The Pastel Society of the West Coast’s NEW Out of Bounds! exhibition goes beyond the traditional use of pastel medium In this show, all artworks are a combination of pastel and one or more other media in a two-dimensional format This exciting exhibition of unique works breaks out of the bounds of time-honored pastel expressions
The Pastel Show That Goes Beyond Tradition
Inaugural National Exhibition
April 3– May 12, 2025
Art Center Morro Bay MORRO BAY, CALIFORNIA
You are invited to attend the Awards Ceremony and Reception with renowned British pastelist Tony Allain April 19, 2025 • 5– 8 pm
WORKSHOP WITH TONY ALLAIN
Breaking Free: Mood & Atmosphere
The quest for perfection can bring with it fear of making mistakes and can result in a style which can seem inhibited In this workshop we will concentrate on freedom and spontaneity to add elements of semi abstraction but still keep association with reality
Wednesday – Friday April 16 – 18, 2025
Art Center Morro Bay MORRO BAY, CALIFORNIA All Levels Welcome
If you ever wanted to bring a looser and more painterly feel to your work loaded with juicy color and flooded with light, join me and I will share some of my working methods concentrating on painting the landscape that delight you and excite the viewer
Sign up today!
www.pswc.ws/new-workshops/
Bonnie Zahn Griffith, On the Edge oil and cold wax with pastel, 12 x 12 in
PSWC magazine
Table of Contents
FEATURES ABOUT ART REGULARS
SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT MOOS 2025 W inners & Accepted Entries
Featured Artist Jimmy Wright talks with Pamela Comfort
35
Meet the Members
Stephanie Jean Brown
Lisa DeLuise
Ronnie Gold
Karen Israel
Donna Streisfeld
19
We Talk Art and Demonstrations Check out our archived sessions Art School
Kim Lordier shares her T ips on Self-Critiquing
8
71
Art Workshops
Desmond O’Hagan
Laura Pollak
Jeri Greenberg
Colette Odya Smith
94
98
4
10 Letter from the Editor Francesca Droll From the Desk of the PSWC President Pamela Comfort Regional Activities News from Our Regional Representatives
7
EDITOR’S NOTE
This is my first issue as editor of the PSWC Magazine I know the pastel c o m m u n i t y j o i n s w i t h m e i n t h
essional PSWC Magazine Sabrina was the one who brought it from a mple newsletter to the multi-paged, full color publication it is today Many members have commented that the Magazine is “one of the best benefits of PSWC membership ” W ith those words ringing in my ears, I’ll be continuing the journey and I’ll do my best to maintain the quality and professionalism of Sabrina’s ‘baby ’
My career was spent as a graphic designer and my husband and I owned esign studio in Oceanside, California, for more than 35 years I loved my d have missed it since I retired two years ago Even though I will take this position as editor seriously, the opportunity to work on the PSWC Magazine will feed my love of design in a manageable way without the stress of ‘a job ’ I look forward to bringing you the news and happenings of the pastel community in 2025 Our wonderful PSWC Board has lots of informative activities planned, upcoming workshops and artists talks to share, pastel challenges to stimulate your practice, and prestigious shows and exhibits to enter We hope that it will inspire you in your artistic practice and that you’ll share your creative journey with us!
In this first issue for 2025, we are designating it the “Coast-to-Coast” issue and we are honored to feature celebrated New York artist, Jimmy Wright Pam Comfort spent time getting to know this famed and notable artist and brings us a fascinating interview
In addition, we’re proud to present the annual MOOS show and all the paintings accepted through the juried process Congratulations to all the brilliant artists!
Speaking of shows, PSWC’s exciting first annual “Out of Bounds” show opens April 3, 2025 at Art Center Morro Bay, in Morro Bay, Califor nia This show celebrates throwing traditional pastel techniques to the wind and using other media in combination with pastel It promises to be a very intriguing and captivating show Please join us for the Awards Reception on April 19, 2025 and greet our illustrious judge, Tony Allain, who will be presenting the awards
Rounding out our theme of “Coast-to Coast,” we present five easter n U S artists Their stories are insights into the many facets of becoming an artist a n d maintaining and growing a career We also take a look at a few of our sister societies on the East Coast
"Be true to your vision and by being true to it, it will intensify and deepen into your own " Wolf Kahn
W ishing you much joy in your painting!
Francesca Droll
Contributors
Pam Comfort, PSWC President
In addition to serving as President, Pam chairs the Scholarship Program and the Ways and Means position Her background is in the field of educaion She earned a doctorate in Educational Leadship and Organizational Management, and retired her position as Deputy Superintendent of Schools for Contra Costa County in 2018 Having only dabbled in art and music throughout her life, she discovered after retiring that she loved the immediacy and tactile satisfaction of working with pastels Pam loves to travel and aspires to create art that communicates a strong sense of nature, culture, and place pamelacomfort com
im Lordier
y provided the informative Art School article Lordier’s paintings are in private and public collections throughout the country, and have been hibited at the Autry Museum, Maynard Dixon ntry, Coors Western Art Show, National Arts Club, Salmagundi Club, and many others.
Her work has been showcased on the cover of Art of the West, PleinAir Magazine, Southwest Art, and The Pastel Journal, as well as featured in Western Art and Architecture and Fine Art Connoisseur
Kim is a Signature Member of the California Art Club, the Pastel Society of America, Laguna Plein Air Painters Association, and a Distinguished Pastelist of the Pastel Society of the West Coast A coveted workshop instructor, Kim leads workshops across the country kimfancherlordier com
WANT TO GET INVOLVED?
Our Society runs on volunteer power We’re always grateful to receive more help Please contact us we have a spot for you!
KEEP IN TOUCH FOLLOW US!
You don’t have to live on the West Coast to become a member W ith PSWC members located around the U S and inter nationally, 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 medium of soft pastel Today we are one of the largest and most recognized pastel societies in the country with an ever-increasing inter national presence
BENEFITS INCLUDE
• Pastels USA Annual Exhibition
• Members Only Online Competition
• Out of Bounds! Exhibition
• In-person and Virtual Workshops by Noted Pastel Artists
• PSWC Magazine
• PSWC Social Media Exposure Opportunities
• We Talk Art Interview Series
• Regional In-person Events
• Online Demonstrations
• Themed Painting Challenges
• Membership in IAPS www.pswc.ws
Desk of the PSWC President
Dear Friends,
I’m not going to lie to you We’ve been working pretty hard lately, this small group of volunteers that make up the board and committee members of the PSWC I think you can see some of the fruits of our labor on our website, in this magazine, on our Facebook page, on Zoom calls, on our YouTube channel, in workshops, at our exhibitions it’s been paying off and we are feeling pretty good about the results But it’s not the “product” that makes the work worthwhile I’ll explain
Do you, like me, sometimes have a hard time getting in front of your easel even when you know that it’s only that ongoing practice, that “mileage” that will bring about ongoing growth and development of your skill? Sometimes, even when I have the time available, I have to set up little motivators, almost “trick” myself into making those first marks Signing up for a workshop or registering for recurring check-ins with a mentor seem to help build in some accountability Engaging in those quarterly challenges seems to do the same thing for quite a few of our members
About a month ago, I was chatting via text with my friend, Kim who is living in Spain about this same topic, and we were also lamenting how we missed seeing one another We hit on the idea of setting up a weekly “Painting Play Date” via Zoom We choose a subject, sign on to Zoom once a week (early mor ning for me, late afternoon for her) and visit, chat, laugh, and paint together for a couple of hours It’s the highlight of my week. At one session, talking about how the meet-ups were working as a motivation to paint a couple of days every week, she said to me, “You’re my spoonful of sugar!” That aphorism stuck with me, and I’ve been thinking about all of the ways that a “spoonful of sugar” adds further inducement to accomplish tasks
DESK OF THE PRESIDENT
You, my friends, are the spoonful of sugar Your engagement, positive feedback and encouragement is what keeps us going Your participation in the challenges, the exhibitions, the workshops, the Zoom interviews and demonstrations that’s what sweetens the deal for us Also, for me, being able to have wonderful, in-depth conversations with amazing artists for our feature articles, as I did this month with Jimmy Wright that’s the kind of “sugar” that sustains me over the long term
Since Jimmy is in New York, we’ve decided to focus on “Coast-to-Coast” in our Meet the Members section Jimmy tells us that “Developing the skill set and the ability to be an objective critic of your own work is essential to being an honest artist ” “Well,” I thought, “I better get someone to help us understand how we can better do that ” So, I reached out to my friend, Kim Lordier for this issue’s Art School article on the Power of SelfCritique I have a friend named Kim Lordier! How’s that for a heaping spoonful of sugar to go along with this great big volunteer job? Really, at this point I think the whole thing starts to turn into cake and icing but I’m losing my metaphor
Finally, I want to mention that my fellow volunteers here at PSWC are my most valuable spoonful of sugar, because without them ugh, I don’t even want to think about it. If you find yourself wondering what it might be like to join our team in some small or large way, please reach out I promise there is a lot of sugar to be had, and we offer free information!
Stay inspired!
Pam
Pam Comfort
LIVE FROM THE ARCHIVES
Since this is our first magazine issue for 2025, it seems like a good time to remind our members that in addition to a full line-up of We Talk Art interviews and General Membership Meeting Demonstrations on the calendar we also have plenty of wonderful interviews and demos in our archives that members can find and access by going to our website pswc.ws Here are some of the folks Bonnie has interviewed in 2024 and 2023:
2025 February Alain Picard
January Anne Strutz
2024 November Bonnie Zahn Griffith (Pam did the interview)
October Bethany Fields
September Albert Handell
August Doug Dawson
July Mark Ivan Cole
May Pastel Innovations Panel: Judith Smith, Dawn Emerson, Kelly Milukas
April Lyn Diefenbach
February Tom Christopher
January Becka Watkins
2023 December Craig Lemley (Dakota Arts)
October Clark Mitchell
September Mitchell Albala
August Aaron Schuerr
January Dug Waggoner
In many cases, these artists shared slides, did mini demonstrations and answered questions from the live viewers about their processes By going to the Events tab on the top menu, then choosing We Talk Art, you can scroll to the bottom of the page to find the archived talks and find details about each of these Then simply click on the one you want to view and you are taken right to the recorded video on our YouTube channel Easy!
DEMONSTRATIONS
DEMONSTRATIONS
From Our General Membership Meetings
ARCHIVED DEMONSTRATIONS
2025 February Anne Strutz
January Richard McKinley (Special MOOS Presentation)
2024 December Terrilynn Dubreuil
December Jeri Greenberg
November Eve Miller (Fall Festival Demo)
November Dug Waggoner (Fall Festival Demo)
November Mark Ivan Cole (Fall Festival Demo)
November Bonnie Zahn Griffith (Fall Festival Demo)
October Carol Strock Wasson
September Desmond O’Hagan
June Otto Stürcke
March Kim Lordier
2023 December Ian Roberts
September
Pastels USA Awards Walkthrough
June Andrew McDermott
May Laura Pollak
March Debora Stewart
These archived demonstrations are easily accessed by choosing Events from the top menu, then General Membership Meetings, then scrolling down to see the archived meetings Simply click on the video you want to see and that’s it!
Demonstration dates on your calendar for 2025 There’s nothing quite like being there live to ask one of your favorite artists a question!
Regional Activities
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA REGION
Regional Rep Jean Myers reports that an inspiring paint-out is planned for The Old Place. You can set up there to paint the old funky buildings or drive across the street to Peter Strauss Ranch to paint gorgeous sycamore trees, and a creek bed with views of the Santa Monica Mountains It's a win-win!
Park at the Old Place’s parking lot and grab a coffee from The Coffee Truck! For more information, check out the Old Place’s website: oldplacecornell.com
Date & T ime: Saturday, April 5, 2025 9:30 am to 12:30 pm
Location: The Old Place 29983 Mulholland Hwy Cornell, California
CALIFORNIA CENTRAL COAST REGION
Regional Rep Bobbye Thompson invites members to paint Heronwoods Gardens. This lovely property faces the estuary and Sweet Springs Preserve across the bay You won’t be disappointed There are so many painting options: water views, sand dunes, lovely Tudor style home and gardens Come join us all mediums welcome!
