Paintings In Pastels

Taylor-Jensen Fine Arts proudly hosts an exhibition by regional pastel painters entitled Paintings in Pastel. This group showing will feature a selection of works by local artists in conjunction with the Pastel Artists of New Zealand (PANZ) National Exhibition at the Feilding and Districts Art Centre. Paintings in Pastel is an exhibition of selected work promoting the use of the pastel medium by artists in the Wanganui, Horowhenua, Manawatu and adjacent regions. The exhibition will display approximately 22 works by thirteen regional artists and feature six works by guest artist Tony Allain, now based in Nelson but originally from the United Kingdom. A reception to honour the artists will be held from 5 -7PM on Friday, 20th March at the gallery.

Paintings in Pastel was developed by local PANZ members to encourage the use of this increasingly popular medium, to give artists an opportunity to have their work shown in an appropriate gallery venue and to increase the local membership of the PANZ organization. An exhibition such as this offers artists who are not PANZ members the opportunity to paint with pastels and have their work reviewed, selected and exhibited.

Pastels are powdered pigments mixed with gum or resin to bind them together. The word pastel is derived from the resultant paste which is moulded into short pastel sticks. The freshness of pastels, their purity of colour and their immediate response when applied to paper are a part of the charm of the medium. The history of pastel painting can be traced back to eighteenth century France where some of its earliest and finest exponents worked. An artist can paint or draw with pastels because the medium has some of the qualities of each approach. Pastels became popular because they did not have the disadvantage of varying drying speeds associated with oil painting. They should not be confused with the harder chalk medium where the pigment is mixed with oil or wax. The early masters clearly established that pastels, which some considered inferior to oil painting, are well capable of making profound artistic statements!

PANZ’s aims are to promote pastel art as an art form in its own right and promote New Zealand pastel artists. It is achieving these aims through publicity, workshops, setting up a regional structure, exhibitions and full colour newsletter NZ Pastel Artist published six times a year.

Tony Allain has been painting for over thirty five years. He is a painter of light and movement, with a complete understanding of his surroundings. Born and raised in the Channel Islands, he moved to paint and live with the “Painters of Light” in St. Ives in Cornwall before moving to Nelson. The subjects he chooses are varied, ranging from marine and landscapes, town and street scenes through to still life. His painting has a brisk impressionist style, which is suited to the use of pastels, although equally successful in oils. Tony has exhibited extensively over the years, his work can be found in many leading New Zealand, London and provincial galleries as well as private and corporate collections.

Event listed by Stuart Schwartz

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