December 2009 ISSUE 7 VOLUME 1

EDITORIAL SCRIBBLE
We have prepared Scribbler for this month with twice as much content as usual for you to
enjoy during coming holidays. You will find two new interesting columns. One is with the Dusty
jury comments on all paintings that participated on the last Get Dusty contest and the second one
with success stories from PGE members.
Malcom Jarvis from England suggests an approach using alcohol to create an underpainting
on which dry pastel is then applied. Liz Haywood-Sullivan from USA, a very well known pastel
artist and a teacher is telling her story from the last trip to Spain. Kathrine Hansen, the painter of a
beautiful portrait that won the Get Dusty, will tell you her story how she began her artistic life and
how a visit to Muse dOrsay changed her artistic path.
Charlie has made an in-depth study how PanPastels are behaving when applied as an
underpainting and we have continued with presenting your art in the Scribbler Gallery. This time
we have a gallery with entries from Alberto, Charlie, Heather, Jose, Julie, Kathrine, Mark, Sabina,
Sue and Tracie.
Please tell us your success stories and continue presenting your art in the Scribbler Gallery.
The Scribbler team would very much like to hear some comments and suggestions from you, and if
you are willing to join the team you are very welcome!
Happy painting! Mario Vukeli

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GET READY...GET DUSTY

The winner for the month of November on the theme Male Portrait is Katherine Hansen, from
Denmark.. You can find an article about Katherine in this issue. In the lines below you can see
comments from our jury team: Malcolm, Mark, Heather, Margaret and Charlie on all paintings that
were submitted.
Katherine Hansen has won our first prize - a set of PanPastels by Colorfin LLC.
Become a member, take part in our monthly challenge Get Dusty, and grab the chance
of winning a set of 20 PanPastels with Sofft tools included. Visit Get Dusty web site at
pastelguild.eu/dusty.asp to learn more.
The theme for January is Still life artist's own set-up.

First place

Katherine Hansen, Australia

(Denmark)
Contemplation

An excellent painting. Good range of

values. Good pose, nice use of colour, good
highlights, background really works well,
altogether an competent and pleasing piece.
Good portrait, with excellent handling of the
pastel medium, and I like the position of the
figure, off centre, to balance with the relaxed
pose. The background compliments without
distraction, and the painting offers a good balance of light /shade, warm / cool, and textured/
smooth contrasts.
Effective use of pose and light - quite dramatic. Reasonable use of colour theory and tonally
the painting works to a point. There are a lot of good points to this image - showing a better
understanding of the portrait process. The background is quite effective and the figure is a good
design.
The 'white' shirt is well controlled - I doubt whether white was used in its execution at all good. Overall a cohesive portrait - which could well have been completed from life.
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Runner up
Joseph Spiteri Santes, Malta
Mrs Felices Father
Well finished, all round quality, and use of pastel. Soft 'lost'
edges and colour scheme around figure works well. Good character
study, and relaxed pose. Good use of counterpoint in the head and
background (light against dark/ dark against light) Good use of lost
edges. Care for the quality of light. Artist understands that you
don't paint white with white but with subtle tones of blue. Best
handling of edges.

Runner up
Julie Mardell, UK
The Afghan
Very good and capable portrait of an interesting character
good attempt at facial hair, expression and intensity of stare, well
finished background which blends. Well executed painting: the
subtle tones and colours of the background contrast well with the
subject matter and the application techniques used throughout are
varied and well controlled. Comes alive nicely, reflected colours
in cast shadow around forhead good. Nose has volume, and good
reflected light on the underside of it. Some colour modeling of
head-dress.

Runner up
Ruth Mann, UK
South African Man
Great care taken with the likeness, good attempt at a
character study, head to body angle interesting, tonally
stronger, clean crisp pastelling, good shadowing. Warm tones
of skin clear, complexion glows with light.

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December 2009 ISSUE 7 VOLUME 1

Joanne Fenech Portelli, Malta

Clint
Overall good colour harmony and better use of pastel as a medium in the face,
good handling of features . Good use of warm and cool colours to model.