Note: The owner's daughter has recently planted tree seedlings in the gardens Please stay on designated pathways so you don’t disturb these plants
Date & T ime: Tuesday, March 25, 2025 9:30 am to noon
Location: Heronwoods Gardens 1347 Pasadena Drive Baywood/Los Osos, California
PSWC ~ California Central Coast & San Luis Obispo County Region Activities
La Lomita Ranch Plein Air
Regional Representative Bobbye West-Thompson reports on the success of the paint-out at La Lomita Ranch, a former Arabian Horse Ranch, in late January
It was a glorious day and a good tur nout in a wonderfully inspiring location. This gorgeous property follows Spanish/Moorish architecture throughout, includes a large meeting house, horse barns, a lake, beautiful landscaping, wide open spaces and a small group of emus
Kerry Heller
Cheryl Ziehl
PSWC ~ Idaho/Montana/Wyoming Region Activities
Regional Representative Bonnie Kenaley reports these activities from her very active region
Extreme Plein Air Challenge
Norma Miller and Bonnie Kenaley braved the cold tempera and participated in the Extreme Plein Air Challenge, held from January 1st through the 11th, 2025 Sponsored by Finer Frames, located in Eagle, Idaho, 184 artists braved the cold weather and painted in the Treasure Valley
A celebration of completion and thawing-out was held on January 11, 2025 at Finer Frames where the artists displayed their work Congratulations to all the artists!
Canvas + Corks: An Idaho Art and W ine-Tasting Event
The Congregation Ahavath Beth Israel (CABI) held its second annual art show on January 30–31, 2025 Over 200 pieces of art, including watercolor, pastels, oil, and photography, created by 58 Idahoan artists were selected for viewing A ticketed event of art, music, wine tasting, and food was held on the fifth floor of JUMP (Jack’s Urban Meeting Place) overlooking downtown Boise Congratulations to three members of the Pastel Society of the West Coast who were selected to display their art: Carrie Cornils, Bonnie Kenaley, and Jill Storey
Carrie Cor nils, a multimedia artist, had three entries accepted for viewing, including Aspen Swirls (right), an alcohol ink medium, Aurora Lake, and Strong Mountain Pine More information about Carrie and her portfolio is available on her website, visit Art 4 Sol at art4sol.com
Carrie Cornils Aspen Swirls
Jill Storey also had three pastel paintings accepted, including Still Standing (right), Dreaming of Trees, and Gold and Turquoise More information about Jill and her work is available on her website, Jill Storey Fine Art at jillstoreyart.com/about.
CABI accepted three pieces created by Bonnie Kenaley, including Redtail Gift, Iridescent Plumage (below right), and Field of Flowers Two pieces were created with soft pastels and Iridescent Plumage used pearlescent watercolors and iridescent pastels along with standard soft pastels
Norma Miller with her painting at right
Bonnie Kenaley, Hidden Spring Sunrise
Bonnie Kenaley Iridescent Plumage
Jill Storey, Still Standing
CHALLENGES
Challenges 2025
PSWC members continue to value the benefits of engaging in painting challenges Participation in a challenge can spur you to set aside procrastination and paint daily, which leads to improved skill, increased confidence, and in the case of a themed challenge, a low-stakes opportunity to explore
February 1–10 2025
COMPLETED
April 1–10 2025
July 1–10 2025
October 1– 21 2025
HOW TO: It’s a good idea to prepare for a challenge by setting aside your paper (substrates), preferably in small sizes, a limited palette that fits the theme, and reference photos or materials you will be using, such as still life set ups or a plein air set up Have as much as possible ready prior to the start of the challenge, so you are able
Winter Painting Challenge: Make it High Key, Like Mary’s Cup of Tea
With this challenge, we experiment with high key paintings by compressing values, using a limited palette, adding small dark accents, using tools to check values Look for inspiration of high key examples such as those by Claude Monet, Childe Hassam and Mary Cassatt
Spring Painting Challenge: Borrow Their Magic, But Add Your Own Spin!
With this challenge, borrow inspiration from your favorite famous artists by replicating a specific artist’s technique, process or style in your own work Use cubist forms like Picasso or imitate thick impasto like Van Gogh You may incorporate similar themes as those associated with artists such as nature (Constable, Monet), identity (Kahlo, Klimt), the human form (da Vinci, Michelangelo), or social issues (Rivera, Goya) but add your own interpretations Reimagine iconic works in your own style For instance take inspiration from Monet’s water lilies or Warhol’s Campbell soup cans but inject your own cultural or emotional spin Take advantage of this opportunity to create new pathways for your own artistic expression!
Summer Painting Challenge: Tonalism: Sometimes It’s the Silence That Makes the Music Sing
With this challenge, practice creating mood, atmosphere, and harmony by using a tonalist or monochromatic palette in a variety of ways by using a soft, muted color palette or using a monochromatic palette, focusing on light and shadow (chiaroscuro), using romantic or naturalistic themes, incorporating soft edges For inspiration, check out the works of Whistler, Inness, Murphy, and Cullen
Fall Painting Challenge: The BIG One! 21 Paintings in 21 Days
Use this opportunity to commit to nearly a full month of daily painting. Here are some ways to keep the momentum: prepare your paper ahead of time, focus on small works, limit your time to 30 minutes or so, plan to work in a “series” every few days or week, choose one subject and paint it using several different palettes, go to bed each night with the next day’s block-in or underpainting on your easel.
For rules, more complete descriptions, and to participate, please visit pswc ws/painting-challenges/
to spend time painting rather than preparing, once the challenge starts It’s also a good idea to have a plan for storing or displaying your finished pieces, so you can see your day-to-day progress
In addition to thinking about working small, consider limiting yourself in terms of time Whether it is a 20–30 minute “study” or a limited 2–3 hour finished painting, determine what you will realistically be able to commit to on a daily basis
Take a photo of each day’s work and post it to the PSWC Facebook page, with the tag for the day At the end of the challenge, post a photo of all ten (or 21 for October)
Our most recent February Challenge event garnered the largest participation yet on our members-only Facebook page, and was spurred on by our Challenge Cheer-
CHALLENGES
leader, Kelly Ann Hine who posted encouragement and great examples of high key paintings by masters
As you can see in the participants’ paintings, using high key value ranges resulted in works that generally used mid-tones for the darks, therefore resulting in many paintings with vibrant hues This is because most hues reach peak saturation around the mid-tone range and lose saturation in darker or lighter value ranges
There also appears to be a lot of harmony and a glimmering effect in many of the paintings. The challenge of painting in a high key, is that we do not often observe the world in compressed values and we are accustomed to focusing on strong value structures, which can be difficult when painting in a high key
You can see that the participants rose to the challenge, and had a lot of success!
Barbara Archer Baldwin
Laurie Basham
Cyndi Bartlett Gonzalez Maggie Casner
Nanci Cook
CHALLENGES
“I can’t believe the 10 days are over. This has been a great challenge and I have really enjoyed it.”
Judy Miller
Debbie Oquendo
Bonnie Davis Kenaley
Bonnie Zahn Griffith
Francesca Droll
Natasha Kobbe
Sally Ladd
CHALLENGES
“I appreciate these challenges as they definitely take me out of my comfort zone and make me try something slightly different, which always affects my work and makes me think My brain hurts which is a good thing. Phew! We made it.”
Catherine McKeever
Laura Pritchard
Dave LaPier
Norma Miller
Sandra Morrison
Erika Perloff
Moses Prashanti
CHALLENGES
“Thank you for a lovely time and the inspiration to get a little painting time in daily! I’ve enjoyed the challenge and seeing all the fellow members’ creations. Congrats to all who gave it a try! It’s been fun!”
Glad I made it to Day 10. This is the first challenge I have participated in and it was good to get back to painting after a long time!
Karen Shawcross
Teresa Steinbach-Garcia
Janet Rawlings
Anne Spivey
Carol Strock Wasson
Thanks Kelly Ann and PSWC for hosting!! I was challenged and greatly enjoyed the camaraderie.
Join us for the next PSWC Member Challenge! April 1–10, 2025
For rules, more complete descriptions, and to participate, please visit pswc.ws/painting-challenges/
Post your efforts to the PSWC Facebook page and encourage your fellow members!
Jennifer Von Bergen
Olga Symonenko
DuAnn Wright
Viviane Trubey
Portrait of the Artist with Cat 2001, pastel on paper, 30 x 22 in, Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts
Jimmy Wright and His Work: A Conversation That Will Last
Jimmy Wright, President of the Pastel Society of America, is most definitely a New York artist However, beyond the influence of living in the city since 1974, his art is also shaped by his rural upbringing Jimmy’s gritty sketches of club scenes in Chicago and later, the Meatpacking District of Manhattan, represent the sense of freedom he discovered in the gay community as a young gay man On the other hand, though some of those same works are now in the most prestigious of art museums, they did not receive a gallery show until 2013, and so the “freedom” was limited, and that too, is reflected in many of the pieces
Jimmy was recently recognized with an honorary Doctor of Arts degree by the Southern Illinois University for his contribution to the arts, and for founding one of the nation’s oldest gay campus organizations, when he was a student in the early 1970s Jimmy’s sunflower paintings and self-portraits are infused with the emotion of his many years of personal challenges, tragedies and triumphs In a recent interview with online publication Hyperallergic (hyperallergic com) Jimmy says, “I’m so incredibly lucky to be alive in this moment and to have my art recognized, and to have me be recognized ”
I met Jimmy for the first time at the International Association of Pastel Societies (IAPS) convention in Albuquerque in 2022, and admittedly, was a little intimidated by his obvious stature among the pastel community Upon talking with him at the convention in 2024, I learned that he was a direct communicator, opinionated and charming at the same time I’ve since reached out to Jimmy on several occasions for advice and found him to be generous and a great storyteller, with a wonderful sense of humor
Pam: You were born in Union City, Tennessee in 1944, and raised in rural Kentucky Although some articles claim you were born in Kentucky Can you tell us a little about your upbringing? Was there something from your childhood that inspired you to become an artist, influence from a family member perhaps?
Jimmy: I grew up in Kentucky and my father was a farmer, but it was a frontier farm that was as old as the town itself So, I went through grammar school, through
high school, with teachers that went to school with my father or my father’s sister And I heard from my teachers about my father’s horse, and about my aunt’s horse and buggy My father rode a horse to school, and this was the envy The farm was right on city limits, but it’s like a mile to the farm or mile and a half He would ride a horse, and it was his own horse That was a real display of wealth, like owning a car And then his sister, who was two years older, rode in a buggy with a horse So,
it was like a two-car family! And so, it was very interesting to hear my Latin teacher talk about how beautiful my father’s horse was
This was in Western Kentucky However, I was born in Tennessee On the wester n end of Kentucky, we lived about 15 or 20 miles from the Mississippi River right on the Tennessee border which goes through my hometown So, our farm was in Kentucky, but the farm next to us was half in Kentucky and half in Tennessee I was born during the last years of World War II, and the only doctor for the entire area was in Tennessee My mother had a complication So, I was born in the neighboring town, about 15 miles away where the doctor was But it’s in Tennessee
My art career began in church as a small child My mother gave me used envelopes and a pencil to use for drawing during the extended church services My father’s sister, Aunt Marian, had been a rural one-room schoolhouse teacher, married a chemical engineer who was a classical violinist, lived in big cities, and gave terrific presents like watercolor sets and museum art books every Christmas My parents subscribed to numerous newspapers, but the most crucial subscription was to the weekly Life magazine Because of the photographs I saw in Life magazine when I was eight, I wanted to live like Frank Lloyd Wright and make art like Picasso There was no art education in the local school As a teenager spending a summer with Aunt Marian in Denver, she enrolled me in a beginning drawing class taught by Lester Burbank Bridaham (1899–1992) Bridaham was a former class monitor for Kimon Nicolaïdes (1892–1938) at the Art Students League, who was the author of The Natural Way to Draw I had a ten-week crash course in the basics of drawing
Pam: You attended art courses at Murray State University in Kentucky, Aspen School of Contemporary Art in Colorado and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) Were your parents encouraging of your pursuit of art as a major and as a career? How did your experiences differ in each of these settings?
