Upper Messerschmidt's Pond in Winter, a pastel





Upper Messerschmidt's Pond in Winter by Joan Cole
Pastel 9 x 12" $400

I am so excited by my work in pastels. Masterpastellist Claudia Post is sharing so much of her vast knowledge in our Gallery class.  (You may remember that still life of the apple, pear, and lemon?  I'm still working on that and others.)  Landscapes are in my blood; this one brought me great joy and satisfaction.

There is so much to learn about pastels.  Who would have guessed that it is advisable to sharpen one's pastels to get a finer line or point?  (I must say, it is NOT my favorite part of painting with pastels.)  Claudia can sharpen a NuPastel with a single-edge razor blade lickety split!  It takes me SOOOOOOOOOOO much longer, and sometimes I break the stick in the process. 

It is possible to use turpentine to affix initial layers of pastel to the paper.  I used that method with this piece and found it gave me a more painterly feel--more like the feeling of plein air painting in oils.  Anyway, then I was able to build over that layer with additional layers of color.

This afternoon, I picked up the painting from the framer, drove to Maple & Main Gallery of Fine Art, and Claudia hung "Upper Messerschmidt's in Winter" in the classroom on our lower level.  Teacher and student were both tickled.

When you are in the area of Chester, Connecticut, stop by Maple & Main and check out "Upper Messerschmidt's."  It's in VERY good company--among more than 100 diverse works of art by thirty artists from across the fine state of Connecticut.