I have been ultra busy preparing for my show opening this Friday and so my blog writing has slipped a wee bit. (Okay, that was an understatement!) Rather than let even more time pass by I thought I’d write a quick and dirty one. (If you want to know where that phrase came from like I did, click here.)

Have you seen the current International Association of Pastel Societies (IAPS) show?? This 24th Juried Exhibition can be seen at the Vose Galleries in Boston until 21st June. If you are in the neighbourhood, you can be sure it will be worth the visit!

I thought we could all have a look at the accepted entries and the winners and then ask you to choose your favourite and tell us why you made your choice. I’ll start. First, go and look at the IAPS exhibition by clicking here.

Okay, here’s my first choice. 

I love this painting. Let me count the reasons why.

First off, it’s a wonderful portrait!

We see a boy concentrating as he makes his mark on….a transparent surface, glass perhaps. This surface is absolutely there and I am in awe at my belief. I know this painting is a two dimensional surface and yet I can’t help but believe I am looking up through glass at this young artist at work. Okay, so that’s two things.

Another thing I love is how my eyes track around the painting. I am pulled in by the boy’s eyes but instead of staying there (which can easily happen especially here with his intense concentration), I look where he is looking, i.e. his eyes direct me to my next stop – the red mark being created by his hand. From there I see green scribbles against the lighter reddish background. I follow them to the left where bright coloured marks contrast with the boy’s black shirt. These lead me up to his arm where I find a spiralled blue rose which lands me on the hair of his head and the faint halo created by light behind. And then I’m back at his eyes. An exciting journey through the piece.

The background feels as if its been thought out not just an accident or an after-thought (which is the way it appears in some work I’ve seen!). The balance between the light parts and the dark, and their placement in the whole seem perfect.

This young man, I have the feeling I really want to meet him. I want to know what he’s thinking about as he draws. I want to know what he wants to be when he grows up. I want to know him.

Now the thing that gets me the most is Christine’s daring and courage. Okay, so imagine. You’ve created this beautiful portrait but to capture what’s going on, you have to scribble all over it! Are you still imagining?? You have to choose different coloured pastels and make random marks all over your beautiful piece. Now that takes guts! And confidence. And sheer will and determination. So I figure, the title, Determined, could also refer to the Christine as much as her subject.

And just because, here’s a second choice.

Here we find a different kind of drama, one of nature. I feel it, I can see it, I can smell it, I can taste it. I love the even value of the whole piece with only a few specks of dark in the line of trees and a wee bit of light from that minuscule piece of light escaping from behind the clouds and reflected in the water below. This is almost an abstract painting!

Just for curiosity, I’ve included both paintings in a black and white version so you can see the difference between the two in terms of value. Christine’s painting runs the full gamut between dark and light while Carol’s is almost only one value. And they both work magnificently.

There are so many more beautiful paintings I want to comment on but I’m going to stick to these two. I would so love to hear about your favourite painting. (And it can be from any of the entries.) Just give the name of the artist and title and a sentence or two (or more!) why you like the piece. Come on, I’d LOVE to hear from you. You can always just reply to this email if it’s easier and I will post your answer.

I look forward to hearing from you!!

~ Gail