and they will FIX it!

3. Sign up for a FASO account at www.faso.com.

Look at some of their websites to see samples of templates you like. Select one to try, you can change it easily.

4. Get all your information into your computer and ready to go.

5. Relax. There’s lot’s of support out there and it’s a phone call away. You Got this!

On a Friday afternoon, Debee, her husband, Home Dashboard

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and I convened on the phone in front of our respective computers and got down to building the site.

Debee had chosen a template and had established her FASO account ($300/year). We started at the home page of the DASHBOARD. (For this exercise, I am using screen shots of My FASO webpage. It is similar to many website template Dashboards.) The dashboard is where you access all the information about the site, just like a car’s dashboard.)

FIrst Step: Add Your Artwork Page

Mastering Marketing First Step: Adding your images into your portfolio of work. You will need dimensions of the work, price to sell if (if you want to), title and materials. You can upload multiple images, but once in your portfolio list, you willl need to add title, and all the other information. You will also have to categorize the images--Landscapes, Portraits, By the Sea, however you like. This will help sort them on the FRONT FACING webpage. When your current images are uploaded, you are ready to move to the home dashboard again.

Fourth Step: As you make your way down the dashboard left side column, you will see that each section requires some of the precious information you gathered ahead of time.

Dashboard Left Column

Second Step: Add image and tag line to home page.

From the Home dashboard go to Website Home Page. Select an image from you portfolio list, add a tag line and save.

Third Step: Enter you infomation in “ABOUT THE ARTIST” page. This is where you will add an interesting but SHORT biography of your life as an artist.

Years ago, after reading my first bio, a consultant once told me, “No one cares this much about your life.” She was not wrong. Keep it short and sweet with one fun fact.

•

Add Contact Information.

This is usually a form that has been created by FASO.

•

Add Gallery Representation Information

•

Add Blog (have a post ready!)

•

Add newsletter- I think newsletters are a great idea, but they are a big commitment.

Give yourself a break and wait on this one until you are more secure in the website.

•

Add Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, YouTube, etc information (Have your names for these accounts available as you will need them)

•

Fifth Step: Well, you’re done.

Go to the dashboard and click Preview. That’s your NEW WEBSITE! Yay!

•

Read on to see Debee’s perspective on the building of her site.

Second Step: Add Image & Tag line to Home Page

Third Step: Add your bio & picture to About the Artist page

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Mastering Marketing Debee is an amazing artist, and she had been thinking about a website for a long time. It was fun to work on this project together, and she did a wonderful job. Many of you may see yourself in her answers below. Take heart, Debee did it and so can you! Check out her site at https://debeeholland-olsonfineart.com I asked Debee a few questions about her experience. Here are her thoughts.

What prevented you from building a web site sooner?

My fear of the “high speed techno computer world” and “messing things up, loosing stuff”, prevented me from building a website sooner. I have lived in a rural area of Extreme Northern California for some time now and sometimes being in an isolated area prevents one from the pursuit of new avenues. I did not grow up in the era of technology but had some basic skills in Word and use of Social network. Twenty years ago, my husband and son offered to help build a site, the results did not sync with the Fine Art world.

Viewers and patrons were not able to interact with the site and they were unable to purchase or leave messages. It was usually a Saturday morning ordeal of programing for hours and usually ended up being an ugly experience, so I just gave up and decided maybe I should just paint and omit the tech world.

I knew I needed a website, I was missing out on a lot of exhibition opportunities and potential clients.

Fast forward to March 2019,I was contacted by Pastel Society of the West Coast, editor Sabrina Hill, to see if she could be my coach to develop a website and, yes, I was willing to be coached and would be happy to dive into a web project with her!

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What was the most important thing to you about having a website?

Most important for me, was the ability to have more exposure of my artwork and paintings to the world.

To reach more people and have a way for people to see new work, in my distinct style I produced and be able to have a way to communicate with them was also a high priority. I also knew that websites were often checked as a backup source by jurors if you are applying for professional art societies or for shows and Plein Air paint out events. So being able to launch a website would strengthen opportunities for me.

How did working on it feel?

Was it more or less complicated than you thought?

As I began this challenge with my coach, I was very nervous and did not want to fail by my lack of knowledge of tech terms and functions. I was put at ease with my first phone session as Coach Sabrina provided a list of items to prep before we went to a provider that would host the website.

