From the Shore. J. Kay Gordan, artist
Purely Pastel, the 2021 Appalachian Pastel Society’s (APS’s) non-juried member exhibition opens online Tuesday, July 1, continuing through August 31, on the APS website. A portion of show entry fees will be donated to Grace Mills River Art Gallery, which offers an annual summer art camp for elementary and middle school students.
Pastel in fine art traces its roots back to the Renaissance, with Leonardo da Vinci employing the medium for some of his portraits. Other recognizable names among artists who painted in pastel include Edgar Degas, Mary Cassatt and James McNeill Whistler. “Light and airy or rich and painterly, pastel paintings are created using a dry medium consisting of pure pigment and a binder,” says Anne Allen, chair of non-juried exhibitions for APS. “With the single stroke of a pastel stick, small crystals of pigment catch light, and layers of pastel often glow,” she says.
Formed in 2006, APS is a member of the International Association of Pastel Societies and encompasses 132 members from the Appalachian regions of states including North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee and Virginia. Gatherings, including membership meetings, pastel demonstrations, workshops, plein air outings and exhibitions are still virtual at this time, with a calendar available on the website. Events are also posted on Facebook.
To view the exhibition and to find out more about membership in the Appalachian Pastel Society, visit AppalachianPastelSociety.org.
