Finally, we've named the show...

Scenes from the Second Story

It's taken us two years, but after an entire afternoon of brainstorming, Christina and I have finally decided on what we think is the perfect name for our exhibition. The challenge lay in our desire to find something that would encapsulate both our work... Christina work is more story driven, while mine tends to be single character studies. The common denominator: our workspaces are both located up in the attic level of our house!

Also, big news for me: I got my new set of pastels in the mail! All this work has enabled me to go a little crazy and get a nice big set of portrait colors from my favorite soft pastel makers: Sennelier. Last night I went to a friend's house, and we deflowered the set in an art extravaganza. Thanks Krysta!

Busy day!

Maxx's Bequai Beard, soft pastel on paper, 11" x 14"

Oh boy, another one ready for the show!

Tools of the trade

What are soft pastels, anyway? They are different from oil pastels, which have the greasy consistency of lipstick. Soft pastels, on the other hand, are compressed sticks of almost entirely pigment (and little binder), which results in a chalky texture and more intense and brilliant color. Therefore, the colors of pastel works are extremely lightfast.

In order to apply the pastel to a surface, one must use a paper with a slight tooth. Personally, I like a paper with a course sandpapery feel, so that even the most ginger touch will draw pigment from the stick. This allows me to be fast and messy, which is my favorite part of being an artist!

The greatest challenge I find with soft pastels is the issue of blending colors. It's not like with paints where you can mix on a palette before applying the pigment to the surface... you have to blend on the paper. Because I don't like the effect of this method, I tend to just buy a ton of colors and not blend at all. However, this is difficult when you're trying to get a certain painting to look just right, and you don't have a color that works. Then it's either back to the store, or it's time to get creative with color usage. This is the risk that I enjoy most about this medium... will a light blue work here instead of a muddied pink? Let's try it!

Furiously working!

"Green glass vase," 2008, soft pastel on paper, 11" x 14"

So I've been working like crazy to have enough pieces for the show, and here's my latest finished piece! This one was a challenge for sure, since the vase I was using, while it had an interesting shape, was made of transparent glass. Boring!

Now, doing work for a show like this is proving to be a challenge. While I've "got enough" pieces, I go through phases where I just don't like the way some of them turn out. I'd like to be able to only give you the cream of the crop, so I'd better get back to it...