The Pastel Journal

Pastel Journal covers topics of interest to working pastelists as well as those who work in pastel as an additional medium along with those who are just experimenting with the medium.

Two Decades of Pastel Greatness

Facing Change Head-On • The 18th century saw revolutionary changes in portraiture—both in medium and subject.

PURE PASTEL

A Man With a Mandolin • Edwin Austin Abbey enlivened a charcoal drawing using discrete touches of pastel.

Turn Your Latte Into Art • A coffee shop is the perfect locale for mining the creative wealth that is the human condition.

Positive Energy • Learn all about orange—and how to use its vibrancy to impact other colors.

QUICK TIPS

Life Comes At You Fast • Whether you’re a college student trying to scrape up money for supplies, supporting a family in midlife or taking care of aging parents, things come along that can test one’s commitment to making art. Marla Baggetta has advice for ways to navigate life’s inevitable curveballs and continue to paint and express yourself.

PASTEL 100 COMPETITION

Juror Insights • DISCOVER HOW OUR FIVE ILLUSTRIOUS PASTEL 100 JURORS CONSIDERED, DELIBERATED, STRUGGLED AND—ULTIMATELY—SELECTED THEIR CATEGORY WINNERS.

The Power of Dreams • AN ENCHANTING PASTEL FEATURING A SMALL CHILD WITH BIG DREAMS WINS ARTIST RICHARD WILSON, JR., THE TOP PRIZE IN THIS YEAR’S COMPETITION.

THE ARTIST’S TOOLS

BEGINNER TIPS

Found and Imagined • ARTIST ANNA WAINRIGHT TAKES HER INSPIRATION FROM THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT AND LETS HER CREATIVITY SHAPE THE LOCAL LANDSCAPE INTO SOMETHING NEW.

A Quiet Confidence • THIS POWERFUL PORTRAIT BY CAROL PEEBLES BEGAN AS A NEARLY FINISHED MONOCHROMATIC RENDERING AND ENDED WITH A BACKDROP THAT MADE THE SUBJECT EVEN MORE ENGAGING.

WHAT’S IN A NAME?

A Strip of Light • TONY ALLAIN’S AWARD-WINNING SCENE THAT HONORS GRANDEUR AND SPACE.

Light Effects • IN HIS PHOTOREALISTIC PASTEL, DON WILLIAMS CREATES DRAMA AND INTRIGUE THROUGH THE MASTERY OF TECHNIQUE AND DESIGN.

Landscape & Interior

Portrait & Figure

Still Life & Floral

Animal & Wildlife

Abstract & Non-objective

Lighting Effects