Innholdsfortegnelse for Winter 2025 i The Pastel Journal

Like many artists, I've found that beginning the painting process with a sketch is key to achieving a successful finish. From loose to more detailed, sketches serve as a starting point for more polished artworks. They can even stand alone as unique expressions unto themselves. It's an important skill that lets you transfer your design idea onto paper in a fun, fast and effective manner. Why Sketch? I've always valued sketching as a tool for capturing ideas, but it's so much more than that. Here are some of the ways sketching can benefit your painting process. • Warm up. Sketching is a practice that encourages artists to embrace imperfection and enjoy the process of artistic exploration. It's a great way to kick-start your creative brain. Sketches can be as simple…

OPPOSITE Cheng Li Afternoon (pastel on paper, 18x24) Afternoon uses pastel and realistic expressionist techniques to depict a still life on the windowsill of my studio. The placement of Western-style statues and a Chinese teapot adds some quiet and harmonious beauty, creating a warm and quiet picture. Chelsie Murfee Legacy (pastel pencil and white charcoal on black paper, 13x13) I approached this drawing by working in reverse, using only whites and grays on black paper. I began building layers of tone with subtle blending, then meticulously erased to reveal the delicate shadows and intricate details. As I grapple with health issues, I've felt an urgency to document the people who've provided my greatest inspiration. Legacy is a portrait of a fiery woman named Bonnie whose spirit has made an indelible…

When Silja Salmistu was a young girl growing up in Southern Estonia in the 1970s and '80s during the Soviet occupation, her exposure to art wasn't in museums but instead in nature—the beauty of the country's rivers, lakes, woods and meadows. She learned fiber crafts and gardening, and spent time painting, reading, and playing sports and the violin. Salmistu thought she'd become a veterinarian or a professional violinist when she grew up, but an enthusiastic art teacher led her down a different path, encouraging her to take art classes and enter competitions. A few years later, a friend took her to take an art school entrance exam, and the outcome solidified her career path. She went on to earn an art degree at the University of Tartu, in Estonia, and…

The cacti that artist Nancy Lilly paints could be a metaphor for her life. “Over time,” she says, “when looking at the plants thriving despite harsh conditions in 100+ degree heat, I came to respect them for their endurance, tenacity, imperviousness and unique beauty.” Much like the cacti, Lilly had to be independent and resilient from a fairly young age. “I became a single mother at 30 and had never held a professional job,” she says. “I returned home to Texas to transform myself into a self-reliant professional 'whatever.' I managed to fake my way in the field of software for 34 years, hiding the fact that I had graduated with an art degree.” At night, after putting her son to bed, she'd take care of her household duties before…

Sweet William flowers have always grown in my mother's garden. As a child, I didn't like them because every year on the anniversary of my grandmother's birthday, we'd bring a bouquet of them to the cemetery to place on her grave. The flowers symbolized death, grief and sadness to me. In Denmark, where I live now, however, these flowers are found at celebratory events such as high school graduations, commemorating happy days for young people. This outlook has altered my negative perspective of them and, for the first time, I depicted these lovely flowers in pastel.…

I love to include birds in my paintings because they can symbolize so many different things. In ancient Egypt, birds were thought to be messengers from the gods. In Christianity, doves are associated with biblical accounts of the Great Flood and The Annunciation. To me, birds are an emblem of freedom representing the unfettered human spirit. When I add a bird into a painting, I do so to create a focal point as well as to add a layer of meaning to my art. There are a few important things to consider, however, when using your artistic license to add birds (or any other elements) that aren't actually present in your reference material. Scale & Proportion You'll want to make sure the bird you're adding is the right size for…

Walter Launt Palmer (1854-1932) was born in Albany, N.Y., the son of sculptor Erasmus Dow Palmer. The father's connections would prove invaluable, as his circle included numerous artistic luminaries. Chief among them was Frederic Church, the Hudson River School landscape painter, who instructed the sculptor's son when young Palmer was a teenager. Between 1873 and 1877, Palmer spent time in Paris and studied alongside John Singer Sargent. Upon returning to America, Palmer moved between Albany and New York City, setting up shop with Church in the storied Tenth Street Studio Building. The arrangement was more than professional. Palmer introduced his romantic prospects to Church, who would then report his assessments to Palmer's father. In the 1880s, Palmer traveled to Venice, where he joined the lively contingent of American expatriate artists.…

British artist Penelope Fulljames has spent a lifetime moving from place to place, sometimes living in a van or bus, exploring a world of subjects, genres, media and surfaces, but there's one subject that captures her attention and holds it: the tree. Still, she reserves the right to deem them imperfect. “I'll leave out trees that are the wrong shape, either for the composition or for my own taste,” she says. There's no arguing with her method. Whatever is left is just right. Sometimes it's a close crop of black trunks with bright spots streaming through some unseen canopy. Sometimes it's a glorious specimen of an ancient tree. And sometimes it's a dignified community of old-growth neighbors. “I strive to portray the essence of a place,” Fulljames says of her…

ONLINE EXCLUSIVE See Lilly's demonstration of a textured surface technique at artistsnetwork.com/art-mediums/pastel/textured-ground. This bonus content is exclusive to Artists Network members. Not a member yet? Check out the many benefits and sign up here: artistsnetwork.com/membership-benefits.…