The homework was not in any way overwhelming so I was able to complete the task list and look at sites that were up Debee’s Florida Office and running to host artists. I picked FASO Fine Art Studio Online and the domain name, debeeholland-olsonfineart.com.

What guidance or advice was the most helpful?

The encouragement from my coach, that “I could so this,” empowered me to forge ahead to complete each task. In our second coaching session, we explored the whole home page to make entries from my prep and homework notes. As I logged onto my home page at FASO the prompts were instructive and easy to follow, I entered the information and became more confident as each page was completed. I am still entering and making adjustments, but I am extremely happy with the website and love the way it’s turning out.

Mastering Marketing Do you feel confident about maintaining your new website?

My confidence has soared as my skills for entering new work and information about new events has become easier. My email list is growing as viewers sign on for my newsletter, and I am developing a weekly blog. It is fun to check website traffic to see the statistics on views and read comments viewers have made. I have recently purchased a new camera and have continued with the challenge of taking better photos of my work and sizing the photos to create original files and sized files for digital entries to juried shows. In addition, I purchased a new laptop so I can make changes to the website and use it for just my art business. I have learned so much over a few weeks’ time. I appreciate all the info My coach has provided me with to get the website up and running. Now I feel confident enough to pay it forward as I can help another artist dive into making a website to promote their work. Thank You, Sabrina for all your help. This was a very fun project!

A sketch done in Debee’s Florida office!

Debee’s Homepage!

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Art School

Art School ROADMAP TO A LANDSCAPE PAINTING,

by LaVone Sterling, PSWC; PSA We, as artists, are passionate about our craft. It is our truest form of self expression. But creating a work of art doesn’t just happen. It takes time, practice and perseverance. In this article I hope to address a few elements that may prepare the pastelist in painting a better landscape and to point them toward a useful path along the way.

When painting a landscape, regardless of the medium, the artist first decides what he or she is going to paint by observation. It doesn’t matter whether you are painting plein air or from a photo, the process is the same. First, there’s a wave of excitement that draws you to the subject. For me, that is the way sunlight filters through the trees and over the grass; or the way it reflects on the water, or casts shadows across a road. If this sounds simple, think again.

Now that you have chosen what to paint, observation becomes a primary element in completing your painting. Before putting pencil to paper, visualize the painting in your mind. Observe the shapes, the color, the time of day and the values. Now translate and simplify those shapes in your head. The landscape is a busy, complicated mass of spheres, rectangles, cubes and triangles and reducing it to a few simple shapes seems impossible.

Fortunately Nature has already done this for us. Our task is to see it and to translate it.

Once you have a firm visualization in your mind, you are ready to draw it onto paper in a small thumbnail or sketch and then as a finished painting. Learning to observe takes practice, but it is the foundation of an excellent painting. Using a viewfinder or squinting helps to 74

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separate the light from shadows, thus intensifying values. Practice comparing shapes and how shapes relate to space. Take time before you jump in and begin painting. First, imagine the completed painting. Don’t be discouraged, observation gets better with practice.

Now that you have created your painting in your mind, do several thumbnail sketches. Carefully draw items of interest. Now you are ready to begin. I emphasize “carefully’ because drawing is as necessary to a painting as strings and a bow are to a violin.

Without strings and a bow there is no music. Without a drawing there is no direction – no roadmap for your painting. Drawing is a foundational element in preparing to paint a landscape. Drawing is not an innate talent. Like reading or writing it is a learned skill. On the plus side, drawing will improve your ability to see as an artist.

Thumbnail sketches provide a roadmap for the painting “Red Sky At Night.” It was dusk as I walked along the riverbank. The pink sky was reflected in

Art School

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Blocking in Local Color the water. As I sketched the scene where the creek broke away from the main flow, I noted a sparkle in a soft ripple. I decided that area would be the focal point for my painting. I wrote notes in the margins around the sketch for later reference.

I can’t emphasis enough the need to prepare before an artist begins a painting. As seen in the photos of my thumbnails, I have made notes and generated a road map that I used to create the finished painting.

