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HowToPastel Archives

Showing Results for: Featured Artists – In their own words

Judith Leeds, "Dreams of Youth," pastel on Canson Mi-Teintes, 18 x 24 in. I was walking through the lobby of an assisted living facility and saw this woman sleeping in a chair. The light on her grabbed me but it was also my feeling of her being in another world. I sat quietly and did a number of value sketches and colour notations. I worked over this composition many times in my studio and decided to subdue the background to have the focus just on the woman.

Judith Leeds – Capturing The Person Behind The Pose

Friday, 11 August 2023 35 Comments

Judith Kazdym Leeds’s journey from creating over 3,000 book covers to painting in pastels and oils.

Christine Debrosky, "Sedona Lace," 2016, Terry Ludwig, Great American, Schmincke and various other pastels on burgundy Pastelmat, 18x24 in. Sold. I am always taken with shadowed tree branches up against an illuminated backdrop. In this case, a twisted juniper and a rosy Sedona cliff face. It becomes like stained glass with the etched twigs like leading holding the glowing colours.

Christine Debrosky-Working Hand In Hand

Friday, 26 May 2023 7 Comments

Christine Debrosky shares her thoughts on how her plein air work influences and informs her studio work, and vice versa.

Tim Reilly, "Remember #9," 2012, pastel on Crescent Illustration Board, 12 x 12 in. Sold.

Tim Reilly – Creating Realistic Stone Textures

Friday, 28 April 2023 11 Comments

Tim Reilly is a master at creating stone and concrete textures in soft pastel. In this guest post, he shares the secret of how he does it!

Carol Strock Wasson, Winter Haze, 2023, Pan Pastel and Blue Earth pastels over a monotype print. Working over monotypes is new and exciting. I struggle to know when to stop, allowing just enough of the print to show through the pastel

Carol Strock Wasson – Mastering The Greyscale

Friday, 17 March 2023 22 Comments

Guest Carol Strock Wasson often paints with limited and controlled values, creating evocative and glowing paintings. She shares tips and wisdom on how you can create this magic!

Bill Cone pastel. This painting and the one below were painted a few years after my earlier ones. They were painted one after another, in the late afternoon.

Bill Cone – On Returning To The Same Location

Friday, 17 February 2023 12 Comments

I’m a huge fan of the pastel paintings by Bill Cone! Truth be told, I was slightly anxious about reaching out to ask him if he would consider contributing a guest post to HowToPastel. But I did and, oh my, he said Yes!! I can’t wait to share his words of wisdom with you! Before

Fiona Carvell, Wild Abandon, 2021, Unison Colour Pastels on UART paper, 18 x 18 inches. Available. Exhibited with The Pastel Society UK 2022

Fiona Carvell – The Physicality Of Still Life

Friday, 27 January 2023 31 Comments

I’m delighted to introduce you to pastellist Fiona Carvell. I can’t remember when I first came across Fiona’s work but I do remember that I was knocked over when I saw her cool ladle and kitchen utensil paintings. I was already familiar with her money plant still life paintings with their intricate relationships between subjects

Karen Margulis, Wonderland, 2022, pastel on LuxArchival, 12x12 in - detail

Karen Margulis – Journey Into Abstraction

Friday, 21 October 2022 34 Comments

Many of you will know Karen Margulis and her work. (And if you don’t, where have you been?!) I’ve always admired Karen’s work as well as her consistency in painting and commitment to teaching. I’ve often thought about inviting her to guest blog but it was when I started seeing Karen’s postings of amazing and

Olga Abramova, "Summer Shadows," 2021, pastel, 90 x 90 cm - detail.

Olga Abramova – Moments of Quiet Contemplation

Friday, 23 September 2022 25 Comments

I remember the moment I encountered the work of Olga Abramova. It was at the 2019 IAPS exhibition in Albuquerque. I walked in and saw this large painting of a bodhum with a steaming cup of coffee in front of it. A couple of jars completed the scene with the whole thing set contre-jour. This

Detail of Final book cover for "Brotherly Love."

On Illustrating A Children’s Book With Jory Mason

Friday, 26 August 2022 25 Comments

I’ve been enjoying artwork by Jory Mason for sometime now (definitely go check out her fabulous Great Dane portrait that I wrote about here) but it was her announcement that she was illustrating a children’s book that spurred me to invite her to write a guest blog for HowToPastel. I wonder how many of us

Mark Price, Winter's Call, no size - FEATURE

Mark Price – Imagination Is Your Most Important Tool!

Friday, 22 July 2022 28 Comments

I remember the day I was going through Instagram (it may have been Facebook?) and I was stopped mid-scroll by an unusual and colourful painting. The painting happened to be by Mark Price. It was an explosion of colour in tiny squares. Its vibrancy and unusual appearance drew me in.