Julie Mardell
Lament for Ethiopia
Nicely draw, well painted attempt, the background supports a sense of suffering
or religious fervour.

Joanne Fenech Portelli, Malta

Roots
A strong and confrontational pose. The artist is interested in form and uses light
and shade to bring it out.

Julie Mardell, UK
The Magician
Nicely drawn, and interesting and original portrayal, the face is really well
painted. Value and colour used for modeling forms in face. Gets plus-points for
the exuberance and, as it were, the charm.

Joanne Fenech Portelli, Malta

Leslie
Good use of pastel and of colour to indicate light and shadow. The reflected
light is well kept within the shadow mass.

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December 2009 ISSUE 7 VOLUME 1

TUTORIAL: Pastel Wet and Dry

Malcolm Jarvis suggests an approach using alcohol to create an underpainting on which dry pastel is then
applied.

Whilst many pastellists seem to be aware of the technique of working over a watercolour or
gouache underpainting I am constantly surprised at how few realise that pastel itself can be moved
by the application of liquid to create an underpainting. My view is why bother to use another
medium to create the underpainting when the medium we all love soft pastel is eminently suited
to the task.
Pastel can be moved with water, turpentine, mineral spirits or alcohol. The first three
mentioned take time to dry so I almost always use the latter, namely Isopropyl Alcohol (which the
Americans call rubbing alcohol), because it dries almost immediately, certainly within 5 minutes,
and is therefore particularly useful when working en plein air. Also it has no smell, unlike
turpentine or mineral spirits.
In this article I would like to show you my approach to painting a landscape using pastel and
alcohol to create the underpainting much of which still remains in evidence in the finished work.
The painting was produced in the studio so that I could photograph the various stages under
controlled lighting conditions. My reference was a small sketch in charcoal and white gouache
produced last summer whilst sitting on the banks of the River Waveney just outside a small town
called Beccles on the Norfolk/Suffolk border in the UK.

The original sketch used as the basis for the painting.

STAGE ONE
I taped a piece of Wallis archival paper to the
board and quickly sketched in the basic shapes
together with a rough indication of tone values in
willow charcoal (I prefer vine charcoal but had
forgotten to replenish my stock!).
The centre of interest, the yacht in the
foreground and church tower beyond, were in
approximately the right area in the original sketch
to create a satisfactory composition (the rule of
thirds) so I had no need to move them.
The charcoal drawing on the Wallis paper

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December 2009 ISSUE 7 VOLUME 1

STAGE TWO
My approach is to create my basic palette at this stage by selecting the colours I will use for
each of the major tone value areas in the painting. For each value range I aim to choose a pastel of
the main, local colour then one warmer and one cooler colour of the same value. This is a general
rule of thumb; as you will see sometimes I use more than three, never less than two.
Here are the colours I chose for the dark values the cloud formation in the top right of the
painting and the bank and trees in the middle ground.

On the left are the dark value pastels used

for the cloud formation, on the right are the
colours I chose for the middle ground
bank and trees.

The next value range to consider was the mid tones to be used for the foreground reeds and grasses and the
distant trees and church.

On the left are the mid-tone colours I

selected for the foreground reeds and
grasses. On the right are the colours used
for the distant trees and church.

Finally a selection of light tone values for the light clouds, the sky and the water.

On the left are the colours I chose for the

light cloud formations. On the right are
the colours selected for the blue areas of
the sky.

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December 2009 ISSUE 7 VOLUME 1

STAGE THREE
I then applied the pastel loosely and broadly mainly using the side of the sticks but just
occasionally scribbling. I applied all the colours I had selected for each tone value range so that
when liquid is applied a variation in colour is achieved rather than a dull mass of just one colour.
This provides interest and variety in the underpainting and gives opportunities to let some of the
subtle colour variations that occur to be utilised in the finished work.

The main tone value groups

indicated in loosely applied pastel
ready for the next stage.

