The Pastel Society of New Mexico’s 2025 “Enchanted Colors Exhibition” will be held at the Millicent Rogers Museum in Taos, New Mexico. There will be a display of 66 pastel paintings exhibited by fine artists from across the USA, with the majority of them being from New Mexico and immediately surrounding States.

More from the organizers:

Taos, a wonderful art community, has been host to our exhibition for now, going on its fifth year and we enjoy our relationship with the organizers and administrators of this great museum. The show will display works in two spacious gallery rooms.

The jurors of acceptance are Bruce A. Gomez, William Schneider, and Marie Tippets. The jurors “sculpt” the exhibition while the judge grants awards to several of the finest works. The Judge of Awards will be Lisa Gleim. Numerous Cash and Sponsor Awards are expected to total more than $10,000 in value.

The exhibition will run from March 22 – June 1, 2025 with the Gala Opening Celebration and Awards Ceremony held on Saturday, March 22. Additionally, there will be a Virtual Interactive Online Exhibition with 56 additional painting images by the artists who requested to have their works displayed “Digitally Only” showing all of the paintings in their relative sizes.

Learn more about “Enchanted Colors” here.

Attention Art Collectors!
May 20-22, 2025: Visit the Plein Air Convention & Expo’s robust pop-up art gallery at the Nugget Casino Resort in Reno, Nevada, where hundreds of artists, including our master faculty, will have studio and plein air works on display and ready to purchase. Register for the full event at PleinAirConvention.com now.

Browse more western art here at FineArtConnoisseur.com.

“Pastel Portraits: Drawn from Life?” exhibition at the Getty studies traditional depictions of men and women. Primarily featuring works from the Getty Museum collection, the display is on view at the Getty Center through September 17, 2023.

Across 18th-century Europe, artists relished the convenience and versatility of pastels to make portraits, which ranged from straightforward likenesses to imaginary renderings. Yet the social conventions of the period meant that men were more often in the privileged position to commission portraits of themselves for public display, whereas depictions of women tended to represent muses or allegorical figures. The exhibition asks visitors to consider: who gets a portrait and who decides what it looks like?

“Drawn from Life?” presents two standout works that depict real women in conventional settings. The first, Jean Étienne Liotard’s “Portrait of Mademoiselle Louise Jacquet” presents a professional opera singer seated at her desk, gazing confidently at the viewer. The second, “Portrait of Christine Mitoire with Her Children” by Adélaïde Labille-Guiard, recently acquired by the Getty Museum, shows a fashionably dressed mother breastfeeding her infant while smiling at her older son.

Labille-Guiard exhibited the portrait of Madame Mitoire during her 1783 debut at the Paris Salon, where it caused quite a stir, as it was uncommon for artists to depict scenes of women nursing.

“It was commonplace for women to use wet nurses as opposed to breastfeeding at the time, so Labille-Guiard’s groundbreaking portrait of Mitoire was part of a wider movement that normalized breastfeeding, a trend that simultaneously led to more women staying at home,” explains Ellie Bernick, former graduate intern at the Getty Museum and co-curator of the exhibition. “This pastel exemplifies the complex nature of this history.”

The exhibition highlights other works from the Getty Museum collection by Rosalba Carriera, Thomas Gainsborough, Maurice-Quentin de La Tour, and Robert Nanteuil, among others.

“Including some of the finest pastels from the Getty collection, this exhibition explores a moment when more realistic portrayals of women became increasingly common, superseding habitually idealized images,” said Julian Brooks, senior curator of Drawings at the Getty Museum. “The portraits by Labille-Guiard and Liotard are compelling examples of this shift.”

“Pastel Portraits: Drawn from Life?” is curated by Ellie Bernick, former graduate intern at the Getty Museum, with the assistance of Julian Brooks, senior curator of Drawings.

Laura E. Pollak: Abstract Realism, combines my love of Graphic Design, with vibrant colors and dramatic lighting.

I love pastel for its permanence and vibrancy. It is immediate, luminous and direct.

Like a dialogue between friends, art must be shared and seen in order to close the circle and convey the idea. I invite you to join me on this journey of discovery.

To see more of Laura’s work, visit:
www.laurapollak.com
VEFA Gallery
Hilbert Museum
The Art Shop (336) 855-8500

By the mid-18th century, pastel paintings reached an unprecedented peak of popularity and acclaim. The dry, satiny pigments, manufactured in sticks of every hue, were portable and allowed for swift execution—allowing artists to essentially “draw” a painting.

