". . . a brush with nature"

Although I routinely work in several different mediums, painting with pastels is a special favorite of mine. There are many reasons I enjoy pastels so much, but here are my top five.

1. Pastels are a pure pigment. Because there is no liquid binder that can cause changes in other media (i.e. fading, darkening, yellowing or cracking) pastel is the most permanent medium of all. Manet, Degas, Mary Cassatt and James Whistler are but a few notable artists that regularly painted with pastels. Their works in pastel have certainly stood the test of time.

2. Pastels offer great versatility. There is an infinite range of color sticks, supports to work on, softness or hardness of the pastel stick itself (important in mark making) and they are fairly portable (for plein air artists.) An individual artist can choose to make a simple pastel sketch leaving much of the working surface exposed or create a painting with multiple layers of pastel. If the correct working surface is selected you can even start the painting with a watercolor under painting.

3. Pastel is tactile. I love being able to touch the painting as I work on it . . . blending, layering, marking, moving the pastels around using mostly my hands. I become very connected with each pastel piece in a very unique and personal way.

4. There is no drying time involved when you are working in pastel. It allows such a spontaneous approach. You see the results immediately and you know what the piece is going to look like. You do not have to consider any possible shift in colors due to drying.  

5. Finally and most importantly, pastels are FUN! For me this is in great part due to the spontaneity and the ability to get very close to what I am working on. 

I hope you enjoy my work.