Jimmy: My parents planned for me to attend a Bible college in Nashville I spent part of the summer after high school graduation attending an art workshop at the state teaching college forty miles away in Murray, Kentucky I returned home with a Regents Scholarship to Murray State I was confident my father would permit
Bearded Lady, 1967, pen and black and gray ink, brush and black ink, and watercolor on ivory wove paper, 19 x 15 in, The Art Institute of Chicago
me to attend the secular state school because Aunt Marian had been in the college’s first graduating class in 1923 My mother was distressed, fearing for my soul At Murray, I studied drawing with the sculptor Thomas Walsh, who taught the Nicolaïdes method While I clocked hundreds of hours of observational life drawing, the bonus was that he also taught me to see threedimensional space on a flat surface
In the summer of 1963, I attended the Aspen School of Contemporary Art The school was staffed entirely with New York artists and poets. Aspen was the summer home for the New York Philharmonic I was meeting, living, and studying with the cream of New York classical and bohemian culture My painting teacher, Harold Baumbach, was a friend of Milton Avery and Mark Rothko A native of the Lower East Side, where I now live, he was passionate and irascible He and his wife, Ida, adopted me for the summer. He is the grandfather of the film director Noah Baumbach
Returning to Murray State for my sophomore year, my drawing teacher encouraged me to pursue scholarship
programs at dedicated art schools Though accepted at Cranbrook, I received generous support from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago
Pam: Life in Chicago was quite different from that in rural Kentucky You recorded your impressions within your art from those years Tell us about one of those early paintings
Jimmy: An example is Bearded Lady, which was done in 1967, when I was a student in Chicago, and it is actually a drawing purchased by my painting instructor from my studio When he died, his estate allowed the Art Institute of Chicago to go through his art collection and pick what they wanted, and that drawing is now in the collection of the Art Institute of Chicago
In the upper part of the drawing, you see a woman in a hat and that’s a girlfriend named Annie who lived in the apartment above me. Annie worked for a very high style hair salon, which was immensely successful New C h i c a g o w a s t h e c e n t e r o f P l a y b o y m a g a z i n e S o , Chicago employed lots of photographers, lots of stylists, etc And so, these are the hairdresser’s friends who are all photographers and fashion designers and stylists They were all a good 10 years older than me, and very sophisticated and very successful I would be invited to their parties, and it was the first time I had been in what was basically a gay social culture, but it was very broad, because it was the fashion world So, this is me sort of drawing characters after one of these events that I got invited to a young artist seeing city sophisticated social life for the first time You know, I’m from the Bible belt So, I’m wide eyed, absorbing all of this
Pam: It sounds as though your mother was rather religious?
Jimmy: It’s very funny I described to a friend in wester n Kentucky, my mother picking me up from school She would go visit someone, and I would sit in the car while she made a visit, but she would get out of the car carrying a Bible I never
thought anything about it I was about 6, 7, or maybe 8 years old My sister, who’s 4 years older, told me a hundred years later, “I was so embarrassed when we had to sit in the car while mother was giving Bible lessons!”
I told this story to my friend, and she started laughing, and she said, “I didn’t know your mother was a missionary mom!” I thought, that’s the perfect phrase, a missionary mom They weren’t evangelical, it was fundamentalist, but she was very Bible oriented
I guess my father was, too But it was never overt in that sense I have one sister, and we grew up in the Jim Crow South So, it’s a very white culture, and you knew what church every friend attended You knew every friend’s religion My parents’ religion was Calvinist based so it was self-disciplined, self-contained, non-demonstrative
Pam: Once in Chicago, you were exposed to Ray Yoshida and he clearly had an influence on you and others in his orbit, but after receiving a fellowship that enabled you to study art around the world, and traveling throughout Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and Africa, something changed How did your extended travels impact your art and your general attitude about yourself as an artist?
Silver Sky, 1974 - 5, acrylic on canvas, 54 x 66 in, Carnegie Museum of Art
Jimmy: At SAIC (School of the Art Institute of Chicago), I studied painting with Ray Yoshida, who, like Baumbach, was demanding in the studio I cultivated a love of the narrative and Yoshida’s surrealist manipulation of form When I retur ned to Chicago for graduate school after a year of traveling on my own in Europe and Asia, I immediately chaffed with Ray’s opinionated and, to my point of view, parental supervision I moved to grad school at Souther n Illinois University (SIU) at Carbondale, where I had the freedom and self-discipline to work alone
Pam: Who or what else has had a strong influence on your work?
Jimmy: I also retur ned to the sphere of influence of the sculptor who taught me drawing, Thomas Walsh Sculpture and drawing became my primary practices The formal devices of Southern Indian temple sculpture, the painted miniatures from the Mughal period, and Paul Klee’s Bauhaus teaching notes became the focus of the study After receiving an MFA in drawing and bronze casting, I stayed at SIU to teach and retur ned to the painting studio For the first time, I was working in the studio, freed from the tyranny of the opinions of others I had to be my harshest critic and staunchest supporter One of the paintings created during this period is in the London collection of a national art museum director and their partner, an international gallerist Developing the
skill set and the ability to be an objective critic of your own work is essential to being an honest artist
Pam: In 1974, you moved to New York, where you now live What were some of the first paintings you did there?
Jimmy: The first painting I did in New York was of an internal view of the subway system, and it’s huge It’s a sixor eight-foot-high painting, and it’s in a collection in Berlin Silver Sky (1974– 5) was painted in the first or second year that I moved to New York It is from my head, views of Manhattan skyscrapers It is now in the Carnegie Museum of Art They just bought it in September, when my New York Gallery collaborated with my Chicago Gallery I had a solo booth at the Armory Art Fair at the invitation of the fair organizers It was a selection of galleries where there was a curated theme of some sort, and the curator proposed to my two galleries they do a booth of just my work So, what we showed were these four paintings from1974–1975 when I moved to New York All the drawings had to do with nightlife in New York in that period There were all the characters in the Chelsea Hotel, Max’s Kansas City, Club 82, you know It wasn’t Punk Rock, it was sort of rock and roll, Glam Rock clubs, and everyone was young and beautiful, dressing up in wild outfits to dance, and be seen, etc And so, it’s a whole series of those drawings But this painting depicts where it all occurred This sort of magical but somewhat menacing landscape of New York City
Pam: Between 1974 and 1976, you produced art focused on Meatpacking District club scenes gay life before AIDS You’ve said that you would recall what you had observed or experienced the night before to create the drawings Tell us about the drawing Tea Room (1975)
Jimmy: Tea Room is in the collection of the Whitney, and those are gay men cruising, recognizing each other in public spaces One man is in the corner of a public restroom, the other is looking through the louvers of the door, making sure that no one is coming in It is about anonymity The two men do not know one another but have intuitively recognized their availability So, it’s a kind of silent language
Tea Room, 1975, graphite on paper, 22 x 30 in, Whitney Museum of American Art
Pam: Flowers for Ken: Sunflower Stem was painted from 1988 to 1991 Much had changed in the city, and in your life How does this painting reflect those changes?
Jimmy: This is the painting that’s in the collection of the Speed Art Museum (Louisville, Kentucky) I recently went and did a public program where I was interviewed by the curator from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Jane Panetta And we talked about this painting, and the circumstances of its being painted My partner, Ken was diagnosed with AIDS in 1988
At the time, no one was diagnosed with p re - A I D S Yo u w e re d i a g n o s e d f u l l - b l o w n b e c a u s e i n s u r a n c e companies could cancel all your coverage if you tested HIV positive So, he was diagnosed, and he was quite healthy But then it was a rapid 3-year deterioration
So, there was the diagnosis, and then we went totally into healthcare issues I had a job, so life was quite busy Just as anyone who is a caretaker experiences; it takes over your life It takes over your psyche, and it’s very stressful I did not have time to set aside each day to paint So, my strategy was, if I paint a still life, I can walk in and out of the studio and simply resume where I left off and I don’t have to think about content It’s just observational painting
This painting is six feet by six feet I had two large canvases, and I painted the front of the sunflower, and I painted the back of the sunflower They were both painted on for about three years There were other big, still lives that happened But these two were the ones that because it is a flower, and because it’s a flower that’s drying up it’s as if all my emotional feelings went into them It’s not only mirrored in the subject, but it’s mirrored in the paint itself
The canvases were salvaged from an artist throwing them out They came out of a dumpster with these unfinished abstract paintings on them So, I was piling paint over someone else’s beginning, and I was sort of trying to cover up the tracks of what was underneath So, they’re quite encrusted surfaces. They’re very tactile, and they look like objects, but they’re big paintings It’s not a kind of Renaissance surface It’s not a flat, varnished, smooth surface It’s lots of brush strokes piling up and defining the form in space as it’s moving
In my eye it was moving, because, like the green leaf, I’m watching the green leaf turn in on itself as it dries So, it’s like I’m recording in two paintings this passage of time over three years, and also Ken’s fading as he became more and more ill, going from someone who looked really healthy to someone who looked very ill
Pam: Did you finish the paintings before he passed?
Jimmy: Yes And they were painted for him
Pam: This is the back of the sunflower Where is the painting of the front?
Jimmy: Still available, in my inventory
Pam: Right around the same time, you created a booklet Down Home Vol 2 (1991) and some other works which were showcased in 2023 in a solo show in Chicago’s Corbett vs Dempsey Gallery titled Down Home What can you tell us about this work?
Jimmy: These are monotypes done in a print workshop just a few blocks from my house
I think these are all water-soluble inks on a plastic plate, and then there are multiple printings for each image I think I did at least three variations on each image These
Flowers for Ken: Sunflower Stem, c. 1989, oil on canvas, 72 x 72 in, Speed Art Museum, KY
are all done on a plate and run through an etching press and there’s still a layer of ink on the plate.
Degas did this You run a second print, and it’s faded, but the image is there now Mary Cassatt did this, but she would do the pastel drawing, place it face down on a damp sheet of paper with a plate underneath, run it through the etching press and the top layer of all the loose pastel would transfer to the second sheet and you get a ghost image of the very vivid pastel
Degas drew on a plate like I did with ink, printed it, and then drew over them with pastel.
So, the folded book has no pastel There are larger prints that are figures, and some of those versions have pastel on them that I did several years later I found them all in a drawer They were the ones that were too faded to be on their own, and so I then drew into them with pastel
The booklet is autobiographical My mother was from a small railroad town in Tennessee, near where I was born, and her stepfather was a telegraph operator and a station master. So, I would go spend weeks at a time in the summer with my grandmother and grandfather in this small railroad town There were these iron steam engines that were gigantic So that’s why it opens and the two end images are big train images
When I was six or so, there was a horrendous train crash Two trains were on the same track, and ran into each other, and my grandmother and grandfather’s house was a half a block from the intersection, and my mother and father immediately drove to visit my grandparents, and so I saw the wreck of these two giant freight trains, cars all turned over, etc And my grandmother was one
of the first people to reach one of the engineers who was injured and thrown out on the side of the tracks
When it happened, everyone heard it, and everyone ran to the scene of the accident So, grandmother and my grandfather were very impacted by this The fear was that there might be train cars that carried gas or oil or something, and that there could be an explosion But that wasn’t the case
So, these are some of the scenes for me on my bicycle And these were the Victorian one and a half story houses that made up this little village. You know, I grew up in a time when you could leave the house, and no one knew where you were, and it didn’t matter
I had a lot of independence on a bicycle Even on the farm, I was allowed to go on the road with car traffic to the farm next to us to play with someone else my age and I would have been six or seven years old It was a different world
Pam: Just be back for dinner
Jimmy: Exactly, and behave yourself
Pam: So that’s a printmaking process
Jimmy: And half my education was in printmaking, and the other half was in painting, and then the first two years was just drawing from life Two years of art in college was just nothing but drawing from life classes
Down Home Vol 2, 1991, monotype on paper, 15 x 11 in, Corbett vs Dempsey Gallery
The Kitchen Chair (1991) is also a part of that series, except this is a large print. It is 22 by 32 inches, but it’s the same process And so, this is me drawing as if these are portraits from a family album The thing about growing up on a frontier farm is, we had a family cemetery So, you sort of live with stories of people that were there before you. And then there were big family bibles full of tintypes
I have a daguerreotype portrait of a great, great grandfather that is now in the photography collection of the Metropolitan Museum made in a frontier daguerreotype studio in what would now be Nashville, Tennessee, and that’s Davison County, and that’s the oldest frontier settlement in Tennessee My family walked the Appalachian trail from Virginia to Davison County, Tennessee in the early 1800s, and one part of the family had fallen in the Revolutionary War They were Scotch Irish who came to America in the 1750s So, I truly am a black sheep from the Scotch Irish Protestant frontier folks
Pam: You continued painting sunflowers for at least two more decades. In Sunflower Head No V (1994) we see a very different kind of mark making Can you talk about that?