In my sketches I have established basic values and the time of day. I simplified complicated shapes and the relationship of negative space around the shapes. It was late in the day. This set the stage for color temperature and harmony. I decided to place the area of focus on the light reflecting off the water in the river. This ignited a feeling of warmth and peacefulness. The light for a portrait or still life is an unseen source in the finished painting. However in a landscape painting, the sky is the source of light as well as part of the subject in the painting.

Therefore the sky is going to be the lightest light and the reflected light on the water, a close second. I took this into consideration in my notes and on my “road map� Using my thumbnail sketch, I transferred the drawing onto UArt 400g mounted paper. With Terri Ludwig soft pastels, I blocked in local colors.

I used a shade or two darker than I would later use for the finished painting.

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Art School

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Wet with Alcohol

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I used a cool blue to block in the upper area of the sky.

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I over-layed this with a warm pink. I used a very light turquoise to warm up the lower portion of the sky, again over-laying with pink.

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Then, using a flat, nylon brush and denatured alcohol I wet the flat shapes.

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I did not wet the sky.

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Now using a seasponge, which I tore into ragged shapes, I sponged the alcohol over the trees, rolling it for a leaf-like look and feathered edges.

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The alcohol dried quickly and once it had, I began applying a variety of soft pastels.

Art School

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The Finished Painting

Red Sky At Night 20x10 PSWC Magazine | Spring 2019

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Art Workshops Sally Strand Thursday, June 6, 2019 Showcase the Color of Light!

IAPS Convention International Association Pastel Societies

of

Albuquerque, NM 1 day Workshop See more classes at pswc.ws/ workshops

Focusing on color and light, Sally discusses optical mixing of layered color and how to truly see and identify color, especially subtle color. The effects of light on color, composition, and perception, as well as use of different types of light are explored.

Painting from costumed models and still life, each student receives individual attention and critiques.

Demonstrations and lectures and a slide show are designed to give students tools to achieve intensely beautiful color

explore the finishing touches that turn paintings into personal statements.

Master Class/Next Level (intermediate and up) – If you have taken Sally’s workshops before and want to build on the numerous principles discussed, this new class continues where the previous workshops left off. It begins with a review of painting principles including optical mixing of layered color, essential elements of strong composition and the effects of light. We also focus on the later stages of painting, learning to harmonize color masses while developing the ability to really see and mix color, especially those that are nuanced and subtle. Finally we will

Showcase the Color of Light!

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Sally Strand, a Master Pastelist, was inducted into the Hall of Fame, the highest commendation of the Pastel Society of America, NY. For more information: 949-493-6892 Info@sallystrand.com or www.sallystrand.com 2019 Workshop Schedule is online at pswc.ws Friday, June 7, 2019 IAPS Convention International Association of Pastel Societies June 17–20, 2019 Color of Light Whidbey Island Fine Art Studio Langley, Washington Contact: Cary Jurriaans 206-571-0442 info@whidbeyislandfas.com caryjur@gmail.com

Art Workshops

RITA KIRKMAN An All-Inclusive Pastel Art Retreat “Paint the Light in Pastel” with Rita Kirkman

Dates: July 15-19, 2019 Level: All Levels Join Rita for the Ultimate Summer Art Vacation - an all-inclusive 5-day Art Retreat at The Abbey of the Hills, in the heart of the glacial lakes region of South Dakota. Immerse yourself in the tranquility of this former monastery while stimulating your creativity with a Rita Kirkman Pastel Workshop! The 5-day workshop will give you plenty of time to exercise and improve your pastel abilities (all skill levels welcome) in the classroom, while leaving extra hours to explore the beautiful grounds, paint outside, sketch and take photos, or simply relax!

Learn from Rita’s 40+ years of experience with pastel. Lots of individual attention given.

For more info and to register:

One price includes the workshop tuition, on-site lodging and daily home-cooked meals!

https://ritakirkman.com/page/16136/an-all-inclusive-pastel-art-experience

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Art Workshops

Art Workshops Aaron Schuerr

Fresh and Direct Landscape Painting in Pastel Dates: Aug 26–28, 2019

SPONSORED WORKSHOP

Class times: 9:00am–4:00pm Tuition: $450 Level: All Levels Class Limit: 15 Get ready to explore the California coast with award winning artist Aaron Schuerr.