STAGE FOUR
I find this one of the exciting parts of the process, the
application of the liquid - in this case Isopropyl Alcohol. All you
need is shown in this picture
The alcohol, a small container, a large brush and a piece of kitchen
towel.

I just poured a little alcohol into the container - you dont

need much dipped the brush into the liquid, took the excess off with a kitchen towel and started to
paint over the dry pastel starting with the light tones first , then the mid tones, finally the darks.
Its important to work in this order. If you start with
the darks first the liquid gets too mucky and by the
time you get to the light tones you will be painting
mud. Each time you dip the brush into the liquid, take
off the excess. You need a damp brush rather than a
fully loaded one.
A large brush stops me getting too fussy and keeps the
painting loose.

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December 2009 ISSUE 7 VOLUME 1

Here is the completed

underpainting. Every tone value
and every area has been brushed
with the alcohol. In effect the
paper has been stained with colour
on which dry pastel can now be
applied.

STAGE FIVE
OK. So not everybody is perfect! Clearly the dark values used for the dark cloud formation
and the background tree line are too dark within the context of the painting as a whole. I adjusted
them by applying one or two of the lighter toned pastels from my initial selection over the top and
then re-applied the alcohol. I was happy with the revised result.
The dark cloud and the background
tree line tone values have been lightened to
create a better tonal range throughout the
painting.

STAGE SIX
Once the under painting was
dry, a matter of no more than a few
minutes, I began
applying dry pastel. Using the
palette of colours I selected at the
beginning I started with the sky and
basically worked down from top to
bottom. Having satisfactorily established the tone values for the whole picture in the under painting
I find there is no need to adopt the traditional method of working from dark to light. In fact the
structure of the painting is totally established so one can work in any way that feels comfortable,
from background to foreground, right to left, light to dark anything goes!
At this stage the work is all about defining and refining shapes, adding interest through subtle
changes in colour and tone value, softening edges, establishing texture and, finally, adding the
detail. The final painting is reproduced to a larger size on the next page. Hopefully you can see
where the underpainting is utilised to help create the final effect.
All illustrations and text Malcolm Jarvis 2009

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December 2009 ISSUE 7 VOLUME 1

FINISHED PAINTING
A stiff breeze, pastel, 26cms x 36 cms (10 x 14)

MATERIALS USED
Ground: Wallis neutral pH, acid free 236gsm paper. Wallis is an American pastel ground which is water and solvent
resistant. I have it sent over from the USA (I am fortunate that my sister lives in America). It is available from a
number of internet suppliers including www.cheapjoes.com, www.jerrysartarama, www.dickblick.com. The technique I
have described is not suited to the lighter weight papers such as Canson or Tiziano unless they are stretched first. It
works well on ArtSpectrum Colorfix paper.
Pastels: Unison. I find these beautiful, fat hand made pastels wonderful to work with. Excellent suppliers are
www.jacksonart.co.uk and www.heatoncooper.co.uk.
Solvent: Isopropyl Alcohol. There was a time when I could buy this in the local chemist shop or pharmacy. As the
small, independent chemists have been replaced by the big national chain operators it seems to be no longer a stock
item. However, I discovered that motor accessory companies usually have it. I get mine from www.as-essentials.co.uk,

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December 2009 ISSUE 7 VOLUME 1

Traveling Lighter
by Liz Haywood-Sullivan, PSA

A traveling pastel artist is a work of art unto themselves. Each one individual, unique,
imaginative, often unorthodox (youre using that for what?!), and generally overburdened. Efforts
to educate students to lighten their load all too often falls on deaf ears as they leave their homes and
cant resist bringing along a few more colors - just in case.