Jimmy: I think of this as one of my most successful pastels, because every mark counts
If you look at small chalk drawings by (Jean-Antoine) Watteau of figures, you know, there’s a kind of abbreviation, and there are no extra marks, and that’s sort of how this came together, even though it’s a painting It’s complete The entire surface is covered with pastel There’s no smudging It’s all mark making
Jimmy: Yes It is just a single flower in a kind of abstract space In the seventies at Versailles, I saw an exhibition of 17th and 18th century botanical gouache drawings They were done with a kind of realism that’s intended to be like a scientific record, and they’re done on white paper. And on the paper may be details from other parts of the plant, so you’re looking at a specimen
When I started making the pastels, I was showing the large six by six-foot paintings This was in1994, and the gallery asked if I had anything smaller, and if not, could I make some smaller pieces? Maybe make some on paper? We need something a collector can hang in their apartment We need something a collector can put in a taxicab So, I was painting big flowers, and I remembered this exhibition at Versailles and these botanical drawings, and I just thought, well, that’s a format I could
You can see in the flowers how every mark helps define and create the form It has a kind of finish that is hard earned, but it all happens spontaneously So, it took a lot of drawings and took a lot of work making other pastels to make this pastel
Pam: Sunflower Water was done in 2000 Again, it has a different feel to it than your previous sunflower paintings
work in as if these were single botanical drawings But in fact, they’re very expressive and colorful and moving, and become sort of abstract forms
Then, that became a whole long series of pastels. This is a full sheet of paper So, it is 30 inches high, 22 by 30 in So, they were still big The gallery would have liked them half that size, but I had found to work small you spend as much time making a small work as you do making a big piece It’s the same amount of time And then I learned, if I’m making a big one, you don’t make one
The Kitchen Chair, 1991, monotype on paper, 22 x 32 in, Lower East Side Print Shop Collection
Sunflower Head V, 1994, pastel on paper, 41 x 29 in, private collection
You make two at the same time You just are working on one, but the other one is a third of the way done, and you turn around and you finish it In a sense, in the same block of time, in the studio, you’ve made two big paintings rather than one I learned that from someone who does public art commissions, you know, like subway murals That sort of thing If he’s working on a big project, he always has another painting that’s big going, because if he doesn’t know where to go with the project, he turns around and works on the other one
Pam: Portrait of the Artist (2001) is in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art How did that come about?
Jimmy: I’m represented at this time by DC Moore Gallery, and a younger artist was curating a group show of all self-portraits by male artists So, I’m invited to be in this show and Portrait of the Artist with Cat (2001) is done in a similar time period Portrait of the Artist was hung in the major part of the show and Portrait of the Artist with Cat was in the viewing room of the gallery, so they were both there
I got a call from the gallery It was about W illiam S Lieberman, who is a legendary curator, who was at the Museum of Modern Art during its early years, and then, in his late years, he was at the Metropolitan Museum of Art as the head curator of contemporary art He is a formidable figure in New York City. I was told, Lieberman came, spent an hour looking at everything in the show, tur ned around to leave, walked over to the desk and said, “I’m buying for the Museum, the Jimmy Wright portrait ” Then, a week later, the curator from, I think it was called the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts, came in with a couple, who were collecting self-portraits They were putting together just a collection of artist self-portraits, and they bought the one in the viewing room Both pieces sold from this show and I have installation photos of when Portrait of the Artist was on view at the Museum Portrait of the Artist with Cat has been in about ten different museums It was in an exhibition that traveled all over the country Both of these have been shown to very wide audiences, and both are pastels. Both satisfy the requirements for entering a Pastel Society of America (PSA) show
Pam: Sun and Shadow (2001) is very large and another departure, as it is flowers in baskets What was the inspiration for this one?
Sunflower Water, 2000, pastel on paper, 41 x 29 in, private collection
Portrait of the Artist, 2001, pastel on paper, 19 25 x 17 in, The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Jimmy: Sun and Shadow is eight feet high and this is oil It is on loan to a museum right now, and the exhibition it’s in opens in early March It had to go in a special crate, like a building-of-the-pyramids moment getting it out of my studio and into a crate and shipped out of town to a museum in upstate New York This is a continuation of some of the Flowers for Ken series You’ve heard me talk about my family on the farm and growing up with ancestors The country church is where the community cemetery is, and my father’s parents and all our cousins are buried in this country cemetery. Every year on Memorial Day, my father would buy cut flowers It was the only time, ever, my family had cut flowers in the house for Memorial Day You could buy, you know, a dozen gladioli for $3, or whatever, and my mother would take flowers from our garden and mix
with the cut flowers, and these would go in wicker baskets They didn’t look like these, but they were made to stand on graves. There would be at least two to three of these baskets made and taken to the community cemetery My father would spend the day with other members of the community cleaning the cemetery Then all the baskets of flowers and the flags, all of that would be on all of the graves It was Decoration Day
In my mind, this became a very conscious connection to Ken, and I lost so many friends to AIDS that these were memorial baskets Sunflowers are not blue But I have a blue basket I have a yellow basket, and it’s sort of like sun and shadow The perspective is weird in that it’s top heavy, yet the yellow basket sits very firmly in its space, and the shadow looms out and over
Pam: Self-Portrait (Red) was painted in 2002 and is not necessarily the most flattering depiction of Jimmy Wright What is the story behind this one?
Jimmy: This is in a collection in the Springfield Art Museum It’s small, 16 by 12 inches I did a whole series that are a bit small Maybe some are 30 inches high When we talk, emotions move over our face Our faces are expressive So, you know, traditional portrait painting is static, and it’s a frozen pose that’s to be read socially So, I did this whole series where it’s a portrait of that expressive moment that’s in a nanosecond passing over the face This would be the photograph you would delete the one you didn’t mean to catch on camera That’s another reason it’s a self-portrait I couldn’t ask a friend to pose and then make this unflattering series of drawings of them So, I use myself
Pam: July Sun (2002) is described as being on Jimmy Wright paper Tell us about that
Jimmy: Okay, this is paper pulp This is the actual process of making a sheet of paper, but you add color to it So, the paper is the image In other words, when you are making the paper, Each one of these squares is the size of the screen that the pulp is being poured into
Sun and Shadow, 2001, pastel on paper, 96 x 72 in, on loan to Tang Teaching Museum
It’s nine sheets of paper put together in a grid to make one large painting Each sheet of paper is unique This whole thing is what is one unique image It’s not a multiple. If this were just plain paper, there would be nine sheets of plain paper here The image is physically the surface of the paper
There’s a base sheet which might be a hemp-based paper And then the colored part cotton seems to work best So that’s all Cotton pulp paper poured onto a liquid surface of hemp paper Starting with the bottom sheets going up, the brown is the hemp base So, you see more of the brown You see more of the base paper there, but the top three going across the entire surface would be the cotton pulp Then, as you go down into the lower part of the images It’s the cotton on top of the hemp And this sort of settles It’s a frame with stretch screen on it You are working in a wet environment It’s all liquid It’s the pulp suspended in water You’re pouring this into the frame The water is pouring out all around you You’re in rubber boots, and then it’s placed between felt blankets and put in a press where it’s hundreds of pounds of pressure, squeezing all the water out so that only the pulp remains and that’s what hemp paper is
So, if you were in Japan, it’s a similar process as if you were in India, or it’s a similar process as Gutenberg in Germany used for the pages for the bible Well, all handmade pulp paper
One of the tragic losses of World War I and World War II, was all of those paper mills in Europe Every village had a paper mill, and they were all destroyed by bombs in both World War I and World War II So, the world of handmade paper became smaller and smaller and smaller Now papers are not made in these small mills They’re made by big companies and they’re made in rolls That’s why, when you buy paper, the deckled edge is the raw edge as it pours into the screen, but two edges of the paper will be cut, because it’s coming off a roll, so you don’t have four edges of deckled paper You only have two edges, and then a cut In many cases it’s cut all the way There is no deckled edge because we’re now doing it in big factories
Pam: You became President of the Pastel Society of America (PSA) in 2013 What motivated you to get involved and stay involved for so many years?
Jimmy: I joined the Board of Gover nors of the Pastel
Self No 4, 2002, pastel on paper, 25 5 x 19 5 in, private collection
Self-Portrait (Red), 2002, pastel on paper, 16 x 12 in, Springfield Art Museum, MO
Society of America at the invitation of the society’s founder, Flora B Giffuni (1919–2009) She was highly suspicious of my modernist taste in art but deeply respectful of my credentials
Flora Giffuni was the daughter of Italian immigrants Her father was a doctor from Naples, and they were fleeing Italian poverty when they moved to New York It was a family where education was really important, so the doctor sent his daughter to New York University (NYU) Flora was a pre-med student at her father’s desire, and she hated it, and like her father, she had a very strong personality She was immensely intelligent and decided she would be an art major and got a degree in art history from NYU and then started studio practice with Robert Brackman at the Art Students League It was
all observational drawing from life I accused Flora of having her aesthetic sense stolen by Brackman She only saw art through his prism
Flora looked at everything in terms of drawing and in terms of drawing from life, and in terms of realism Her pastel art was what she called sketches, meaning the color of the paper was an element of the drawing You’re drawing in line on a toned paper, and that’s a pastel sketch And then a pastel painting was when the whole surface was covered with pastel So, in her mind, that defined painting and drawing in pastel I’m from a different generation and I’m saying these are all works on paper, and that’s a category unto itself And it’s not about whether it’s a painting or a drawing Works on paper can stand on their own as important as what you call a painting As we know, contemporary art has exploded, and art is made in all kinds of forms, including video
And so, this for her, was kind of heresy This was a little wild, and so she didn’t trust my taste
But as I mentioned, W illiam Lieberman had purchased my self-portrait in pastel for the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s permanent collection So, she totally respected and was impressed that I was in the collection of the Metropolitan, because no one she studied with is in the collection of the Metropolitan So, it was like I had credentials, even though she was really, totally fixed in observational realism
I frequently joined Flora at her National Arts Club dining room table Flora and I shared a love of the medium, drawing from life and believing in the transformative power of education and art
Pam: Self No 4 (2002) appears to be another in that same selfportrait series?
July Sun, 2002, pulp painting, 59 5 x 49 in, Columbia College, Chicago Center for Book and Paper Arts
Jimmy: Talking about those European paper mills, this one is on a French paper called Matiére paper, and Bill Creevy is who told me about that paper, and it’s like an ink blotter It’s like drawing on felt It’s a really soft, soft surface that a hard pastel would easily abraze So really soft pastels work best on this paper It’s kind of unforgiving You put a mark down and it’s sort of there forever This portrait is in a Chicago art collection, and it was shown in one of the PSA annuals When I walked in with it, Flora looked at it and looked at me, and said with distress in her voice, “Right, were you ever a realist?” And of course, for her this was too expressive, too emotional I guess, too selfrevealing
You know, Daniel Greene (1934–2020) was one of her favorite artists and he did social portraits such as a portrait of a governor, a very formal portrait hung in a beautifully appointed dining room She wanted her art more socially presentable I knew where she was coming from, but she said it with real heartfelt distress She was Catholic So, it would be like I was the child that became a Baptist You know, like I had left the faith
Pam: Sam No 2 (2024) You’ve chosen to draw a figure from life as a way to get back to practice in front of your easel after a time away Can you describe your process for us?
