The Mansion at Strathmore is hosting the biennial pastel painting exhibit for the Maryland Pastel Society "Shades of Pastel" 2022 exhibit. I am pleased to have three of my landscape pastels juried into this exhibit, which will be held from May 7 to July 2 at the mansion in North Bethesda, Maryland.
"Morning Has Broken" was inspired by an icy hike at Marsh View Meadow Park near Saline Michigan, as well as by the hit song by Cat Stevens.
"Tempest at Grand Teton" was inspired by a hike by my mountain-climbing daughter Sara in Grand Teton National Park. An acrylic underpainting enabled the sharp mountain peaks and crevices of this 12x16 pastel.
"Catching the Light" is a 12x18 pastel of a swampy late July scene in southeast Michigan. I found this site on a bike ride, photographed it at the time and returned for more photos. What attracted me was the late day sunlight catching various parts of the landscape. What appears to be a rather vast landscape was in reality a rather compact area of muck and mud, but artist's license allows a more expansive interpretation!
The pastels will be available for sale at the Mansion at Strathmore and will be offered on my online shop afterward.
So if you are in the area please visit the exhibit. And thanks to my fellow pastelist Nancy King Mertz from Chicago who juried the exhibit. Nancy's a blast. You can often find her standing on a street corner near traffic in Chicago painting a cityscape, Nancy will be doing a pastel demo at the reception on May 15th. I hope to see you there!