Ready to go

Setup to paint

The basic components

Last fall I had the opportunity to travel to Juzcar Spain to paint with Maggie Prices Pastel
workshop. I did a pretty good job reducing my equipment down to a wheeled backpack with the
following: a backpack Heilman box with approx. 250 half stick pastels of various manufacture, a
photo tripod with a quick release clip, two pieces of cardboard (from the back of a pad of drawing
paper) with trimmed sandpaper and glacine sandwiched in-between, my sketchbook and drawing
utensils, a Sun-Eden traveling adapter easel and clipon artists shelf, a bungee cord, a small rug, and
the ubiquitous extra box of anticipated essential pastels. All fit into the backpack and settled
somewhat comfortably on my back when going through the airport. The backpack fits easily into
the overhead storage on the airplane and the tripod ships in my checked suitcase.
This combination of equipment was easy to set up and to
quickly knockdown if painting conditions turn for the worse.
However, I continued to be plagued with the same thoughts that
turn us all into packrats especially when struggling with trying
to capture the glowing bounced light on the walls and alleys of
one of Andalusias all white villages. I was convinced that my
difficulties had nothing to do with my skills but the lack of
enough colors in my travel palette!
The highlight of this workshop was the day we spent
painting at the historic Alhambra complex in Granada. Our hosts
at the Hotel Bandolero had gotten us permission to paint on
location and we eagerly piled all of our equipment onto the bus
and set off. Once on location we were given our passes and set
free to paint where we wanted with the only restriction being
when to regroup for the trip back to Juzcar. And this is where I
would have liked to have done things differently. After guiltily
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dragging my 30 pound pack over the beautifully restored mosaic
walkways I set up in what was an artists dream location come true a real pinch me, am I really here location - the Patio de los
Arrayanes (Court of the Myrtles). I spent several hours engaged with
painting this historic scene, imagining the centuries of people who
had walked along this reflecting pool, until coming up for air I
realized I had only seen a fraction of what the Alhambra was all
about and I was running out of time.
I kind of panicked, packed up and then proceeded to get lost.
Suddenly this thoughtfully prepared backpack of my precious art
materials became a 30 lb rock and chain holding me down. Caught
up in the crowds carefully winding their way through the
meandering hallways and chambers of indescribable beauty I felt
time slipping away and was unable to free myself from my burden.
Finally I found myself back to our hosts and took precious time to
walk all the way (it felt like miles) to the bus to stash my whole
painting kit.
I grabbed my sketchbook and my favorite slim black
permanent marker and headed back to the complex. Ah, freedom!
With my new setup nestled under my arm and weighing hardly
nothing I was able to maneuver the considerable crowds and stop
now and then to do a quick sketch, take a snapshot and move on. I
was actually able to visit almost the entire exterior network of
buildings with the time I had left. I wound up with a treasure trove
of little thumbnail drawings. The beauty of this type of observation
is that it allows your mind to stop and rest awhile, to really see
something magnificent, trace it with your pen, feel its contours and
caress it in a manner you cant achieve by stopping and only taking
a swift snapshot.
Back at the hotel, as I reviewed my days work, I realized I
had truly experienced the best of both worlds. I had a plein air
painting of the Patio de los Arrayanes that will always remind me of the uniqueness of that day, and
I also was able to freely roam the Alhambra and experience the entirety of this amazing location. I
have a frameable painting and a sketchbook page full of impressions still waiting for me to revisit in
a more finished painting, or maybe just in my memory.
I wouldnt give up either expression - the more detailed plein air painting or the sketchbook,
but this experience has given me a new
insight into working on location. When
given the opportunity to be creating in an
exciting venue, one where my attention
will wander and I wont be able to fully
engage with my subject without being
distracted (oh, did I mention the hoards of
tourists wanting to take our pictures in the
Patio....) I will opt for my sketchbook and
the ability to be nimble. If it had been an
off season day, or I had chosen a less
famous viewpoint I would again bring my
plein air gear.
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So this brings me back to my initial dilemma. What to pack and how much to bring. My
answer is travel lightly but carry a sketchbook, always. And be prepared to change course at a
moments notice. Travel lightly, tread lightly, and wield a wicked drawing pencil, my friends! And I
will get another chance to observe and paint the Alhambra. This time Im bringing my sketchbook
out first. Ill leave the backpack in the bus, but itll be ready to go at a moments notice. Next May
2010 Ill be teaching a workshop in the same locations in Spain. Im looking for a handful of artists
and their companions to join me.
For additional information you can contact me at liz@haywood-sullivan.com.
May 15 -25, 2010 Paint Spain in the Spring with Liz Haywood-Sullivan, PSA
(www.haywood-sullivan.com) contact liz@haywood-sullivan.com
Hotel Bandolero
www.hotelbandolero.com

