My Painting Experiences

Happy New Year Everyone,

After having a wonderful holiday season and lots of self-indulgence, it is that time of year for making those New Year resolutions - for me a time to make that promise to lose weight and to get rid of stuff. All things that I truly intend to do, but that never seem to materialize.

This year instead of doing the usual weight loss and exercise commitment,  my plan is to put together a list of things that are for me - a bucket list of sorts for the year. A list of easily achievable and doable things - like try a new painting technique or plan a road trip. The list is still being thought out and put together with one slight drawback. The list seems to be growing.

May everyone have a new year blessed with joy and happiness.

MaryAnn

This past November, the pastel painting of mine titled, "Spirit of the Rum River",

The Spirit of the Rum River

won third place in the 2010 Image Art Show. What an honor!

The show is sponsored by  the East Central Arts Council in Minnesota and funded by the McKnight Foundation. The purpose is to expose art to urban areas of the state. I do feel fortunate to live in a state that is so supportive of the arts.

Working in pastel is something new for me. After watching a demo by one of my artist friends and then seeing how he framed his pastels using spacers and glass versus matting and then framing, I could not resist and I had to give working with pastels a try. A paper much like sandpaper is used to enable the pastels to hold onto the surface. This paper is archival, acid-free paper and I mount it onto a board used to mount photos to make the working surface more durable and easier to frame.

Pastels are one of the most permanent of all artist's materials available. Pure pigment is applied to the artist's canvas. Unlike oil paints or watercolors where a filler and binder are used, pastels are dry, pure pigment.

My only regret with pastels is not using them sooner.