Jimmy: That’s the most recent in this group, and that’s drawn from life This is drawn with me not having been able to paint in many months Drawing from the figure is a way for me to warm up And Flora would appreciate this, but she would be horrified that this is so loose My basic drawing instruction was Nicolaïde’s natural way to draw It’s all about gesture and it’s all about eye following contour It’s no different than basketball practice
It’s eye hand coordination, that’s all it is It’s the skill of coordinating the eye and the hand to operate in the same moment
The hand is just recording exactly what the eye sees, and
you lear n to visualize proportions, and you lear n that whole thing of holding your pencil up, and you lear n how it’s a Renaissance technique You lear n how to measure and orient yourself, and then the rest is just eye hand coordination I can teach anyone how to draw what they see, but it may take you longer than someone else But it’s just like a sport you have to practice You have to put in the hours And you have to give up the emotional attachment of “Is this art? Is this good? Is it bad?” You just have to go up to the line and shoot the ball in the hoop You do that a hundred times until it goes in without you thinking of it, because all your coordination is in place
So, this is me going to the studio and going back to that very basic exercise that Flora Giffuni found essential drawing from life But it’s also me trying to be as expressive and as painterly as possible, but still within the boundaries of saying, this is observational figure drawing This is on Fabriano hot press, and I picked out all my softest pastels like Great American Artworks, Diane Townsend Tirage and Sennelier giants They were pastels that I usually use for the last layer, and I decided well, it’s as if I were drawing the figure with sugar I was drawing and then erasing with my hand, making a line, erasing it, covering it with a Sennelier giant with the white or the gray, rubbing it again, and then taking the great American Artworks, this black and redrawing, until I sort of get it where I want it
Sam No. 2, 2024, pastel on paper, 40 x 32 in, private collection
So, you have the ghost of what was drawn underneath, showing through There’s a sense of movement, and there’s a sense of expression This is in my studio, and it’s not a traditional point of view but you still read the space correctly You know he’s vertical, and he’s leaning into the cushion It’s just capturing the moment
Pam: Looking back over your life and career what advice would you give your 20-year-old self?
Jimmy: In graduate school, when I received generous t e a c h i n g a n d re s e a rc h f e l l o w s h i p s , To m Wa l s h g a v e me the most truthful advice I have received: make as much art as possible now because this is the only time in your life you will not have to worry about money At 80, having physically slowed down and often feeling anxious about the future, the one time I can entirely push the intrusive world aside and focus is when I make
art An art studio can be any place, a pad on your lap, or a room dedicated to painting At any age, you can open the door to your studio, enter, and be quietly honest with yourself
Pam: Have you become a mentor for younger artists? What do you see as the main differences, in terms of the opportunities and challenges that younger artists face these days?
Jimmy: In 2025, the young artists I meet whose parents do not have an upper-class income have graduated owing thousands of dollars The gallery scene is a vast inter national network welcoming young talent if they can maintain a studio practice There are multiple types of art worlds thriving simultaneously
For artists in pastel societies attempting to show nationally, the greatest challenge is the prohibitive increase
Pompeii No 5, 2006, pastel on paper, 29 x 41 in, private collection
in shipping costs Air freight fees and customs duties add new barriers to exhibiting inter nationally Online exhibitions and showing art on social media offer a virtual solution However, one thing has not changed; one can only fully experience art by seeing it in person, one-on-one
Pam: What question do you wish people would ask you?
Jimmy: My least favorite question is, “How did you get into that show?” as if my inclusion were a mistake Navigating the art world can be brutal
Pam: What do you hope for your legacy as an artist to be?
Jimmy: I hope I have made art that is strong enough to continue the conversation after I have left the room
Jimmy Wright’s work is in the collections of The Whitney Museum of American Art; The Metropolitan Museum of Art; The Art Institute of Chicago; the Hammer Museum, Los Angeles; the Center for Book and Paper Arts, Columbia College, Chicago; The Springfield Art Museum, MO; among other institutions In 2016, Corbett vs Dempsey published a major monograph of his work from the 1970s entitled New York Underground Wright stopped making this body of work as the AIDS crisis wracked the gay community and New York changed The extant drawings from the period as such serve as a dreamlike document of an oft mythologized cultural moment. The first of Wright’s many flower works, were painted 1988–91, in homage to his partner who h a d recently died of AIDS In 2018, he was named Academician of the National Academy of Design
Pompeii Blue No 1, 2008, pastel on paper, 29 x 41 in, Springfield Art Museum, MO
MOOS 2025 2025 WINNERS
SIGNATURE/DISTINGUISHED PASTELIST | B E S T I N S H O W
The Home Stretch Karen Israel, West Hartford, CT
MOOS 2025
The Pastel Society of the West Coast’s Members Only Online Show represents some of the best art in pastels Thank you to all those members who entered the MOOS 2025 Our deepest appreciation to our judge, Richard McKinley, and to our show chairman, Dug Waggoner, for their dedicated effort that they put into this event Special thanks to Austin Hamby at ShowSubmit com for his tireless work getting everything ready for judging Here are the accepted entries and prize winners Thank you for making this such a dynamic and beautiful show!
GENERAL MEMBERSHIP | B E S T I N S H O W
Nicasio Reservoir Patricia L. Connolly, Fairfax, CA
Deserted in the Desert David Wolfram, La Quinta, CA
MOOS 2025
GENERAL MEMBERSHIP ACCEPTED ENTRIES
Evening Light
Elizabeth Amacher, Colorado Springs, CO
Someplace on the Way to Abq Pat Stoddard Aragon, Newcastle, CA
Waiting for Gadot Rita Bartel, El Dorado Hills, CA
Dancing in the Moonlight Lynn Folse Attig, Redondo Beach, CA
Little Island Johanne Boisvert, Notre-Dame-De-Pontmain, Quebec
Color and Grade
Laurie Ann Basham Clemmons, NC
MOOS 2025
Red All Over
Beverly Carlson Bradshaw, Cave Creek, AZ
Little Corona Breakers
Dawn Buckingham, Orange, CA
Erosion’s Symphony Margaret Casner, Placerville, CA
Lisa Marie-Pierre Chevalier Valleiry, HS, France
She Tells Ghost Stories Bridgette Comellas, Pittsboro, NC
MOOS 2025
Calm Was the Day Pamela Comfort, Placerville, CA
Paradise Meadows Summer Walk
Nanci Cook, Campbell River, British Columbia
Winter’s Embrace Molly Ann Cooley, Ridgecrest, CA
Morning Shadows
Lisa DeLuise, Monroe, NY
Old Dunes
Addren T Doss, Greensboro, NC
MOOS 2025
Moonlit Path
Jeannie Fine, Port Ludlow, WA
A Friend’s Garden
Claudette Gamache, Phippsburg, ME
Passing Through
Linda G Evans, Brookings, OR
The Lilies of Tubb Lake
Karen Gideon, Greenbrae, CA
By the Dawn’s Early Light Anne Gee, Littleton, CO
MOOS 2025
GENERAL MEMBERSHIP ACCEPTED ENTRIES
China Blossom
Ronnie Gold, Stamford, CT
Reflections of Nature’s Canvas
Elizabeth Gomes
Santa Rosa, CA
Redwood Reflection
Robin Everall Grinnell, Nelson, British Columbia
Lemons on White Cloth
Jeri Greenberg, Leland, NC
Home Before Sundown
Carol Harden Hall, Odessa, FL
2025
A Stop in Buellton
Carolyn R Henderson, Nipomo, CA
Storm and Sea, Kelly Ann Hine, Santa Ynez, CA
Fade Away
Francis R Huffman Cincinnati, OH
Oregon’s Rough Coast Marilyn Sue Hurst, Central Point, OR
Fall at Truckee River Inge Ivens, Nevada City, CA
Curious Molly Karen L Jones, Lincoln, CA
MOOS 2025
Le Blanc Sur Creuse Lynda Kravitz, Piedmont, CA
Idol Rita Kirkman, New Braunfels, TX
Presence II
Jim Kallenbach, Suncity, AZ
Coastline
Christina Karras, Stevens Point, WI
The Brown Grass Ocean S A Kushinka, San Francisco, CA
MOOS 2025
Change from the West
Sally Francis Ladd, Cotati, CA
Cliff Splendor
Suzanne Leslie, Ashland, OR
Looking Back
Kim M. Long, Southport, NC
Along the Fenceline
Nancy C Lilly, Round Rock, TX
All In
Patricia Lindley, Seabright, Nova Scotia
MOOS 2025
Spring Rain
Laura Lovett, Larkspur, CA
Eglise D’Aiguebelette-le-Lac en France
Melissa Losano, Aoste, Isere, France
Strawbery Fields
Marc Marvin, Mill Valley, CA
Death Valley Memories
Becky Matli, Madera, CA
Two Girls on a Raft
Glen Maxion, San Diego, CA
MOOS 2025
Braids
Laura Mocnik Flat Rock, MI
Golden Fields By the Sea
Catherine Josephine McKeever, Toomebridge, NI, UK
Julie’s Bouquet Ashley Mortenson, Greensboro, NC
Westward to the Glow Karen O’Brien, University Place, WA
Summer Delight Norma Miller, Eagle, ID
Just Before I Say Goodbye Sandra Morrison, Yorba Linda, CA
MOOS 2025
GENERAL MEMBERSHIP ACCEPTED ENTRIES
Textured Florals
Nancy Ness, Ogden, UT
Greenhorn River Near Quincy
Mary Panttaja, Healdsburg, CA
Precious Drop
Denice Peters Denison, IA
Brunch Bunch
Janet M Rawlings, Livingston, MT
Gourds Galore
Toby Reid, Winder, GA
MOOS 2025
Lunar Embrace
Judy Richardson, Medford, OR
Connection
Denise Rizzo, Webster, NY
A Walk Among The Grasses Kelley Rudolph, New Franken, WI
Summer Haze
Jane E Robbins Saunderstown, RI
Brambles at the Pond
Lorraine Roberts, Caledon, Ontario
MOOS 2025
Choices
Chantal Saperstein Greenbrae, CA
Into the Light
Lynn Saunders, Lodi, CA
Waiting for Parts John Sherry, Bend, OR
Ikigai A Reason to Live
Harsha Rodage, Portland, OR
Season’s Cadence
Mary H Russell, Folsom, CA
Gay
MOOS 2025
Golden Hour
Kayla Lee Smith, Redlands, CA
See the Light, Anne K Spivey, Fernandina Beach, FL
Arbor Dance
Christopher Stillians, El Segundo, CA
Imagine
Teresa A Steinbach-Garcia Wilton, CA
Winter’s Shadow Susan M Story Rensselaerville, NY
MOOS 2025
The Beachcomber
Donna Streisfeld, Narberth, PA
Vigil
Caryn Stromberg, Redding, CA
Old Timer
Jill Stefani Wagner, Saline, MI
Peeking Through Rachel Sylvers, Thousand Oaks, CA
Autumn Along the Coast Bobbye West-Thompson, Los Osos, CA
MOOS 2025
Chinese Pistache in Autumn Elizabeth White, Ojai, CA
Outside Bryce Canyon Rachel White, Colton, CA
Odegaard Falls Marianne J Woosley, Scotts Valley, CA
Sunset Rays, Christina Williams, Daly City, CA
Shallots Granny Smith Kikuko Young, Fresno, CA
MOOS 2025
Richard McKinley
“What I pursue is the poetic soul of the scene.”