Resources:
Heilman Box for Pastels:
I use the backpack size.
www.heilmandesigns.com/new_page_5.htm
Sun Eden Artist Equipment:
I use the traveling adaptor and the artists shelf - 200.
www.sun-eden.com
Tripod:
Any normal photographers tripod with a quick release mechanism

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December 2009 ISSUE 7 VOLUME 1

REVIEW: Pantastic Underpainting PanPastels in a supportive role

Copyright 2009 by Charlotte Herczfeld

Pastellists often make good use of an underpainting, for different reasons:

a) to rapidly block in large areas in more or less solid colours,
b) to fill the grain of the paper with colour and values, without clogging up the tooth of the paper,
and thus save tooth for at least a couple more layers of pastel sticks.
c) to tone the paper in the desired colour.
Many different methods can be used for an underpainting, lets just mention a few:
Wet media, for example watercolour (aquarelle), gouache, thinned oil-paint, acrylic, or liquid
pigment. Pastel strokes can be wetted with water or thinner/turpentine, and brushed out.
Dry media, usually by taking a pastel stick and use its side to cover the paper, and then maybe
rub it into the grain of the paper with fingers, or some other tool like a packing peanut or a sponge.
The different methods work very well, but have their drawbacks. Water may buckle the paper,
unless it is well stretched. Thinner/turpentine has toxic fumes, and it is wise to take safety measures
when using them. Dry pastel dust tends to not get all the way into the grain, leaving spots of paper
peeking through even after 20 layers of pastel.
Now we have a new supersoft pastel that combines the positive aspects of both dry and wet
underpaintings the PanPastels. We get flowing and fluid strokes of sheer but fully saturated colour
that go all the way into the grain, without clogging it up, and with no need for stretching the paper,
or wait for it to dry. You dont have to apply fixative to this bottom layer, but if your method
requires it, you can fix the underpainting.

When painting my entry for the

September challenge Get Dusty, I
tested how the PanPastels work for
an underpainting. I use the method of
blocking in larger areas of the
painting for my underpaintings. The
first layer of an intense green-blue
colour was sponged rather evenly
onto the creamy yellow paper
(ArtSpectrum Colourfix) . You can
see it at the bottom and top left edges
of the first picture. Then I used a
large and a medium sponge of the
Sofft tools to stamp in more colours
in order to get a variegated
underpainting. You can clearly see
my drawing, and some of the plumblines used for getting correct
proportions.

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For comparison, I chose some sticks of a medium hard pastel with approximately the same colours
as the PanPastels and applied them in the margin.

Picture on the left is a macro photo of the structure of the

paper, PanPastel underpainting at the bottom, and two hard
and decisive strokes of medium hard pastel sticks above. The
arrow points to the pastel stick stroke I tried to push and rub
into the grain with my finger, using the dry method. Clearly,
the PanPastels fill the grain much more thoroughly and easily.