The J. Paul Getty Museum presents “Eighteenth-Century Pastels,” an exhibition that explores the popularity of pastel paintings across eighteenth-century Europe and showcases their striking physical properties. Presenting works from the Getty Museum collection along with four loans, the exhibition is on view at the Getty Center through February 26, 2023.

(Editor’s Note: Watch and interact with 30 world-renowned pastel artists as they demonstrate their skills at Pastel Live, August 17-19, 2023. Included is an exclusive faculty art auction. [learn more]

More from The Getty:

“Working with pastels differs greatly from painting with oils, which require cumbersome equipment, long sittings, and extensive drying times,” says Emily Beeny, curator of European paintings at the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco and former associate curator of drawings at the Getty Museum. “Their relative ease and portability made pastels an especially desirable medium for traveling artists seeking to expand their portfolio with portraits.”

Pastelists were often very mobile, traveling far and wide in search of commissions. The artists and sitters represented in “Eighteenth-Century Pastels” hail from Austria, England, France, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, and the Netherlands—a testament to the Pan-European nature of the pastel phenomenon.

“Eighteenth-Century Pastels” highlights works from the Getty Museum collection by Jean-Étienne Liotard, John Russell, and Rosalba Carriera, among others. The exhibition also includes recently acquired works by Adélaïde Labille-Guiard and Pietro Antonio Rotari, as well as seldom-seen works by Cornelis Troost on long-term loan from the Mauritshuis in the Netherlands.

With standout pieces like Rotari’s “Young Woman with a Fan” and ​​Liotard’s “Portrait of Maria Frederike van Reede-Athlone at Seven Years of Age,” the pastel paintings in this exhibition will entrance audiences with their rich hues and ethereal quality.

“Featuring works by many of the most talented pastel portraitists of the age, this exhibition is a sumptuous feast for the eyes,” says Ellie Bernick, graduate intern at the Getty Museum and co-curator of the exhibition. “Plus, the exhibition features several works by female pastelists like Adélaïde Labille-Guiard, Rosalba Carriera, and Mary Hoare, exemplifying the important role the medium played in bringing women artists into the profession.”

“Eighteenth-Century Pastels” is curated by Emily Beeny, curator of European paintings at the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco and former associate curator of drawings at the Getty Museum and Ellie Bernick, graduate intern at the Getty Museum, with the assistance of Julian Brooks, senior curator of drawings at the Getty Museum.

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Rieser Fine Art has announced “Kim Lordier: Illuminated Impressions – A Visual Journey,” featuring a new collection of plein air and studio pastel paintings focusing on the California and Monterey Coast.

From the organizers:

Jim Rieser is honored to exhibit this collection as he celebrates the gallery’s 25th Anniversary. Representing Historical and Contemporary landscape artists, Rieser invited Lordier to join his gallery in 2006. Quickly becoming a top selling artist, Lordier continues to bring a fresh view of the California Coastal scene with her 8th Solo Show at Rieser Fine Art.

Lordier says about her medium and new work, “It’s just pure pigment. Pastel. But through an artists’ lens, pure pigment becomes a visual impression upon a flat surface. When passion, paint and perspective combine… the effort becomes effortless. Whisked away to a remembered place or striking a chord in your heart, this collection is about color and light.”

For the virtual art tour please click here. It includes a timelapse of one of the paintings being created, close-ups of the works available for sale, and a studio tour with Kim Lordier.

Exhibition Details:
“Kim Lordier: Illuminated Impressions – A Visual Journey”
Rieser Fine Art
Carmel, California
RieserFineArt.com
August 6 – 31, 2022
Reception: August 6

An anchor piece, “Waltzing at Dusk,” was inspired by a painting trip to Monterey. A heavy rain cell, just finished soaking the ground, began to move off the coastline leaving the dramatic flash of color as the sun set.

“Gold Lichen and Turquoise Seas” was created in the studio based off of a plein air trip to Point Lobos State Park. Lordier was captivated by the turquoise and gold theme.

Additional Pastel Paintings by Kim Lordier

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The Pastel Society of Colorado’s (PSC) 18th Annual Mile High International Pastel Exhibition opens April 9th and will be on display through May 21, 2022 at the historic Washington Hall Gallery in Central City, CO.

The opening reception and awards ceremony will be held on Saturday, April 9 and is open and free to the public. Exhibition judge and juror Christine Debrosky will share comments on the show and present the extensive cash and merchandise awards. The exhibit can also be viewed during regular hours at Washington Hall Gallery and all paintings are available for purchase.