Richard McKinley has been a professional working artist and teacher for over 40 years His work is represented in several national galleries and is in the permanent collection of the Butler Institute of American Art Museum (Ohio), City of Albuquerque (New Mexico), and the Hang Ming Shi Museum (China)
Richard holds artist membership at the Salmagundi Club in NYC and has participated in their American Masters Exhibition He holds Master Pastelist designation with the Pastel Society of America and in 2010 was inducted into their Hall of Fame at the National Arts Club in NYC In 2012, Richard was designated Pastel Laureate by the Pastel Society of the West Coast
His oil and pastel paintings have been featured in numerous national/inter national art publications including: Southwest Art, American Artist, Workshop magazine, Artist magazine, Practique des Arts (France), and since 2003 has been a frequent contributing editor to Pastel Journal He has been featured in 7 instructional DVDs and included in numerous art books
Ye a r s o f h i s p u b l i s h e d materials were compiled in 2010 by North Light publications into the bestselling book: Pastel Pointers, Top Secrets for Beautiful Pastel Paintings In 2015, a coffee table-sized book, The L a n d s c a p e P a i n t i n g s o f Richard McKinley featuring over 100 of Richard’s pastel and oil paintings with commentary was published by North Light Books
For more information please visit: www mckinleystudio com or follow Richard at facebook com/McKinleyFineArt
An avid plein air landscape painter, Richard divides his time between painting the locations he is passionate about, reinterpreting those paintings in the studio, writing about art matters, and instructing paint workshops
To hear Richard’s informative and inspiring talk about his jurying and judging of MOOS 2025, go to:
Scroll to bottom for list of archived videos and choose: “Richard McKinley Jan 2025 MOOS Presentation”
Voyeur in Chinatown Shane Adams 2024
We Are All in This Together
A Shout Out to a Few of Our Sister Societies on the East Coast
In addition to the PSWC, our friends highlighted in the Meet the Members section belong to these active pastel societies Please check them out!
The Philadelphia Pastel Society was founded in 2019 and they sponsor plein air events, workshops and demonstrations Their Online Members Exhibition is open for submissions until March 17, and runs from April 14 – May 19, 2025 The judge is Christine Ivers Their National Open Juried Exhibition is called Visions in Pastel and takes place at the Wayne Art Center in Wayne, PA from September 8 –October 4, 2025 PSWC members, Donna Streisfeld and Stephanie Jean Brown are also members of the Philadelphia Pastel Society and Stephanie was a guest speaker at their annual meeting last fall
You can lear n more about the society by going to philadelphiapastelsociety org or visiting their page on Facebook
D i d y o u k n o w t h a t t h e
Maryland Pastel Society is the oldest state society? It was founded in 1977! They have quarterly meetings, workshops, exhibitions, an online newsletter and a private Facebook group Their Shades of Pastel 2025 National Juried Exhibition will take place from October 12 through November 26, 2025 at the Glenview Mansion Gallery in Rockville, MD, and the Juror and Judge of Awards is Rita Kirkman Stephanie Jean Brown is also a member of this society, clearly she knows something about the value of belonging to multiple societies!
You can learn more about the Maryland Pastel Society on their website marylandpastelsociety.com
As it says on its homepage, the Pastel Society of New Jersey is currently celebrating its 20th Anniversary, or “20 Years of Getting Dusty ” And PSWC member Lisa DeLuise is celebrating receiving Best in Show for her painting Morning Shadows in their 19th Annual Open Members Exhibition! The Pastel Society of New Jersey offers General Meetings with demonstrations, recorded pastel chats with artists, exhibitions, an online newsletter, a resource page, and an active Facebook page
You can lear n more about the Pastel Society of New Jersey by going to their website at pastelsocietynj.org
The Connecticut Pastel Society was established in t h e e a r l y 19 9 0 s They offer workshops, demonstrations, a digital newsletter, and multiple exhibitions Their Annual Connecticut Pastel Society Members Exhibition is open for entries until March 11 and runs from March 25 through April 25, 2025 at Southington Community Art Center in Southington, CT The Judge is Dave Kaphammer PSWC member, Ronnie Gold is also a member of the Connecticut Pastel Society.
You can lear n more about them on their website at ctpastelsociety org
MEET THE MEMBERS
In each issue, we feature a random sampling of members to introduce to our readership It’s always interesting to see what has sparked an artist to engage their artist-soul and to see what inspired them to create
Some come to the process in childhood, “I always knew
I was an artist ” Others feel the pull of creativity but hesitate to jump in until they are adults Almost all of these creative people have struggled with insecurities about their abilities a common thread in many of these artist interviews
So, here is your invitation to get to know the 5 artists interviewed in the following pages They all hail from the east coast Despite the obvious differences, you will find they are brothers and sisters in our big art family!
Stephanie Jean Brown grew up in California and relocated to Pennsylvania in 2021. In 2023, she enrolled in Studio Incamminati’s Advanced Diploma of Fine Arts program In four short years, she has achieved Signature status with the Pastel Society of America, the Philadelphia Pastel Society, the Pastel Society of the West Coast, and the Maryland Pastel Society, garnering a long list of awards along the way Stephanie is an Associate member of the American Impressionist Society. Her painting Bloom and Shimmer received an award in the PSWC 2024 Pastels USA: 99 Voices in Pastel 38th Annual International Open Exhibition.
Have you always thought of yourself as an artist? Did you have a mentor when you started out?
I was always artistic, but never really thought of myself as an artist exactly. When I was younger I was actually a musician drawing was something I just did for fun When I picked up art again in my 30s, I was still just dabbling (in watercolor at the time) and thinking of it as a hobby It wasn’t until I picked up pastel four years ago that I started taking it more seriously and thinking of myself as an artist
Unfortunately, I didn’t have any mentors in my watercolor days, but I stumbled on Marla Baggetta’s online community shortly after I picked up pastel and she was hugely influential on my development as an artist I recommend her monthly lessons and workshops to all new pastelists I’ve also studied with Bethany Fields and Jacob Aguiar and they (like Marla) are wonderful artists, teachers, and human beings I’ve learned so much from all of them
What has been the key to your growth as an artist?
Enrolling at Studio Incamminati, not just for the formal training (which I’ve never had until now), but for its impact on my mindset I’m much more emotionally resilient now nothing toughens you up like producing one terrible charcoal drawing after another while surrounded by all of your classmates and an instructor And in a classroom setting you really don’t have any choice but to keep going Over time I’ve lear ned that some drawings and paintings just aren’t going to work out and it’s no big deal In the past, a string of bad work would throw me off for weeks or even months, and now I just see that as part of the process
Describe a moment when you experienced a breakthrough with your technique or process?
My process is constantly evolving every time I seem to have it pinned down I think "I wonder what would
stephaniejeanbrown com
happen if I tried X or Y instead?" and then I’m off experimenting again In particular, I’m always tinkering with how to start my paintings Over the last month I’ve been experimenting with underpaintings using watercolor, but I’ve been including titanium white watercolor or gouache to get lighter values and more opaque coverage I like opacity in an underpainting because my sticks layer over it so seamlessly I’m still learning how best to use this method, but I think it will feature in my work quite a bit more going forward
How has your work evolved over time?
I’m reining in my use of color My paintings started out very saturated, which I think is somewhat typical for pastelists many of the sets that beginners start with are light on neutrals, and it’s just so easy to go right for the pretty bright colors But sometimes less is more I’m still figuring out where I want to land on the chroma spectrum, but I’m consciously using more neutrals in my palette now
What has been your biggest challenge as an artist?
Hard to pick just one! But it’s probably what I think of as the “mental game” the psychological side of being an artist Back in my watercolor days, I would sometimes quit painting altogether for long periods simply because I was so frustrated and discouraged Switching to pastel helped (watercolor is very unforgiving!) but there were still periods when I felt like giving up I’m very hard on myself (aren’t we all?) and sometimes it’s difficult to trust the process and work through those moments of selfdoubt But I try to remind myself that nobody can stop me but me And I’m lucky to have a very supportive husband and many friends and family who are always there to encourage me if I’m really stuck in the mud
What has been one of your most rewarding experiences as an artist so far?
Probably exhibiting as a student artist at the Rittenhouse Art Fair last summer It was nice to sell paintings of
Day's End, Stephanie Jean Brown
course, but what really moved me was how many people seemed inspired by my decision to quit my legal career and pursue art full-time I heard so many stories from visitors to my booth about the things they’d always wanted to do but had been too scared to try, and I got to do my part by encouraging them to pursue their dreams, as others have done for me
How do you envision your work evolving in the next 5–10 years?
It’s hard to say because my time at Incamminati is exposing me to all kinds of new influences, and I’m keeping an open mind There are subjects I’m very interested in but haven’t explored much yet, like architecture, and I’d also like to focus more on emotion and atmosphere in my work by painting what I feel rather than just what I see Because Incamminati teaches realism, I might temporarily move in the opposite direction, since the more I learn about how to capture light on my subject, the more focused I am on producing a faithful interpretation But I see that as a means to an end knowing the rules so I can break them Over the next 5–10 years, I’d like to start breaking them more often
As a resident of Monroe, New York, Lisa DeLuise can often be found plein air painting around Sterling Forest State Park, Harriman State Park, and area ponds and streams In addition to the PSWC, she is a member of the Pastel Society of New Jersey, the Arts Council of Rockland, the Middletown Art Group and multiple other regional art groups. She has shown her work and won awards in several group exhibits, and her painting, Morning Shadows won Best in Show in November 2024 at the Pastel Society of New Jersey 19th Annual Member Exhibition, and is also included in the PSWC 2025 Members Only Online Show
What inspired you to become an artist?
I have always felt a profound connection to the natural world The landscape, with its breathtaking beauty and intricate details, has been a constant source of inspiration for my art I believe nature has inspired me to create art
Beautiful scenes have always been painted in my mind The intricate detail of a fer n would inspire me to think about how I would draw it A beautiful long vista would prompt me to imagine creating it These thoughts have been in my mind my whole life
Through the years I have casually sketched, painted with watercolor, played with clay and enrolled in various art classes. I picked up pastels in the fall of 2018 and that changed my enjoyment of creating art into a passion The vibrancy of pastels, the immediacy of
the medium, its forgiving nature and the optical blending that can be achieved has inspired me since the first day I tried pastels
Show Off, Lisa DeLuise
MEET THE MEMBERS
lisadeluise com
What has been the key to your growth as an artist?
My passion for creating art has been a big factor in my growth Painting or sketching regularly has moved me forward, but becoming a Patreon member of Jacob Aguiar’s has helped me tremendously By choosing that membership in July of 2022, I have learned a tremendous amount about pastel painting, underpainting, composition, color, temperature, edges, pastel societies, competitions, framing, and ways to advance and challenge my artistic growth
I don’t feel like I work alone in my studio but rather, that I am part of a larger community encouraging each other to grow and learn I enjoy posting and receiving feedback on my paintings on the community Facebook page and have made some friends in the pastel community who challenge me to move forward
What part of your creative process do you find most fulfilling, and why?
Immersing myself in the natural world and mentally composing a painting, whether through the camera’s lens or through plein air painting, brings me the greatest fulfillment I also enjoy the early stages of a painting, most especially blocking in shapes, setting values, and developing layers
How has your work evolved over time?
As my skills have developed, my focus has shifted from creating highly realistic paintings based on references to crafting engaging compositions with well-defined focal points I’ve realized that it’s not necessary to render every detail Instead, I strive to capture the essence of a scene and convey the peace, energy, or emotion it evokes
Morning Shadows, Lisa DeLuise
Additionally, I’ve become more mindful of composition from the outset and have improved my ability to limit and manage values effectively
What has been your biggest challenge as an artist?
One of my biggest challenges as an artist is dedicating enough time to painting, especially when it comes to the final stages of a piece I often find myself stuck, struggling to identify and resolve problems because I don't always know what the issue is To address this, I set paintings aside for several months This approach has helped me bring some works to resolution, but others end up in the ‘never to be seen again’ pile Recognizing when a painting isn’t up to par is also a form of growth
Who or what inspires you outside of the art world?
I’m not inspired by people I am immensely inspired by nature’s majesty in all seasons, temperatures and climates
Where do you see your work going next?
I plan to embark on a series of paintings focusing on different scenes to reinforce the concepts I learn and the experiments I attempt throughout the process Up until now, each of my paintings has featured a different subject Committing to one subject will be a new challenge for me, but I believe it will aid in my growth and help solidify the concepts I am exploring
Ronnie Gold lives in North Stamford, Connecticut Her work has won awards at the Rowayton Arts Center, the Faber Birren National Color Award Show, the Connecticut Pastel Society and the Bendheim Gallery through the Greenwich Art Society
Her painting, China Blossom was accepted into the PSWC 2025 Members Only Online Show
When and how did your journey as an artist begin?