Then the underpainting of the background was fixated with a top grade workable pastel
fixative, as I wanted to avoid the darks accidentally dirtying the underpainting of the light areas.
Next the light areas were blocked in with PanPastels. I noticed that the sheerness of the PanPastels
makes it necessary to use a very light hand when drawing the motif on the paper prior to starting the
actual painting process with colour. In the picture above you can see a close-up of the torso and the
arm to our left. You can also see a hint of how fluid the PanPastels could be although I tried to fill
the areas with rather solid colour.
The very thin and delicate lines of the first drawing are clearly seen and the bolder earth-red
strokes that strengthen the lines are... well, bold. The PanPastels are perfect for my kind of
underpainting where I want the light to pass through the layer and bounce back from the cream
coloured paper to give an impression of strong light. I just have to be careful to not draw heavily,
especially for an all PanPastel painting. This layer of the underpainting was not fixated.
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In the picture above, I want to point out an effect that can be used in different ways. The
sheerness and translucency of the PanPastels is very beautiful, and because of that trait of the Pans,
it is wise to paint the areas of lighter value first, similar to the procedure when using watercolour.
The arrows in section A shows how a bit of blue PanPastel of the background got painted
over parts of the arm on our right. (And by chance, it also shows the edge of an area I happened to
oversaturate with fixative, so the liquid started to flow.) I usually strive to overlap colours at edges,
so no white borders are left around objects. If this had been intended to be an all PanPastel painting,
this could have become a problem. Had I thought of it prior to fixing, it would have been easy to
erase or lift off the PanPastel blue with an eraser or kneadable eraser. As you see in section B, the
yellow PanPastel does not cover the blue, and as the blue is fixated, it doesnt mix with the yellow.
But, this area was to be painted over with pastel sticks, and they did covered the dark patches
completely, as seen in C.
As the background was supposed to be very dark, without resorting to using black, I would
not have been happy if the creamy yellow paper had shone through. Picture below shows the
PanPastel underpainting, in A, and a macro photo of a much smaller section (approximately the size
of the magenta line) of the finishing crusty top layers of pigment from sticks in B.

See how the PanPastel underpainting peeks through, allowing light to be reflected, but in
harmony with the top layers. Of course you can go the other way, too, and use the PanPastels for a
complementary underpainting, which will create a vibration of colour. Here, I wanted a tone-in-tone
underpainting, with a delicate vibration, which is why the underpainting was made so distinctly
spotty in order to add variety to the painting as it peeks through. If youre curious, you can see the
finished painting by clicking here, which will take you to the Get Dusty Gallery on the PGE
website, where all Dusty entries are collected.
As a complement to pastels sticks, the PanPastels make a Pantastic underpainting!
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Meet the winner of November Get Dusty: Katherine Hansen

Living and working in Australia, Danish Katherine is interested in following what is happening in the pastel
world in Europe and she supports the PGE as, she says, it is a great idea that a few amazing people are putting into
action. Katherine is in her late 30s, and is earning her living as a principal structural engineer within the offshore oil
and gas industry. Learn from Katherine how a systematic approach to drawing and painting yields great results in a
very short time!

The Beginning
I could never draw anything freehand and therefore was
never interested in drawing let alone painting. In June 2008 I
read a book about drawing; Drawing on the Right Side of the
Brain, by Betty Edwards. The first exercise of the book was to
draw a self portrait, as can be seen I seriously could not draw. I
followed all the exercises and then out of the blue I could draw,
and I really enjoyed it. I entered a weekly art class and started
learning classical drawing. Of course the word pastel showed up
in the world of drawing but I had no clue what it was.
In August 2008 I visited a friend in
Paris. I went to Muse dOrsay as I have
done many times before as it is such a
treat. This time I saw the pastel paintings, I
had not noticed them before!! I saw
mystery, glitter, sparkle and luminous
colours... I had to know more!! During this time I also got to know about
Rumanian post-impressionist Calin Alupi. His pastels were different again,
what really inspired was that through his eyes I could see beauty where I
know my own eyes would not have seen it. The pastels were a goer!!
I returned to Perth (Western Australia) with a set of Sennelier pastels and a quest to learn
pastel painting and everything there is to know about pastels. Well knowing it would be a life long
journey.
I could not find a pastel teacher so my journey
would have to be on my own. I started by purchasing
about 10 different books about pastels on Amazon,
beginners books to advanced. I worked through them all,
but it was Alan Flattmanns book, The Art of Pastel
Painting, that made me understand pastel as a medium and
my technique has evolved around that. I understood from
his book that pastel stands out from any other medium in
the way light is reflected on pastel. Because pastel is
composed of thousands of tiny particles of pure pigment
the surface has a 3-D effect that reflects light from
multiple angles and allows light to penetrate deeply into
the painting. This creates vibrancy and richness of colour.
I of course thought of the sparkle and glitter that first
inspired me, and decided then and there that my pastel
paintings must always retain this quality of reflecting
light. Therefore blending pastel is not an option for me.
Whatever texture I wish to create must come from each
stroke as the stroke goes down. I mix colours by
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overlaying colours and let the eye do the blending. I know this is quite a restriction to put on myself
especially as I marvel at the textures other people achieve by blending.