This is the premier exhibition held by PSC annually and showcases 95 pastel paintings in a variety of genres – landscape, portrait and still life – rendered in realistic to abstract forms by some of the finest pastel artists today.

Debrosky selected the paintings for this year’s show from nearly 300 works submitted. “We are thrilled that Christine agreed to jury this year’s show,” said PSC president, Ivadell Marie. “Her impressionistic paintings have not only gained recognition throughout the U.S., they have also garnered artistic awards internationally.”

PSC will host pastel painting demonstrations in the Washington Hall Gallery on select weekends during the show. For a schedule of artists, dates and times see www.pastelsocietyofcolorado.com/shows.php.

“We encourage the community to enjoy viewing these paintings in person or online, and to learn more about the enduring pastel medium first championed by such popular painters as Degas, Renoir and Cassatt,” added Jeannette Stutzman, co-chair of the show.

> Visit EricRhoads.com to learn about more opportunities for artists and art collectors, including retreats, international art trips, art conventions, and more.

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> Subscribe to Fine Art Connoisseur magazine, so you never miss an issue

Laura Pollak: “I’m always trying to push the boundaries of the medium and explore deeper meanings. I love to allow the viewer to finish the story.”

“Open to the Universe” was the top winner in the Pastel Society of the West Coast International Show in 2021 in the Modern and Experimental Category. Laura is a Juried Signature member of the Pastel Society of America and a Master Circle Artist with the International Association of Pastel Societies.

To see more of Laura’s work, visit: www.laurapollak.com and contact her at laurapollak.artist@gmail.com

How did you get started and then develop your career?

Marcia Holmes: After a career as a CPA, I started experimenting by questioning my mother, who was an accomplished abstract artist in Mississippi. First using transparent layers of oil, watercolor and ink on paper, in a process of extremely loose, alla prima sessions, I added pastel as the “accent” on top and fell in love with the visceral quality, immediacy, and glorious color that remained.

Twenty-one years later, with over 16 Solo exhibitions, numerous juried award-winning pastel exhibitions, features and museum inclusions, notably, the Ogden Museum of Southern Art Louisiana Contemporary 2018 for my abstract painting; I have been awarded Eminent Pastel status with the International Association of Pastel Societies, as well as the distinction of Master Pastelist with the Pastel Society of America.

How do you find inspiration?

Totally immersed in nature I find inspiration from water reflections, exploring a feeling, energy of movement, and creatively interpreting these strong impressions as I hover between abstract expressionism and representation. Often painting larger scale impressionist landscape paintings in oil or mixed media on canvas, my desired response for a viewer in all that I do is to find a resting place of ‘grace in space’.

To see more of Marcia’s work, visit: www.MarciaHolmes.com

Marcia Holmes IAPS EP/MC PSA-MP: Marcia, a committed Pastelist, is drawn to garden venues as a consummate traveler. With a painterly approach, in Garden Fascination, she’s embracing a balance of oil and pastel, highlighting the texture of peony blossoms with a palette knife on a field of lush pastel. This day was a glorious afternoon stroll in Nedra Matteucci Galleries garden in Santa Fe. Shady Lakes Water Lilies II (Albuquerque, NM) and Safely in the Rabbit Hole (NYC-Central Park) display her noted abstract expressionist mark marking at Master level Exhibitions: Pastel Society of America and IAPS 7th Master Division (through June 21, 2022).

Please view more of Marcia’s paintings online:
www.MarciaHolmes.com
www.Instagram.com/marciaholmesart
The Degas Gallery in New Orleans, LA

Jill Stefani Wagner PSA-MP IAPS/MC: Painting in pastel and oil, Jill finds inspiration in capturing light. An avid plein air painter, she travels the country capturing the unique views of each area. In her upcoming solo exhibit, “Close to Home” at Kerrytown Concert House in Ann Arbor, MI (1/6–2/15/22), she’ll feature plein air and studio paintings of Michigan. Jill will be Pastel Faculty for the 4th time at the 2022 Plein Air Convention in Santa Fe.

To see more of Jill’s work, visit:
www.jillwagnerart.com
www.instagram.com/jillwagnerart
J. Petter Galleries in Saugatuck, Michigan
Castle Gallery in Fort Wayne, Indiana
Fuller Art House in Sylvania, Ohio

Contact Jill at jill@jillwagnerart.com