Find “the story” in the landscape and paint it in a way that is direct, simple, fresh, and honest. Engage in fun exercises designed to focus on value, color, and shape. From that foundation, you’ll explore edges, atmospheric perspective, color and shape relationships, composition, and mood. Most importantly you’ll learn to paint with greater intention. Through demonstrations, group discussions, composition walks, painting exercises, and plenty of individual instruction, you will learn to approach the landscape in enthusiasm and confidence. This workshop is open to pastel and oil, but the focus will be on pastel work.

Carmel Visual Arts | Barnyard Shopping Village | 3694 The Barnyard, F22,Carmel, CA 93923 |Studio Line: (831) 250-5732

www.carmelvisualarts.com/aaron/

Be sure to look for Aaron Schuerr’s selection of landscape pastels from Jack Richeson & Company. Eighty gorgeous colors--have Aaron sign the box at class!

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Art Workshops

Liz Haywood Sullivan

SPONSORED WORKSHOP

Painting Brilliant Skies & Water Medium: Soft pastel Duration: 4 days Dates : May 2-5 2019 Class times: 9:00 - 4:00 with a break for lunch

Location: Sebastopol Center for the Arts, 282 S High Street, Sebastopol, CA 95472 Tuition: $495 Level: Intermediate/advanced Class size: max 18/min 10

The sky is the most emotional aspect of any landscape

how water behaves when calm and when moving, water

painting. It sets the mood, time of day and the attitude

in the dramatic seascape, how to use aerial perspective

of the painting. In this workshop with internationally ac-

principles in water to create distance, seeing and painting

claimed artist, instructor, and author Liz Haywood-Sulli-

correct values, plus much more.

van, we will explore how to capture the character of the sky, from sunny and bright to moody with precipitation, from early day to brilliant evening. Work on techniques for clear skies and creating believable clouds.

We will also explore the intricacies of painting water and reflections in pastel. We will use underpainting to assist the development of the layers of transparency found in water. Topics to be covered include depicting reflections,

Each day will start with a demonstration and there will be plenty of daily individual instruction at your easel.

Liz Haywood-Sullivan, PSA-MP, IAPS/MC, is a representational artist specializing in pastel landscapes. She is President Emerita of the International Association of Pastel Societies (2013-2017) where she managed 3 international conventions and 12 international exhibitions. https://www.creativeescapeworkshops.com/liz-haywood-sullivan.html

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Housekeeping

PSWC HOUSEKEEPING Here’s a Bit of News for Members & Information on New Members NEW WAYS & MEANS CHAIR & PASTELS USA CHAIR Pat Stoddard Aragon has agreed to be our new Ways & Means Chair. Call her if you have any ideas for sponsorship or awards for our shows! Jan Miller will be taking the reins ( and reign!) of PASTELS USA from Jerry Botd. We appreciate the efforts of these and all our volunteers.

MEMBERSHIP DRIVE We are always looking to expand our memberWhite Longhorms by Pat Aragon Window Shopping by Jan Miller

ship. As one of the largest Pastel Societies in the United States, we are proud to have such talented, diverse and active artists in our group.

One of the best ways to support a healthy society is to bring in new members. There are lots of good reasons to join. If you have artist-friends who are not members, now’s the time to invite them to join. Contact Debbie Pepin if you have questions or would like more information.

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED Members, we need your other talents, too! We have lots of opportunities for volunteers from working on the PASTELS USA Show to hosting Paint-outs. Please contact Sabrina Hill for more information.

CONTRIBUTE TO THE MAGAZINE The magazine is looking for ideas, suggestions and contributors. If you have something to say, an idea for a feature, 82

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Housekeeping or a favorite artist for an interview, I want to hear from you! And if you have graphics experience, would be willing to collect information, write an article or help with production contact me at pswcmag@pswc.ws