Painting Subjects
I started with portrait painting as it seems to come naturally to me. It is the free flowing form
of nature that is the hardest for me to work with. However as I love the outdoors and anything to do
with nature I find myself drawn to landscape painting. This year I went to a carefully selected
workshop to learn about en plein air pastel painting. After much research on the internet I decided
to go to American artist Richard McKinley's workshop in Southern France. This was also my first
encounter with a pastel artist. It was a bit daunting to show
up as a beginner, especially because everyone else had
done workshops with that teacher before. But I gained so
much knowledge, and a sound method for en plein air
painting. So now I am constantly working out and about,
even though my paintings do not turn out that great as it is
really hard!! It is so much fun experimenting and I know I
am headed in the right direction. It is the observation of
colour directly from nature that is so important. Even my
portraits painted from photos are improving because I am
starting to internalize the colours as they appear in nature,
i.e. never alone always accompanied by other colours.
I have been notified that the painting A Passion for
Knitting (see the Scribler Gallery) is a finalist in the
Richeson 75 2010 Pastel competition, Importance
received a meritorious mention in the same competition, so
I am really pleased.
Importance

A Busy Everyday Life and Still Improving Artistic Skills

The minimum artwork I do on any given day is at least one
charcoal sketch from life, taking maybe 10-15 minutes to complete. I
have done this since 2008. It must however be a composition,
meaning a foreground, middle ground and background, and the eye
must be guided around the picture plane. This maintains drawing
skills, practices composition and keeps a sharp eye for seeing values
and determining proportions. I actually got it from a book about
composition; Mastering Composition by Ian Roberts. The promise
is: Sketch a composition a day for about a year and a shift from
thinking in terms of subjects to thinking in terms of masses and
shapes should be happening.
For a weekly pastel
McKinley's pastel pointers blog.

tip I

check

pastelpointersblog.artistsnetwork.com
He gives some serious pastel painting tips!! It is out on Mondays US time.
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in

on

Richard

December 2009 ISSUE 7 VOLUME 1

The Future

At the moment I am building up skills, and I feel I have a long way to go yet before I have
learned what I see as necessary to achieve my ultimate goal: To be able to truly paint from deeply
within myself. I am hoping one day to be able to merge landscape painting with figure/portraits so I
can capture everyday life. Mood, feelings, light and darkness, I guess the yin and yang of life.
The daily dose of ten to fifteen minutes of sketching is a great advice that will take you further
much faster than one perfect and finished painting per month will. Thank you, Katherine, for
showing us what is possible with determination and passion coupled with a systematic study.

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December 2009 ISSUE 7 VOLUME 1

MEMBER SUCCESS
Competitions
Sabina Haas won the first prize in the annual
competition of the Artist's Magazine in the
Animal/Wildlife section of the
student/beginners section. Her painting and a
short article are published in the
January/February issue of the Artist's
Magazine.
Two PGE members, Katherine and Heather, have paintings accepted into the
Richeson75, in the juried competition for Pastel 2010.
Katherine Hansen, as mentioned in the article about her in this issue.
Send in your successes, big or small, to The Pastel
Scribbler, and they will be published in this column.
Heather Harman, with her Ronda Bridge, depicting a beautiful bridge,
Puente Nuevo (the new bridge, started in 1751), straddling the 120 meters
deep gorge dividing the city. At the bottom of El Tajo the Rio Gualdalevn
flows. A sight well worth a visit if youre in the Andaluca region of Spain.