When I was eight years old my mother sent me for art lessons I’d always loved painting and drawing but those first classes made art exciting in a whole new way
I attended the High School of Art & Design in New York; received a BFA from CU in Boulder; and studied at Tyler School of Art in Rome, Italy After graduating college, I returned to New York where I began a long career in the textile Industry, winning several awards as a Design Director In 2009, I co-founded Home Accent Fabrics, a boutique home furnishings fabric converting business It was a very satisfying and exciting cap to my career
Eight years ago, I retired and moved to Stamford, Connecticut With the luxury of extra time, I took up painting and discovered my love of pastels, joining several pastel societies and local art associations So much of creating art is an interior, solo process and I value the community and support of group organizations
MEET THE MEMBERS
ronniegold com
China Blossom, Ronnie Gold
My subject matter varies from purely abstract to a more impressionistic style I’ve had one solo show and been in three group shows In 2023, I received a “Marks of Distinction Award for Most Innovative Pastel” from the Central Massachusetts Pastel Society
Who or what has had a strong influence on your work?
Early on, my mother introduced me to the world of art and design Aside from her initially encouraging me to take classes, she had a brilliant eye and was always pointing out and sharing her perceptions of impressive creativity
During my years as a fabric designer, I was influenced by Tricia Guild, a British designer inter nationally known for her sense of color, patter n, and style in the world of interiors I was also inspired by painter Brian Rutenberg’s bold use of color and abstraction
Moon Flower, Ronnie Gold
Silver Descending Ronnie Gold
Debra Stewart was the first pastelist I studied with I love the freewheeling way she begins an abstract painting and how her outcomes are always bursting with color! Techniques I learned from workshops with talented artists like Lorianne Signori, Marcia Holmes, Halla Shafey and Dawn Emerson have also had a strong impact on my work
What part of your creative process do you find most fulfilling, and why?
As I first start formulating a plan, I look for objects or photos that intrigue me Often I compile “mood boards ” This is my “hunting and gathering” stage Next comes the shaping of my ideas I begin with a color palette, often using vibrant colors to lead the way, all while experimenting with the push and pull of the colors and the temperature of the neighboring colors that can shift and change as I paint This is the most exciting part for me! I love choosing colors for an underpainting and then moving on to the stage of picking my pastel sticks It’s so rewarding to see colors and composition working together
Deep Within, Ronnie Gold
How do you handle creative blocks, and what helps you push through them?
For me, the toughest part of the creative process is when you feel stuck, or when a painting doesn’t turn out the way it was envisioned Then I know it’s time to take a break or experiment with something new Sometimes I’ll pick up a brayer or make a small painting with different media, layering other effects and being completely free It’s usually a good reminder of how important it is to not feel married to an outcome, but to lose yourself in the creative process
Who or what inspires you outside of the art world?
The outside! I love to walk while taking photos on my phone Nature offers so many stimulating ideas from broad landscapes with interesting shadows and colors,
to new textures and shapes I feel blessed when I see something so subtle it might be easily missed, like something as simple and beautiful as the patter n created by the bark of a tree On a recent trip to Croatia, I got obsessed with taking pictures of the ancient stone steps and walls My painting, Deep Within resulted from that trip
Are there any new techniques or mediums you’re excited to explore in the future?
Recently I experimented with metallic paints The glow they create can be such a surprise! But it was challenging for me to show restraint and not cover up the metallics with soft pastels Using oil sticks as a final mark making tool is on my “to try” list Playing with new techniques, substrates, and mediums is so exciting! It all contributes to why it’s never boring to be an artist.
Karen Israel lives in West Hartford, Connecticut Over the years, her work has won numerous awards in national and international juried exhibits, dating back to 2011
Her painting, The Home Stretch was awarded Best of Show in the Signature/Distinguished Member category of this year’s Members Only Online Show by judge Richard McKinley, who said, “I loved everything about it ”
What inspired you to become an artist?
I believe all artists are on a journey of self-discovery I am moved by their search for personal as well as more global truths This inspired me to immerse myself in the visual arts even as I was uncertain whether this would help me find my own way forward
Years of daily practice, study and self-reflection has led me to be comfortable with various techniques and concepts This ongoing process is immeasurably aided by the generous community of inspiring artists that I have the good fortune to call my colleagues and friends and teachers
Is there a specific ritual or routine you follow when starting a new project?
I let the subject matter dictate the technique I begin by asking myself why I chose to paint this particular subject and what I wish to convey What I love about painting is that you can start with a plan and the journey of seeing it to completion often veers from that original plan
artbykarenisrael com
Course Correction, Karen Israel
MEET THE MEMBERS
What themes or concepts tend to emerge most often in your work?
Whether it is living creatures or inanimate objects, I aim to capture the interplay of the disparate elements in my painting Light, design and composition are among the most important considerations Sometimes I paint narratives that are not traditionally considered marketable but when the perspective, light and composition are interesting, I have realized success through an appreciative audience
What has been your biggest challenge as an artist?
Like all neophyte artists my initial concern was mastering techniques and confidence in my technical skills As I have matured, my challenge now is in trying to make sense of an increasingly complicated world Additionally, time management is
challenging; prioritizing what is most important to me as I juggle my love of volunteering for art organizations, teaching and exhibiting while leaving precious time for painting.
What has been one of your most rewarding experiences as an artist so far?
I find teaching art and techniques for pastel to be greatly rewarding I’m most proud when my students improvement becomes apparent and their satisfaction about their work increases over time I will add that I also feel extremely grateful for having devoted collectors, and that my work has been recognized by prestigious national organizations over the years
Where do you see your work going next?
Lately, I have been creating narratives by telling stories with multiple subjects I am forever in pursuit of improving my skills, exploring new mediums and tackling increasingly complex subject matter
Donna Streisfeld’s work has been exhibited in local juried shows within the Philadelphia area. She is a member of the Philadelphia Pastel Society, an Associate Member of the Pastel Society of America, a member of the Delaware Valley Art League, an Associate Member of the American Impressionist Society, an Associate Member of the Philadelphia Water Color Society and a Signature Member of the Degas Pastel Society Her painting The Beachcomber is exhibited in the PSWC 2025 Members Only Online Show.
What inspired you to become an artist?
I have always loved going to art museums having lived in NYC through college I went to the High School of Music and Art now called The La Guardia School for the Arts where I was exposed to music and art everywhere In college, I took a drawing class and in the early years of parenthood, took ceramic classes at a community art center. In 2014, after a trip to Paris and Giver ny, I decided to begin water color classes, something that I always wanted to try Right before the pandemic I had taken a few pastel classes and fell in love with the medium The month before the pandemic I discovered Alain Picard through a friend and decided to sign up for one of his classes. Since I couldn’t continue my job as a harp therapist at a local hospital at that time, I painted every day and haven’t stopped Our yearly trips to Maine inspired me to paint landscapes but now I have fallen in love with portraiture and figurative work as well So basically, the love for art was always present and I’m so happy to have found a way to express myself
Water Clouds, Donna Streisfeld
How has your background as a musician impacted your work as a visual artist?
Becoming a musician as well as music therapist and special ed teacher involved skill building and training Playing an instrument, in particular, requires many hours of practice to acquire skills necessary to express oneself It’s the same in becoming a visual artist Hours of developing painting techniques is required
What has been the key to your growth as an artist?
Primarily, being open to lear ning, exploring different modes of expression, taking classes and workshops, and welcoming failure before success
Can you describe a moment when you experienced a breakthrough with your technique or process?
There have been many breakthroughs of varying kinds In one painting I did last year I was surprised that I was able to achieve a kind of abstraction I was looking for by using a variety of colors, shapes and values to represent a rocky view It was juried into the Southwest Florida National Juried Online Show last year
How do you measure success in your work?
I measure success by the depth and enjoyment of the process of bringing an image forth on paper Success, to me, is the beauty of the process and achieving a painting I enjoy looking at as well
Low Tide, Donna Streisfeld
Who or what inspires you outside of the art world?
I’m very inspired by nature Particularly, trees and rocky shores I’m also inspired by my grandchildren or children in general And finally music inspires me to paint
Are there any new techniques or mediums you're excited to explore in the future?
I find myself leaning toward abstraction within my art but this process will take time Having started exploring mixed media and encaustics I hope to develop some skills in this area of expression Training myself to think differently about how I see things is one of my goals
The Beachcomber, Donna Streisfeld
Summer Dreaming, Donna Streisfeld
Terri Ford
PSWC- PL, IAPS-EP, PSA-MP, PSNM, SPS
Join us in celebrating Terri Ford’s induction as a PSWC Pastel Laureate
Saturday, April 19, 2025 at 4:00 pm
Art Center Morro Bay, 835 Main Street, Morro Bay, CA
Terri Ford studied illustration at the Academy of Art College in San Francisco from 1973–1977 She then worked as a graphic designer for 25 years, discovering pastels in 1987, and worked with them off and on until 2000, when she decided to devote full time to pastels Once she began entering competitions, she immediately won awards Her paintings are representational with some more impressionistic and others more realistic Her greatest inspiration is capturing the landscape in its ever changing light and conditions Terri’s mantra is “deeper, darker, richer ”
Terri’s work has earned her top awards in many exhibitions at such venues as The National Arts Club in New York, The Butler Fine Art Museum, The Triton Museum of Art, The Autry Museum, The Haggin Museum, and many more She has received numerous awards at The Carmel Art Festival Plein Air event, including eight Best Pastel awards, and the Plein Air Magazine Award of Excellence and Best Pastel Ford's pastels have been featured in American Art Collector, American Artist, Fine Art Connoisseur, Pratique des Arts, the PSWC Collector’s Issue and in several coffee table books, including Art Journal America, Plein Air New Mexico and the French art book 40 Maitres de Pasteles Her pastel paintings have gained national and inter national recognition, as proved by her achievement of Master Circle status in the Inter national Association of Pastel Societies, and her subsequent achievement of being named the first recipient of Eminent Pastelist status by the same group
Vista,18 x 24 in
Terri is a Master Pastelist with The Pastel Society of America and “Distinguished Pastelist” with the Pastel Society of New Mexico, and an artist member of the Califor nia Art Club She was the “Invitee de Honor” of the Art du Pastel France in 2017 She is a popular instructor across the U S and abroad and has juried and judged many exhibitions terryfordart com
Morning
Kim Lordier is a California Native who has spent time as a flight attendant, competitive horsewoman and artist After the events of September 11, 2001, she committed to her life’s work as a full-time artist Kim received her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the Academy of Art University, San Francisco and University of San Francisco
Kim has been painting the Western landscape for over twenty years, often from life Her paintings frequently incorporate her love of the horse, and she is adept at conveying their strength and grace Her close spiritual connection to nature is woven into her work
Kim’s paintings are in private and public collections throughout the country, and have been exhibited at the Autry Museum, Maynard Dixon Country, Coors Wester n Art Show, National Arts Club, Salmagundi Club, and Forbes Gallery in New York, Haggin Museum, Pasadena Museum of Califor nia Art, Irvine Museum, Hilbert Museum, and the Laguna Art Museum
Her work has been showcased on the cover of Art of the West, PleinAir Magazine, Southwest Art, and The Pastel Journal, as well as featured in Western Art and Architecture and Fine Art Connoisseur
Kim Lordier
PSWC- PL, CAC, LPAPA, PSA
Join us in celebrating Kim Lordier’s induction as a PSWC Pastel Laureate Saturday, April 19, 2025 at 4:00 pm
Art Center Morro Bay, 835 Main Street, Morro Bay, CA
Kim was the featured artist in the Spring 2024 issue of PSWC Magazine Acknowledged by jurors and her peers, Kim has received recognition for her landscapes at major plein air events, inter national magazine competitions, national pastel society shows and museum exhibitions Kim’s painting Rolling In (see page 36) was awarded First Place in the PSWC 2025 Members Only Online Show (MOOS)
Kim is a Signature Member of the Califor nia Art Club, the Pastel Society of America, Laguna Plein Air Painters Association, and a coveted workshop instructor across the country
Baby It’s Cold, 24 x 36 in
The Power of Self Critiques
Kim Lordier’s Tips For Self Critiquing Your Paintings
The critical assessment of a painting or body of work is a necessary and important part of the creative process For me, learning how to critique my own work has given me some of the best breakthrough moments in my painting career
Here’s why
First, only you know your intent for creating a new painting Mentors / instructors/friends can’t devine your goals for the development of your piece
Objective critiques from a trusted, educated source are vital, but we do not always have them available
Comments from friends and loved ones are too subjective, whether positive or negative Self critiques help artists to not become overly reliant on outside praise or hurt by harsh criticism
Here are a few tips that I’ve used over the years to self critique my work:
#1 Trust Your Gut!