NEW MEMBERS Leslie Trujillo Batts | Colorado Springs, CO www.latbfineart.com

Susan Bjerke | Scottsdale,AZ www.azcrazyart.com Hazel Boggess | Austin,CO Berdine Briones-Lefkowitz | Boise, ID www.heavenlypetart.com Pamela J. Buck | Rocklin, CA Dawn Buckingham | Orange, CA www.dawnbuckinghamfineart.com Renee Carter | Caldwell, ID Donna Catotti | Haines, AK www.donnacatotti.com Pamela Comfort | Oakland,CA Laetitia Comps-Agrar | Mill Valley, CA Patricia L. Connolly | Fairfax, CA Sidnee Cox | Windsor, CA Leslie B. DeMille | Sedona, AZ Brenda Ehmann | Groveland,CA Lindsey C. Ford | Olympia, WA Katherine Gardner | Nampa, ID Karen Gideon | Greenbrae, CA Cindy S Gillett | Meridian, ID www.cindygillett.com Emily Goldfield | Bell Canyon, CA www.GoldfieldGallery.com Rosana S Halprine | Port Charlotte, FL Rebecca Hawkins | Medford], OR Tim Haworth | Santa Rosa, CA www.haworthfineart.com Linda Hays | Nampa, ID Deborah Henderson | Olympia, WA www.hendersonpastels.com Heidi Hornberger | Mill Valley, CA www.heidihornberger.com Nancy Hull | Santa Barbara, CA Karen Keys | Granite Bay, CA www.karenkeysart.com Sydney Kopeikin | Ventura, CA

Ginger Lantz | Nampa, ID www.gingerlantz.com LouCinda Laughlin | Auburn, CA Deborah J Lawless | Olathe, KS www.lawlessfineart.com Jeremy Lee Mun Loong | Kuala Lumpur www.facebook.com/jeremyleestudio Marlene Macek | Sedona, AZ Negin Majd | London, Greater London

ELECTED BOARD POSITIONS President/Editor Sabrina Hill e: Art@sabrinahill.com Vice President/Treasurer Susan Goodmundson

Daniel A McAlister | Eagle, ID

e: goodmundson@sbcglobal.net

Bill McEnroe | Tumwater, WA

Pastels USA Exhibits Chair

Nancie King Mertz | Chicago, IL www.NancieKingMertz.com Maryann Mullett | Fitzwilliam, NH Suzanne Owens | Fredericksburg, TX www.suzanneowens.com Ugo Paradiso | Olathe, KS Zahra (Sophia) Pezeshk | Los Angeles, CA www.SophiaPezeshk.com Judy Pfeifer | Sea Ranch, CA Viginia Pierce | Santa Barbara, CA www.Virginiapierceart.com Peggy Davidson Post | Mount Kisco, NY www.theartistsplace.net Susan Powers | Alamo, CA www.SusanPowersFineArt.com Jan Prisco | San Mateo, CA www.janprisco.com Janet Rawlings | Redmond, OR www.rawlingsfineart.weebly.com Margie Lopez Read | Placerville, CA www.margies-art.com Denise Rizzo | Webster, NY Jane E Robbins | Saunderstown, RI www.janeerobbins.com Susan T. Rogers | Santa Rosa, CA Marsha Lynn Ross-Roberts | Hanford, CA Laura Jo Sherman | Bend, OR www.laurajoshermanart.com Sally Strand | Capistrano Beach, CA

Gerald Boyd e: jerry@geraldboyd.com Pastels USA 2020 Chair Jan Miller e: halfhalt@saber.net Secretary Bonnie Griffith e: bzgriff53@gmail.com Scholarship Chair Russell Frank e: frankpastels@gmail.com Membership Chair Deborah Pepin e: pswcmembership@gmail.com.

Magazine Editor Sabrina Hill e: art@sabrinahill.com Membership Show Chair Dug Waggoner e: dugwaggoner@att.net Ways & Means Chair Pat Stoddard Aragon e: grayrockstudio@yahoo.com COMMITTEE APPOINTEES Eblast Coordinator/Publicity Cynthia Riordan e: clriordan@gmail.com Facebook Coordinator/Social Media Rita Romero e: artist@romeroartstudio.com Workshop Coordinator Daniele Todaro e: daniele.todaro.8278@gmail.com

www.sallystrand.com Solene Tartivelle | New York, NY Mary Weil | Dundee, OR www.maryweil.com Patricia Westman | Santa Rosa, CA www.patriciawestman.com Jamie Wick | Stanwood, WA Lisa Gleim | Atlanta, GA www.lisagleimfineart.com PSWC Magazine | Spring 2019

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The Pastel Pastel Society Society of of the the West West Coast’s Coast’s Premier Premier Event Event The

The 33nd Annual International Open Exhibition

May 16, 2019 - July 14, 2019

Haggin Museum 1201 N. Pershing Ave, Stockton, California 95203 84

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