Juried shows
Charlotte Herczfeld got her painting Hello Lamppost (see the
Scribbler Gallery) jured into a Swedish fine arts gallery, Edsvik
konsthall, in their Autumn Salon. Only 10% of the submitted
work passed through the jurying process. There are no awards
given at this type of show. Charlottes painting was the only
pastel work in the show, and attracted a lot of attention and
curiosity about the medium, which is virtually unknown in
Sweden as a fine artists medium.
Alberto Piedra has been selected as finalist in the "IV Certmen
Nacional de Mini-Cuadros Muz Martnez" in the city of Valencia
(Fourth National Challenge of small works) with the pastel painting "el
Sombrero". The exhibition starts on 12th of December.

Publishings
No less than 4 PGE members have PanPastel paintings in the PanPastel online gallery. Dorte
Krogh Nielsen, Mary Brigid Mackey, and Charlotte Herczfeld are in the Landscape category. In
Animal category is Tracie Koziura, and one of her paintings is the icon for the gallery, as is
Charlottes for the Landscape gallery. See them at www.panpastel.com/gallery.html. Send in your
own work where PanPastels are used, the info is found in the link.
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December 2009 ISSUE 7 VOLUME 1

The Pastel Scribbler Gallery

Send your gallery entries to scribbler@pastelguild.eu

(PGE members only)

Charlotte Herczfeld, Sweden, Hello Lamppost

Charlotte Herczfeld, Sweden, Take me home

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December 2009 ISSUE 7 VOLUME 1

Jose Del Riego, Spain, El Guardian Del Tesoro

Mark Whittaker, UK

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Sabina Haas, Switzerland, Alongside the River

Sue Cottrell, UK

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December 2009 ISSUE 7 VOLUME 1

Sue Cottrell, UK

Mark Whittaker, UK

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Sabina Haas, Switzerland, A Moment in Time

Julie Mardell, UK
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Julie Mardell, UK

Alberto Piedra Fernndez, Spain, Pablo

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Tracie Koziura, UK

Kathrine Hansen, Denmark, A Passion for Knitting

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December 2009 ISSUE 7 VOLUME 1

Jose Del Riego, Spain, Mirando Al Sur

Alberto Piedra Fernndez, Spain, Violet freshness

Heather Gail Harman, Spain, Ronda Bridge

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December 2009 ISSUE 7 VOLUME 1

COMPETITIONS to join
artKudos
(all media)
www.artkudos.com/callforentries.html

Jack Richeson & Co

www.richeson75.com/callforentries.html

The Pastel 100 by Pastel Journal magazine

SAA - Artist of the Year
(pastel only)
(all media)
www.artistsnetwork.com/pasteljournalcompetitio www.saa.co.uk/aoy/default.aspx
n/
Artist's Magazine All-Media Online
Competition

The International Artist magazine

(all media)
www.international-artist.com/splash.aspx

www.artistsnetwork.com/competitions/

FineArtViews Painting Competition

contest.fineartstudioonline.com

PASTEL WORKSHOPS
Margaret Evans, PSA
www.shinafoot.co.uk/

William Hosner Fine Art

www.williamhosner.com
2010, Madrid, Spain
2010, Amsterdam, Netherlands

Maggie Price, PSA

www.maggiepriceart.com
2010, Sep 11-22, St Abbs, Scotland
2010, Oct 1-11, Juzcar, Spain
Alicia Sotherland

Liz Haywood-Sullivan

www.aliciasotherland.com/

www.haywood-sullivan.com/

2010, July 31 - Aug 11, France

2010, May 15-24, Spain

2009 The Pastel Guild of Europe, unless otherwise noted.

All rights reserved.
The Pastel Guild of Europe website: pastelguild.eu
Send your feedback to scribbler@pastelguild.eu

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