It is your painting, your idea, your creative world!
#2 Make a List
Make a list of the fundamentals composition, values, draftsmanship, etc and go through each one with a written response This is incredibly helpful in determining what is going “off” in your painting because it shifts your brain out of subjective mode into a more objective analytical mode
What you may discover is that writing down your answers will solidify what’s working and where you have potential for improvement Writing your answers down will cement what is powerful to you in a painting, what makes you happy
#3 Use a Mirror
I paint with a mirror behind me in the studio The benefits are huge. You can see misplaced values odd marks they suddenly pop off the page, and most importantly, you’ll see the overall impact your painting has from across the room For artists with a small studio where you can’t get far enough away from your work, this is essential
When clients come into my studio to see new work, they are right up in it, close to the easel, which is not how they will experience the work when they get it home and hang it This is why I have them turn around and look at my paintings in the mirror I always get a kick out of their reaction, like I’ve just let them in on a big secret
#4 Take Progress Shots
Most of us have smartphones, which means we all have handy cameras I tell students to take photos throughout the progress of a painting and look at them on their tiny screen Similar to squinting at a painting, this is a great way to see
the overall impression without the detail You can also convert your photos to black and white This really gives you tremendous information about value pattern and design You will immediately know if the illusion of light is working
#5 Move It Around
Take your painting physically out of context by carrying it out of your studio and placing it in a room in your home Because light, wall color, furniture, etc influence the way you see paintings, this allows you to see things anew
I will often set a painting in different locations where I can view it, not straight on, but out of the corner of my eye as I walk by
Another great way to evaluate composition and overall impression of the abstract nature of your painting is to lay it flat on a table, step away and look at it from all directions
The key is to take your work out of the familiar context of a straight on view at your easel Then you examine it by asking yourself the following handy questions
#6
Ask Yourself
• Are there repetitive shapes of the same size or same angle?
• Are there tangential elements where it’s unclear as to whether one shape is in front or behind the other, causing confusion and issues with depth perception?
• How does your eye move through the piece, even upside down?
• Is there a pleasing rhythm throughout that pulls your eye along no matter what angle you look from, or is your design static?
• Does the quality of your mark making change in any areas where you may be trying to draw your way out of a problem and have over-rendered an element?
• Are there areas in your painting that look like they were pasted on?
• Is the color harmony working?
• Are positive and negative shapes different and unique?
#7 Pop in a Frame
Putting a painting in a frame lets you determine how much more it needs You’ll get a good sense of progress and understand how close you are to the finish line
The frame helps to define the design and cleans up the edges, allowing you to evaluate the subtleties better
#8 Mastering Your Zen (My best tip)
When I teach workshops, I always share this valuable lesson
Learn to be aware of when your brain shifts from the Zen-like state of creating to the, “Oh, crap, what do I do next?” stage This is exactly when we start to over-render, make repetitive marks that are not poetic or add unplanned elements that do not strengthen the painting
While teaching, I often approach an artist who has a great piece going, but there is an area that looks like a completely different artist made the marks It is always, always, always because something shifted in the thinking process
Invariably, when I point this out, the artist will say, “I just put that in I heard you coming!”
Or they say, “I just added that, it needed something, but I didn’t know what ” In both cases, the artist’s brain shifted from the intuitive stage of painting to becoming self-aware, that is the time to step back from your painting, get a cup of java or come back to it another day with fresh eyes
The day I became aware of my brain shifting gears was empowering Now, I know it’s time to work through my fundamentals list or take the painting out of the studio or off the easel to flip it around
Hopefully, these techniques help boost your abilities to self-analyze. Pretty soon much of the evaluation process becomes instinctual Your brain will be doing both jobs, creating and analyzing, at the same time. Remember the #1 Tip: Trust Your Gut!
WORKSHOP
DESMOND O’HAGAN
Capturing Light: Interpreting Values & Shapes
MAY 30 – JUNE 1, 2025
9:00 AM – 4:00 PM EACH DAY
In-person workshop through PSWC www pswc ws/workshops
$430 for 3-day workshop
Art on Center 3182 Center Street Placerville, CA 95667
About the Artist
mond O’Hagan was born in ermany and raised in the U S He has been painting for 35 ears and lives in Denver, CO, where he devotes his time to s art in oils and pastels, and eling throughout the world long been considered one of the leading urbanscape artists in the world Desmond has achieved “Eminent Pastelist” status with the International Association of Pastel Societies (IAPS) and is a member of their “Masters Circle ” He is also a Master Pastelist with the Pastel Society of America and is listed in Who’s Who in American Art O’Hagan has won several awards in national and inter national exhibits including IAPS convention exhibit’s Prix’d Pastel Award and Southwest Art Magazine’s Award of Excellence (2x) at the “W indows to the Divine” Exhibitions in Denver, CO He has also won the George Innes, Jr Memorial Award from the Salmagundi Club in New York City. Desmond’s paintings have been in feature articles in national and international magazines, and his art is in collections in the U S Europe, Canada and China www.desmondohagan.com
About the Workshop
This workshop explores experimenting outside your comfort zone and achieving the next level in your pastel painting The main focus is to delve into the art of “Interpreting Light ” This approach can be used in both landscapes and urbanscapes as well as a variety of other subject matter I have a very hands-on approach to teaching; working individually with each student
Throughout the three days there will be a combination of lectures, an exercise, individual work with each student and demonstrations Lectures will include topics on composition, color, developing technique through a more painterly approach, “infusing light” and conveying energy, the importance of values and contrasts, materials, working outside your comfort zone, framing, critiquing, and art marketing/business An information sheet about framing will be supplied
Night Lights, Charleston, 12 x 9 in, pastel
About the Workshop
This 3-day in-person workshop includes lots of exercises to boost your skill sets, daily demos, and time to review our paintings
We will start with the fundamentals Whether you’re a newbie or an established painter, these ideas will reawaken your inspiration We will explore, take risks and experiment We will build on what we have explored and learned with tools and concepts
Some of the topics covered will be:
• How to construct and design a powerful and dramatic painting whether landscape or abstract
• Convey emotion and intent
• Tuning in to inspiration [it’s all around you!]
• Choosing and editing your reference photos
• Exercises for design, value, mark making, edges
• How to transform an idea to a painting
• Understanding the value of color
• Using apps to help you get past getting stuck
• Special effects to make your art unique
• One-on-one instruction to help you to the next level
• Art reviews with clear ideas to improve your art
LAURA POLLACK
Painting the Ethereal Light: Getting the Glow No Matter What You Paint!
JULY 18 – 20, 2025 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM EACH DAY
In-person workshop through PSWC www pswc ws/workshops
$430 for 3-day workshop
Art on Center 3182 Center Street Placerville, CA 95667
About the Artist
Laura Pollak is an award-winni full time professional fine artist She has attained Master Circle Status with the Inter national Association of Pastel Societies as well as Signature Status of the Pastel Society of America
Pastel Society of the West Coa Pastel Society of North Caroli , Master Painter of the Southeastern Pastel Society Laura is a newly juried in member of Women Artists of the West Laura is often requested to do demos and teach workshops for pastel societies around the country Her online teaching brings students from around the globe including Australia, Europe, New Zealand, Hawaii and Taiwan She is a sought after mentor helping individual artists achieve their artistic goals
laurapollak.com
Forest Glow, pastel
WORKSHOP
JERI GREENBERG
Paint Powerfully!
JUNE 27 – 28, 2025
9:00 AM – 3:30 PM EACH DAY
In-person workshop through PSWC www pswc ws/workshops
$325 for 2- day workshop
Riviera United Methodist Church
375 Palos Verdes Blvd Redondo Beach CA 90277
About the Artist
er many years as a fashion illusator and sportswear designer, eri took time off to raise a amily while working from home as a textile and graphic esigner Devoting herself to full e painting about 10 years ago, aring her love of pastels by teaching, has led to a new and interesting “next act ” Jeri has found that the immediacy of pastels make them the perfect medium in which to “Make the Ordinary, Extraordinary” and tell stories in her paintings Jeri loves painting still lives, urban interiors, and especially figures and fabrics. Her interest in negative space painting and finding “hidden colors” in objects make her classes enlightening Jeri taught weekly classes in New York and New Jersey and now teaches weekly at the Cameron Art Museum in W ilmington, North Carolina She continues to do workshops in many states; as well as now jurying art exhibits all over the country Jeri is an official Unison Colour Associate Artist, A Signature Member of PSA and has been awarded Master Circle designation by IAPS She is represented by Water + Color Gallery, Art in Bloom Gallery and is a featured artist at Protocol in W ilmington, NC jerigreenbergart.com
About the Workshop
Come and use your pastels with confidence as we explore interior scenes, people in motion, and the powerful presence of still lifes We will strengthen your drawing skills, to give your color work the foundation it deserves Both days include a morning demo with Q & A, followed by lots of painting I explain how my illustration background influences my focus on drawing before color gets added We will explore the makings of a great still life and how to take a scene from ordinary to extraordinary, as well as negative spaces, softening edges and dramatic lighting Students will be able to work at their own level and speed, yet we will find our common ground
Shadow Dancing, 12 x 9 in, pastel
COLLETTE ODYA SMITH
Composition is the Key: Abstract Realism in Contemporary Landscape
AUGUST 21 – 23, 2025 9:00 AM – 4:00 PM EACH DAY
In-person workshop through PSWC
www pswc ws/workshops
$395 for 3-day workshop
Hilbert Museum of California Art Chapman University 167 N Atchison Street Orange, CA 92866
About the Workshop
Join Colette as she explores how intentional control of a painting’s composition sets the stage for the effectiveness of what you want your landscape to say and how you want it to feel Beginning with a brief examination of the historical and cultural power of compositional conventions, follow along as Colette shares her best practices for moving her treatment of the landscape beyond mere representationalism Gather ideas of how to work from your photos even poor ones to emphasize the abstract and emotional qualities inherent within realistic images Emphasis is placed on working in a supportive environment to develop skills, practice techniques, and attend to your personal artistic development
Each day will include direct instruction, and examples, with individual work time and feedback Colette will demonstrate her process, offering insights into her decision-making and responses to the work in progress One-on-one guidance and encouragement are provided during generous working time A collaborative atmosphere provides plenty of growth opportunities
About the Artist
ette’s paintings have been atured in several books and rt publications and exhibited widely in the United States, rance, Germany, and China hey have received over 70 renal, national, and international Ms Smith has written articles and juried for the Pastel Journal and The Artists Magazine She has judged the international exhibitions of the Pastel Society of America (PSA) and the Inter national Association of Pastel Societies (IAPS) She has been honored as a Maître Pastelliste by the Societe des Pastellistes de France, Master Pastelist and Advisory Board Member by PSA, Eminent Pastelist and Masters’ Circle member by IAPS, and Distinguished Pastelist by the Pastel Society of New Mexico Her work hangs in public, corporate and private collections, including the Ming Gallery Museum of Pastel in Suzhou, China She offers her work in the spirit of service colletteodyasmith com
Pooling Resources, 30 x 30 in, Pastel/watercolor on 4-ply museum board coated with Golden Acrylic Ground for Pastel
Painting by Teresa Saia
New Members
~ December 2024 – February 2025
Bonnie Bigelow Grass Valley CA
Carrie Cornils Eagle ID art4sol.com
Lisa DeLuise Monroe NY Lisadeluise com
Margaret Diebert Madera CA
Amy Fichter Menomonie WI amyfichter com
Julie Frank Scottsdale AZ
Lorrie Fulton Sonoma CA
Cynthia Gonzalez Geyserville CA cyndigonzalezfineart com
