Age Is Just A Number

........Or, so they say. To me it is since I have never, nor do I now, act my age. How am I supposed to act? Personally, I don't feel that one has to grow old, it's all a state of mind and my mind is only five.

  But, I digress and that is not really what this blog post is about.

  Once upon a time, and by that I mean a LONG, long time ago, years no less, I had responded to an ad regarding a working art studio that was in my town in California. It was run by a woman, my age who was a fairly well known, accomplished fine artist. She offered classes in this studio as well as discounted use of the studio, including art privileges  in exchange for helping out with students and general work around the place.

                                                                      So....................

  I was working at the time in a scrapbooking/stamping store and I asked my boss if I could have Thursdays off to attend this studio, which she graciously agreed to, thanks Penny! you know who you are. Anywho, I would go, once a week bringing my own art project with me to work on in-between helping out with students, etc.

  It was there that I fell in love with one of my now, favorite mediums, Pastel. At the time, I was primarily working in watercolor and oil. One afternoon, the artist called me into a back room off the main floor and motioned to a large wooden chest that was sitting on a table. The chest itself was beautiful, polished maple. She told me to go ahead and open it. I did and inside this chest were brand-spanking-new, sticks of every color pastel you could possibly think of, hundreds of them. You know that feeling you get when you open a brand new box of crayons? well......multiply that by a hundred and that's the feeling that hit me. And what happened next changed me as an artist.

  She told me to grab some paper and start creating something with her pastels. She had not used them yet, they were all lined up like little, colorful soldiers in uniform, each in their own little slot in the chest. I felt bad and told her that I couldn't, that she should be the first to use them, not me. She told me that her boyfriend had bought them for her and that they had cost over $1,000.00. That didn't help me at all, it made me feel even worse, but my curiosity got the better of me and I REALLY wanted to try them.

  Not having any decent paper with me, I tore off a large piece of newsprint that was on a big roll hanging from the wall. I tried to come up with something right there, on the spot to draw and thought why not draw my new puppy Riley,  (RIP baby.)   So my very first pastel painting ever was this one............

  As you can tell, this photo came up on my phone the other day, which is what reminded me of my time at this studio and how I was introduced to pastel. The second that I layed down that first swatch of pastel, I was hopelessly hooked. There are some who call this medium chalk, but it isn't. It is inherently quite different from chalk. Pastel is almost pure pigment with just a bit of binder added to it. whereas chalk, is predominately binder and very little pigment.

  Although, I have never been able to afford a beautiful, large maple chest of pastel sticks, I do have my own collection of pastels which includes pastel sticks, half sticks,  pastel pencils and PanPastels. I even have my own, much smaller wooden chest of pastel half sticks which was also quite pricey....

  PanPastels and pastel pencils...............................

  Thanks for patiently reading along as I went back in time. Hopefully soon, I will have some current pastel work to show y'all up on my new website  PencilsandPaint , which I am still "tweaking"and also right here on my blog. Until then, keep following me on Facebook as I show all my artsy progress. Have a great week!